3 Ways ClassPass Used Data to Make a Business Pivot

Sometimes, what you think your customers want doesn’t match up with the data. That’s what drove Payal Kadakia to make a strategic business pivot while running Classtivity. If you haven’t heard of Classtivity, it’s probably because Kadakia changed the company into ClassPass, which now helps people connect to fitness classes around the world. At Classtivity, Kadakia assumed users would eventually leave the site once they found the one studio they loved. But the data showed her that they liked sampling different classes, and wanted more. Today, ClassPass has facilitated over 40 million reservations across 8,500 studios in 39 cities worldwide. These are the three data insights we learned from Payal’s pivot.

To hear more of our conversation, check out our podcast episode featuring Kadakia on Deciding by Data.

1. Your customers know what they want better than you do

Payal thought that users who signed up for the 10 class Passport would try a few different studios and eventually “find their home” at a single studio. By analyzing the data, she found users were signing up with multiple email addresses just to continue using the platform because they liked the variety. This insight lead to the launch of the ClassPass subscription service that has disrupted the fitness industry worldwide.

2. Never lose sight of your mission

When ClassPass’ unlimited subscription plan began to cost more to offer than it brought back in revenue, Payal saw employees brainstorming ways to get users to workout less. Payal knew something had to change. ClassPass got rid of the unlimited plan in favor of new tiers of membership for people of different fitness levels, allowing them to make revenue while still providing their subscribers with access to the variety of workouts.

3. Consider the value your company adds on every side of the market

ClassPass not only provides accessible fitness classes for customers, but also shares data with studios that help them better tailor offerings. By analyzing the data, Payal learned that studios could adjust their class times and teaching methods based on customer feedback, making them more successful. And when studios offer great classes, ClassPass reaps the benefits too.