.jpg)
As part of our ongoing series dedicated to those starting their own studio, today we're diving into a topic that’s both essential and often daunting: KPIs, or Key Performance Indicators.
Often seen as complex numbers reserved for experts, KPIs are actually powerful daily allies. When chosen carefully and monitored methodically, they help measure what’s working, anticipate what’s not, and guide strategic decisions.
But which KPIs should you track when opening a studio? How often should you analyse them? And most importantly, how do you interpret them without falling into common traps?
To answer these questions, we interviewed François, Team Leader of the Customer Success team in France at bsport. With experience working with hundreds of independent studios, François shares his take on KPIs—not as an exact science or admin chore, but as a compass, provided you know how to read it.
What KPIs should you track first when opening a studio?
When launching a studio, the main objective is to quickly test the traction of your concept in the target market. You want to measure how effective your early acquisition efforts are, detect weak or strong signals of customer interest, and identify areas that need fine-tuning. Your KPIs should help answer two questions: Does the offer attract? and Does the experience convert?
Number of Sales
The most direct indicator of commercial appeal. A strong volume of launch sales (especially intro offers) shows that your positioning and value proposition are resonating.
- Analyse by offer type: are clients choosing one-off purchases or committing (multi-class packs or memberships)?
- Can signal how well pricing matches local expectations.
Number of Bookings
Beyond sales, it’s action that matters. A customer might buy a pack… and never book.
- The booking rate helps evaluate real engagement.
- Cross-analyse with time slots to identify demand peaks.
Conversion Rate from Intro Offer to Membership
This is a strong indicator of initial product-market fit: does the intro offer successfully lead to longer-term commitment?
- A high conversion rate suggests the first-class experience is compelling.
- A low rate signals a need to review the customer journey (welcoming, instructors, atmosphere, etc.).
Cancellation Rate
A high cancellation rate may point to:
- friction in the customer journey (poor schedule, long waits),
- low engagement (weak intro offer, average experience),
- or logistical issues (location, unclear communication, etc.).
This KPI highlights potential friction or dissatisfaction.
Most Popular Time Slots
Knowing your top-performing time slots is critical for:
- adjusting your schedule to match real demand,
- optimising resources (staff, instructors, space),
- identifying underperforming time slots worth improving (e.g., with targeted promos).
Most Popular Instructors
A studio’s success often rests on its team. Tracking instructor popularity helps you:
- understand what drives engagement (teaching style, vibe, intensity…),
- adjust schedules to maximise attendance,
- identify gaps in performance that could signal a need for training or reassignment.
These KPIs help detect both early strong signals (what clients love) and potential adjustment points (what’s not clicking yet).
How do KPIs evolve from launch to growth?
As François explains: “At launch, the goal is to get people in the door. In growth, it’s about expanding your reach and retaining those who’ve already visited.”
This perfectly sums up how performance indicators shift with your studio’s maturity: you don’t manage a validation phase the same way as a consolidation phase.
Launch Phase: Get Attention, Drive Traffic, Trigger First Visits
The aim here is simple yet strategic: create your first user flow and gather feedback on the experience. You’re measuring the effectiveness of your acquisition channels and incentive mechanisms:
- Number of new clients: your raw volume of people convinced by your initial promise. Break it down by acquisition channel to evaluate which marketing efforts are working (social media, referrals, partnerships…).
- Intro offer performance: track how well trial or intro packs convert. Segment by offer type or customer profile (working professionals, students, weekend athletes…).
- Promo code usage: indicates both the attractiveness and activation power of your marketing campaigns. Helps you track the effectiveness of a particular channel (e.g. influencers, email, flyers…).
- Number of leads generated (via website, marketplaces, bsport widget): how many people took a first step (form filled, account created, contact made)? Helps predict short/mid-term conversions and optimise messaging.
Growth Phase: Build Loyalty, Stabilise Revenue, Activate Referrals
Once you’ve gained some traction, the focus shifts to long-term sustainability. Maximise each customer’s lifetime value and improve operational efficiency:
- Retention rate: shows how well your studio gets people to return. The higher it is, the more your experience is meeting expectations. Analyse at 30, 60, and 90 days post-first visit.
- Conversion rate to membership: measures how effectively you turn trial users into loyal clients.
