Sometimes Growth Comes from Looking Beyond the Obvious
Business owners are constantly searching for ways to grow. But sometimes the biggest opportunities are hidden in the everyday frustrations customers experience before they ever engage with your business.
Recently, one of our clients, SBG Reno, shared a story that perfectly illustrates this point. One of the fastest-growing programmes at their gym wasn’t a new martial arts class, a fitness challenge or a membership promotion. It was childcare.
At first glance, childcare might seem unrelated to martial arts training. However, gym owner Jessica Locke noticed a recurring pattern among prospective members.
Parents wanted to train, they wanted to improve their fitness and health and they wanted a positive outlet that helped them manage stress and build confidence.
The desire was there. The motivation was there. The quality coaching was already in place. The problem was that childcare was getting in the way.
Identifying the Real Problem
Many businesses would respond to slowing growth by introducing discounts or running new promotions. Instead, Jessica looked at the challenge from a different perspective.
Rather than asking how she could persuade more parents to join, she asked why they weren’t joining already. The answer was surprisingly simple.
Parents couldn’t realistically attend morning classes because they had young children to look after. So, she removed the barrier.
A babysitter was hired to supervise children during morning sessions, allowing parents to train without worrying about childcare arrangements.
What happened next was remarkable.
Within weeks, families were joining specifically because of the childcare provision. Parents who had previously been unable to attend suddenly had a practical solution.
The programme quickly attracted home-educating families looking for daytime activities and opportunities to connect with other families.
Some parents were so enthusiastic about the initiative that they even offered to contribute towards the childcare costs themselves.
Demand grew so quickly that a second sitter became necessary.
The martial arts programme itself hadn’t changed, the coaching was still excellent, the community was still welcoming, and the product remained strong.
The difference was that a significant barrier had been removed.
The Home Education Opportunity Many Businesses Are Overlooking
One of the most interesting aspects of this story is the connection to the growing home education community.
During a recent conversation with a Local Education Authority representative, we learned that the number of home-educating families in Bury has increased from 378 families to 500.
This reflects a wider trend taking place across the UK.
As more families choose elective home education, businesses have access to a growing audience that often has greater flexibility during traditional working hours.
For many gyms, academies and activity providers, weekday mornings and afternoons can be some of the quietest periods of the day.
However, home-educating families are often looking for activities, social opportunities, fitness programmes and educational experiences during these exact times.
Jessica’s own family has embraced home education, which gave her a deeper understanding of the needs and challenges many parents face. As a result, the childcare-supported classes naturally aligned with the lifestyle of many of the families she wanted to serve.
Rather than trying to force customers into an existing model, she adapted her offering to fit their reality. That small adjustment opened the door to an entirely new audience.
Improving the Product Isn’t Always About Adding More
When businesses think about product improvement, they often think about adding features, increasing options, or introducing something new.
However, sometimes improving the customer experience means making it easier for people to access the value you already provide.
The martial arts coaching at SBG Reno was already helping people become fitter, stronger and more confident.
The challenge wasn’t the product. The challenge was accessibility.
By introducing childcare support, the gym improved the overall customer experience without changing the core service. This is an important distinction.
The strongest businesses don’t just focus on what happens after someone becomes a customer.
They also focus on everything that happens before.
They look for points of friction and ask whether those barriers are genuinely necessary.
What Friction Exists In Your Business?
Every industry has its own version of childcare. It may not be obvious at first, but every business faces customer barriers that have become accepted as normal.
Perhaps your customers struggle to find time.
Maybe your booking process is overly complicated.
Perhaps your opening hours don’t align with customer schedules.
Maybe customers feel overwhelmed by too much choice.
Or perhaps there is a practical obstacle that nobody in your industry has attempted to solve.
The businesses that consistently grow are often the ones willing to challenge these assumptions. Rather than focusing solely on attracting more customers, they focus on making it easier for existing prospects to say yes.
Combining Great Marketing With Customer Understanding
At Dream Agility, we help businesses increase visibility, generate leads and attract new customers through effective digital marketing strategies.
However, the most successful growth stories often happen when great marketing is supported by a genuine understanding of customer behaviour.
Marketing helps people discover your business.
Customer insight helps them choose it.
The story of SBG Reno highlights what can happen when a business listens carefully to its customers and identifies a challenge that competitors have ignored.
The result wasn’t just more enquiries.
It was a stronger proposition, a growing community and access to a market that many others had overlooked.
A Simple Question That Could Unlock Growth
Ask yourself:
What barriers are my customers facing that I’ve simply accepted as normal?
The answer might reveal your next opportunity.
Because sometimes growth comes from improving the product.
Sometimes it comes from improving the customer experience.
And sometimes it comes from removing the friction that was stopping people from getting started in the first place.
If you’d like a free growth strategy review, please book in for one here…