Gym marketing has gotten competitive, which means your marketing skills need to be on the money when promoting your gym. As more fitness clubs open their doors, the potential for undercutting nearby gyms increases. How will you get ahead of your competition?
Free Trials Beat Discounts Every Time
Most people like to 'try-before-they-buy' and gyms are no different than any other retailer in this respect. The mistake many gym owners make when trying to attract new customers is offering a discount on their membership. Discounting is never as good as free trials, because of one principle reason: it's harder to get a customer to pay more than they are used to.
When a new customer gets something for free, they get the opportunity to enjoy all the facilities and are allowed the time to understand how beneficial they are. In this way they are more likely to sign-up at the full price when the time comes to make a decision. A discounted price never exposes the new customer to the full price, therefore they'll never be happy to pay for it.
Provide Nutritional Planning
You know the saying, "you can't out-exercise a bad diet". So it makes sense to offer advice and assistance to people on the one aspect of their lives that can ruin all the good work they do in the gym and make them decide not to return at the end of their membership period.
All it takes is some careful consideration and a well-thought out meal plan, coachmag.co.uk lays it on the line in simple terms with a full, weekly meal planner and the warning "if you have a can of fizzy drink everyday along with it, you'll just be shooting yourself in the foot", and that goes for all those high-sugar energy drinks your gym has in the chiller too!
More Fitness Classes
Fitness classes are like fashions, some are all the rage and some are on their way out. When new fitness styles become popular, make sure you have a provision for it whether it's Zumba, Boxercise, Insanity, Hot Yoga, TRX or Spinning classes. If people are wanting to do it, make sure you are offering it.
The Weight Loss Challenge
In a time when media pounces upon the merest hint of fat-shaming, it still remains the number one reason people sign up for a gym. So don't be afraid of stating the obvious. The weight loss challenge can be a huge motivational tool for your members to reach their goals.
A weight loss challenge works in two ways: firstly it helps members get themselves a fitness plan to help them reach their own weight targets, and secondly; it can attract non-members into your gym.
If you can offer a worthy prize for the winner (and perhaps for second and third places as well) that is related to your gym, (new gear, free personal training etc.) you can increase loyalty. And don’t those before and after pictures look great too?
Go Digital, Go Mobile
When you get gym members you also get their contact details; emails, contact numbers, addresses and twitter handles. What you do with this mine of information will have a little to do with data protection but it is the most valuable marketing list you'll ever have. It's just a small step to integrate these contacts with a mailing system for email updates which are now mostly viewed on mobile devices and also ensuring that they get regular links to your content and offers through social media.
Technology is changing the way people interact in the gym, whether it's negotiating the Instagram-selfies going on over by the weights or the wearable technology being used. Taking advantage of this by offering payments of your in-house services via using mobile phones (for example QR codes) and putting all your gym, class and nutritional information on a mobile friendly website, just seems like common sense.
Email Marketing
Email marketing remains one of the most effective ways to communicate and market your gym business. With the huge range of fitness apps and websites, it has become almost expected to receive marketing communication. It helps you inform your existing customers about your new special offers and also helps you bring in potential new members. In marketing, it is one of the most cost-effective communication methods.
Seasonal Promotions
A staple of effective gym marketing is taking advantage of seasonal promotions. Every season comes with its unique characteristics and selling points:
Christmas - "It’s payback Christmas: HIIT exercises to neutralise seasonal excess”
New Year - "Be resolute and get fit in January"
Summer - "Get your body ready for the beach"
Promotions work, so utilise them as often as you can ensuring that each promotion has distinct and defined benefits attached to it.
Your Website
No gym can forget about its website. It is the best tool for ranking locally for all the relevant fitness search terms in your area. It is also the main platform through which your gym and your brand are going to be promoted. Keys to a good gym website are as follows:
- Impactful branding and logo
- Responsive design (especially on mobile, see above)
- Landing pages to receive email sign-ups
- Blog (see below)
- Apt and attractive imagery
- Customer testimonials
- Employee profiles
YouTube & Instagram
Having a YouTube channel offers your members access to your gym's instructors and fitness classes increasing and extending your gym's authority and bringing your gym members and staff closer together. A YouTube channel can be created at minimal cost and can shift the perception of you from place-you-workout-at to a social environment that offers much more than just a running machine and a set of weights; you are now offering them a lifestyle and a philosophy and broadening your appeal.
Making videos has never been easier. It doesn't matter if they are short, like the sensation that is Joe Wicks’s 'Lean in 15' Instagram videos watched by 1.9m people, that show healthy menus that take just 15 minutes to prepare and make (whilst presenting them in just 15 second videos), or if they are longer, YouTube productions. Type in ‘youtube gym videos’ in google and, unsurprisingly, Gold's Gym is the top hit.
Old School Marketing
Sometimes going back-to-basics in marketing is something you just have to do. This means doing one or all of the following in order to get full exposure to your business and be known as the place to go. Remember, people won't want to refer people to you, unless they know you.
- Leaflets
- Going door-to-door
- Visiting and developing relationships with local businesses
- Having an open day
- Utilising your local newspaper (see press release below)
- Visit local schools and youth clubs.
Nothing beats human contact. Sometimes it's best to return to Rule 1 of the marketing handbook: get out and meet more people, more often than everyone else.
Press Releases
This is a great way to utilise the media without it costing anything close to the rates advertisers ask for. The idea is to make your press releases look like news, but news that actually benefits your local community who are your target demographic. On its own a press release might have a limited effect, but as part of a greater marketing strategy, it'll contribute to the marketing effort creating awareness of your gym and help increase footfall through your door.
Make sure you have some decent imagery to go along with your offers and above all get in contact with as many local news outlets and websites as possible to maximise your exposure. It's best to write your own press releases, but it can be beneficial to get a professional copywriter in to help make it look...professional.
Maximise Your Gym’s Blog
Sometimes you'll find that gym members are asking the same questions over and over. If you find yourself trying to come up with unique ways to answer them, then perhaps you should write a blog post about it. Blog posts are one of the best resources on your website and you can use them in a number of ways.
Not only does a blog offer essential gym information (and those FAQs), it also serves to be a promotional tool to help your offers and your helpful content get heard. But perhaps the number one way in which your blog can benefit you marketing efforts is through its ability to increase your online visibility through SEO.
Collaborate With Local Businesses
As a gym owner you are in a unique position to be able to collaborate with other, complimentary businesses. You probably already stock and sell gym merchandise or protein supplements, so why not join up with local businesses and introduce your clientele to grass-fed beef products or offer discounts on smoothies sold next door? In return you can have your literature and sales offers on display in a reciprocal agreement at their point of sale too.
The opportunity is doubled when you combine website and SEO opportunities between both set of digital marketing and social media exposure.
Make Gym Staff People-People!
People buy from people. This is the number one reason influencing buyer decisions. Your gym staff are the best salespeople and marketing tools you can have. But only if you use them properly.
This means getting all your staff to ensure they know the routine when giving a gym tour to prospective new members. It means making sure your staff are ready and eager to create video-media to use in your website (and YouTube channel). It means making sure that your staff are asking the right questions to your members and being friendly, helpful and above all, attentive to your gym goers' needs at all times.
Go Corporate
Go out and find some corporate clients. They have bigger pockets than individuals and there's a good chance that the facilities they'd like to offer their staff aren't going to be a big time-burden on your business or create a footfall that impacts on busy periods.
Setting your gym marketing budget and making your corporate package an attractive offering can almost help big companies do the job of sending out a healthy message to their employees. More and more big companies are offering fringe benefits like this, so make sure it's your gym they choose.