- Customer Lifetime Value (LTV): the average total revenue a customer brings over their entire relationship with your studio.
- Monthly Recurring Revenue (MRR): indicates revenue predictability and stability. Crucial for managing investment and forecasting growth.
How should studios pick the right KPIs?
There’s no one-size-fits-all approach. “It depends entirely on the studio’s strategy,” says François. The key is to align KPIs with your goals.
For example:
- A premium studio may focus on qualitative feedback (via surveys), satisfaction rates, and class occupancy on specific high-end time slots.
- A studio aiming for volume will focus more on total bookings, online sales, promo usage, and top-performing acquisition channels (e.g. marketplaces).
How often should a studio analyse its KPIs?
Unless something urgent comes up, there’s no need to open your reports daily. “The effect of marketing campaigns or schedule changes can’t be seen in 24 hours,” François reminds us.
A monthly (or in some cases, quarterly) review is more effective. This approach lets you identify trends without overreacting to short-term fluctuations.
What red flags can KPIs help you detect?
Monitoring performance indicators only matters if it leads to concrete and targeted actions. Certain signals should immediately grab a studio owner’s attention—they reveal underlying imbalances or optimisation opportunities. That’s when KPIs become decision-making tools.
Time Slots with No One… or Always Full
Low occupancy during certain hours means a mismatch between your offer and demand. Underused slots hurt profitability and inflate fixed costs. On the flip side, overbooked slots may frustrate loyal clients and limit growth due to lack of capacity.
What to do: Reallocate slots based on demand peaks, test new formats or time slots, or consider scaling up (more classes, more instructors).
Offers That Don’t Sell
If a pack or plan performs poorly despite visibility, there may be a positioning issue (price, format, duration, unclear conditions).
What to do: Rework pricing, simplify the offer, clarify communication around its value—or simply drop it to improve your overall clarity.
A Gradual Drop in Bookings
Fewer bookings may stem from seasonality, waning interest, declining visibility, or a weakening customer relationship. It calls for a multi-faceted analysis.
What to do: Audit your marketing channels (email, social media, Google…), re-engage inactive clients, refresh your offers, or run a visibility campaign.
An Underperforming Instructor
If an instructor’s classes begin to thin out, it could be an engagement, pedagogical, or client fit issue. Keep your diagnosis factual and supportive.
What to do: Host a feedback session, offer training or peer observation, try shifting them to other slots—or consider replacement if needed.
Popular Offers with Poor Profitability
A pack that sells well but yields little per hour can drag your studio’s financial health. You’ll need to analyse it alongside your operating costs and customer behaviour.
What to do: Increase the price, adjust conditions (number of credits, validity period), or offer higher-margin alternatives.
What are the most common mistakes when interpreting data?
“The biggest trap is drawing conclusions too quickly,” warns François. Isolating a single metric without context (e.g., a sudden drop in bookings) can lead to rushed—and sometimes counterproductive—decisions.
Instead, you should:
- Cross-check multiple KPIs to confirm a trend,
- Consider external factors (school holidays, weather, recent campaigns…),
- And above all, don’t panic over short-term fluctuations.
Which KPIs do our users often underestimate?
One often-overlooked—but essential—KPI is the average age of your clients. This metric goes far beyond demographics: it directly influences which engagement and communication strategies to prioritise.
For example, a younger audience (ages 20–35) is more responsive to push notifications via the mobile app, short and dynamic social media content, and frictionless mobile booking experiences.
In contrast, an older audience (45+) tends to have more traditional digital habits: a preference for desktop usage, more thorough email reading, and a greater need for clarity and reassurance.
Action: Track and cross-reference this KPI with actual digital behaviours (email open rates, app activation rate, preferred booking channel) to intelligently segment your communication and maximise adoption.
KPIs as strategic tools
Tracking the right KPIs at the right time is key to a studio’s success. During the launch phase, focus on acquisition signals: number of clients, bookings, and the effectiveness of trial offers. As you grow, shift toward retention, customer value, and recurring revenue metrics.
KPIs then become strategic decision-making tools, guiding actions on scheduling, offers, or communication. Too often, indicators like average client age are underestimated—even though they should shape how and where you communicate.
Launching a studio or want to structure your data more effectively?
Book a demo with a bsport expert to discover how our platform helps you track the right KPIs from day one.
