#8 Things Entrepreneurs Can Learn From Zumba In a competitive market where there are hundreds of different ways to get healthy, every person has a different expectation from a workout routine and Zumba saw this need early on

1. Create a Winning Formula that Aims to Solve a Problem in a New Way

The thing about Zumba is that very few people leave. People start taking classes, and they stick to it. At its core, a Zumba class provides a large calorie burn through aerobic activity done with interval training in mind. The average person will burn around 600 to 1,000 calories in a Zumba class. And the main reason that Zumba appeals to people is because it's non-threatening. Its main draw is that it's fun; it's like a party. Now isn't that a winning formula?

2. One Size Rarely Fits All

In a fiercely competitive market where there are hundreds of different ways to get healthy, every person has a different expectation from a workout routine. Zumba saw this need early on and while the foundation for all Zumba workouts is essentially the same, today there are different Zumba workout styles — Aqua Zumba (in the pool), Sentao (with a chair), Toning (with light dumbles) and the newly introduced Strong, which looks at balancing cardio with strength training. This ensures that customers are able to pick and choose a different routine but still stick with Zumba.

3. Make Your Customers Your Brand Ambassadors

Approximately 15 million people take weekly Zumba classes in over 200,000 locations across 180 countries. That's a whole lot of people who live and breathe the brand. And Zumba has always ensured different ways to engage with the strong community. Zumbawear, which all Zumba regulars swear by, is an integral part of branding and creates additional exposure every time someone wears a funky Zumbawear hoodie or those awesome shoes.

4. Insist on values; Provide Necessary Tools and Delegate the Implementation

Zumba functions in a very entrepreneurial way by giving a lot of ownership and responsibility to the ZES (Zumba Education Specialists), Zumba Jammers and marketing agents, who understand and live the core values of Zumba, but at the same time use their on-ground knowledge to implement various programs and grow the brand. This decision of delegating ownership has helped Zumba to grow very fast without a lot of marketing expenses.

5. Word of Mouth Marketing Still Rules

If you ever find someone who takes Zumba regularly and ask him/her about their class – be ready for ear to ear smiles and unmistakable radiance when they describe how Zumba has changed their lives. This authenticity is super infectious and creates the ripple effect that ensures that more and more new people try Zumba regularly.

6. Make Your Product User-friendly and Custom–made

There's Zumba in a cruise, Zumba in a club, morning fitness parties..you name it. Zumba allows the community to hold Zumba sessions in different shades which help introduce this fitness regime to more kinds of people who don't go to a gym

7. Create Economic Opportunities for your Evangelists

Zumba creates economic opportunities for its licensed instructors by creating a demand for its programs, collaborating with national gyms and financing TV shows. This has helped many instructors to take up Zumba as their primary career opportunity.

8. Giving Back to Society

Zumbathons (Zumba fitness session for generating funds for charities) and Party in pink for breast cancer awareness are some of the numerous ways how Zumba enthusiasts give back to society.