Kari Saitowitz, founder of Fitting Room, knows a thing or two about keeping clients engaged, and it has nothing to do with discounts or flashy ads.
Instead, her approach is rooted in data, structure, and community-building. In a recent conversation, Kari shared how her team thinks about retention, and why the brand’s Goalgetter Club has become a retention powerhouse that’s growing revenue without heavy ad spend.
Here’s what you can learn and implement right away:
Acquiring a new client involves multiple steps: awareness, consideration, trial, and conversion. According to Kari, “retaining an existing client can be five times cheaper than acquiring a new one.”
In fact, Fitting Room found that if every existing client came just one more time per month, their revenue would grow by 41%. That insight sparked a strategic shift: retention became the most leveraged growth channel.
To operationalize this, Kari’s team built the Goalgetter Club, a milestone-based program designed to:
But this wasn’t a quick decision. The team spent months gathering feedback through focus groups, naming the program, and building a roadmap of client milestones and rewards.
Before launching the Goalgetter Club, Fitting Room already celebrated class milestones—but clients didn’t know when or why. That created inconsistency and, at times, disappointment.
Now, the club provides a clear, visual roadmap of milestones and rewards, introduced as early as a client's first visit. This visibility builds motivation and clarity—two key drivers of habit formation.
🟧 Takeaway: Publish your milestone framework and introduce it early in the client journey.
Rather than guessing what motivates loyalty, Kari’s team hosted small virtual focus groups with clients at different stages—some with 50+ classes, others with 500+.
What they learned:
🟧 Takeaway: Don’t assume, ask. Client insights are the foundation of an effective retention program.
One of the most effective shifts Fitting Room made was targeting visit frequency, gnot just long-term loyalty.
By celebrating early milestones (as early as 10 classes), the studio helped new clients feel seen, supported, and more likely to build consistent habits.
🟧 Takeaway: Recognize effort early and often to keep newer clients from falling off.
Celebration loses its meaning if it’s inconsistent. Fitting Room built automated triggers for milestone emails and studio recognition, and trained the team to follow a set structure so no one “goes off script.”
This ensured every client got a fair, delightful experience, and eliminated confusion or missed moments.
🟧 Takeaway: Build systems that ensure consistency, so celebrations feel intentional, not random.
The Goalgetter Club isn’t just a feel-good initiative: it’s a strategic tool.
Fitting Room uses its milestone data to:
🟧 Takeaway: Loyalty data isn’t just about recognition, it’s a shortcut to building your next great offer.
Kari’s biggest advice for studio owners?
“Don’t lock yourself in a room and build it with just your team. Talk to your clients. Make it thoughtful. Make it holistic. And make sure there’s a catch-up mechanism so long-time loyalists don’t feel forgotten.”
Start by asking your clients what matters to them. Then build a roadmap that celebrates effort, drives consistency, and grows your studio, one class at a time.
Take the Next Step
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