Spring Clean Your Business With These 4 Tips

There’s just something about spring that radiates new beginnings. You’ll put away your coats and scarves, open all your windows and spring clean your home–so shouldn’t you do the same for your business? Here are four spring cleaning tips to get your business ready for the season.

Evaluate your staffing needs

With the hustle and bustle of the new year behind you, take a moment to consider how many employees you’ll need this season. Is spring usually a busy time for your business? Look through sales data from previous years to estimate how many customers you can expect. The information will help you predict the staff required. (It might also tell you if now’s a good time for a sales promotion to encourage customers in the door.)

But before making any decisions on hiring or letting go of staff, ask yourself a few questions:

• Do you have any temporary employees who are moving on at the start of the season?
• Are there any part-timers looking to go full-time?
• Are there some exceptional workers you want to promote?

You may just need to reshuffle some of your current employees to meet your staffing needs without going through a hiring process or losing valuable staff.

Refresh your marketing strategy with email

Are you using email to market your business? It’s a powerful way to connect with customers and share what’s going on at your business. You can promote the new classes you’re offering, feature promotional codes, or advertise any end of winter discounts.

It doesn’t have to be a chore. There are affordable email marketing services that do a lot of the work for you. The right combination of software allows you to group customers by spending habits and send them tailored messages. For example, if your Pilates studio is offering a bonus for purchasing classes in bulk, you can target those customers who bought a prepaid package last year. Or you can send a renewal email to those who are about to use up their last class.

If your marketing strategy already includes email, take this time to clean your subscription list. A great email marketing campaign isn’t effective if you’re getting little to no engagement from your subscribers. Inactive email addresses and spam filters can make your subscription list stale and diminish your efforts.

Jump into spring with an event

With the warmer weather approaching, host an event, and bring your customers together to celebrate. An event is a great way to bring your customers together, create a sense of community, and get a better idea of what they’re interested in. Think about holding a photo contest to give your business exposure. Keep it simple and encourage guests to snap a photo during the event and post it to their social media. Then have them tag the location and your business, and pick a random winner to get a free class pass. The more photos shared, the more eyes are on your business. 

And don’t forget about those who aren’t able to make it to your in-store event. Hold a virtual one on your website and offer similar promotions. For example, if you own a cycling studio put a special price on midweek classes that aren’t filled to capacity or offer discounted rates for booking classes in advance. Consider creating an ebook on proper form—you can request an email address before allowing visitors to download it, then add those contacts to your email marketing campaign.

Download the checklist for how to host a pop-up event at your fitness business or the checklist for a pop-up event at your salon. 

Deep clean your space

A clear space equals a clear mind. So, head into spring with some good energy by doing a deep cleaning and decluttering of your space. Spend a day washing windows, overused machines and those muddy floors left neglected during the colder months. Get your employees involved and make it a party with some music, food, and drinks. It’s also the perfect opportunity to get your staff together for some team building and bonding.

If you haven’t done so already, take spring cleaning a step further by going paperless. Moving from paper to digital is not only practical but it means less clutter. It’s good for both the planet and your chakras. You can set class calendars and staff schedules using cloud services like Mindbody–so there’s no need for paper in your life.

So, it’s out with the old and in with the new. Taking the time to spring clean your growing business may seem intimidating, but these simple tips will set you up for a season full of new energy, more opportunity, and less stress. And that’s great for your business, your customers and your peace of mind.