Running a fitness center is an extremely honorable business. Not only you manage to get an income stream from an in-demand business but also positively impact many lives by providing them quality services. However, setting up a gym and bringing it to the point where it is able to garner profits isn’t all too simple. There are some daunting challenges of which gym owners must be aware of. Some of them are listed below so that you can easily steer your way to success by avoiding these obstacles.
Multitasking
Always thought you were good at multitasking? Now is the time to test your abilities. As a gym owner you must be ready to assume different roles such as a trainer, accountant, marketer and so forth. Now your responsibilities are not just confined to a single role but the range has considerably widened and this is what you must get used to.
The more willingly you transit from one mindset to another, the easier it will be for you to grow your business. Though this change in mindset may seem simple to adapt too, it can be quite nerve-wrecking. While assuming any role, you should bear in mind that your prime focus is to work for the business, not in the business. It’s also important that you delegate tasks amongst staff and ensure that they are timely executed. When all the directing is done, step aside and take a bird’s eye view of your business and pick out areas that need to be worked on more.
Cut Throat Competition
Fitness is something we all want in our lives. Though it brings the gym owners an opportunity to tap into a huge market, it also poses them the threat of cut throat competition. There are many different types of gyms and health clubs and catering for everyone’s need can be demanding. According to IHRAS Health Club Consumer Report conducted in 2016 shows that Millennials tend to choose fitness club that provide them with specific training methods. So while fitness studios have become an integral part of our lives, there are clubs that specialize in specific techniques, which pretty much makes gyms owners berserk.
If you want to maintain your supremacy in this industry, then be prepared to provide something extraordinary. You can consider building a fitness studio that specializes in CrossFit or gives Tabata trainings. This would help you focus on a particular niche providing specialized services. How can you make your studio stand out from your competitors? In order to reign the market, you need to be open to adopt latest trends.
For instance, you can make it easier for your customers to reach out to your brand by providing them with apps that can help them book for their trainings. These apps can also act as a reminder when they need to be present at the gym, letting you manage all the bookings and appointments. Providing convenience to your members, can act as your competitor’s advantage.
Acquiring New Customers
With a cut throat competition, it is quite difficult to convince new customers to try your gym. So how do your promote your gym in a saturated market? More importantly, how do you convince prospective clients that you are offering the best fitness services?
To actively pursue customers, it is not enough for your audience to know that you are offering fitness services. You need to be aware of what kind of customers you are looking to target. Once you have identified your potential clients, you should offer them the right service or feature that they are looking for in your gym, which can be very difficult.
To reach more specific audience, you can promote your business through Facebook Ads. This would help you conveniently spread brand awareness to your target audience.
Retaining Existing Members
As soon as your client’s membership is over, you expect them to re-sign the deal. But, sometimes despite your best efforts, they do not renew their contracts. There are new gyms opening everywhere and there is a high possibility that your existing client is considering moving there. You can effectively make your presence felt by giving away introductory offers. In order to retain members for a long time, you need to be up and about, engaging them consistently with your business.
Relying solely on email marketing for this type of engagement may not be a safe bet. Email marketing, though an effective tool, cannot alone convince your members to stay loyal with you. According to a study by Mailchimp, in the fitness industry, only 21% of email recipients open their emails. This means that 79% of your clients won’t even bother viewing what you are offering to them.
In order to reach out to your costumers more effectively, you can think of other alternatives such as sending a message on smartphone or tablets. Mobile push notifications are an ideal way to ensure that your message is being delivered to and read by your audience.
Managing Bookings
A little negligence and managing bookings can become a nightmare for you. You have to always be on your toes to keep your info updated about cancelled bookings and tracking attendances. To keep yourself away from the inconvenience, consider using a mobile booking. A mobile app for your gym will save your members from calling over and over again. They can simply look up the app and get themselves enrolled or excluded from the class. The app would enable them to surf through different training options and they can sign up without having to go through any hassle. Integrate your mobile app with your gym software and all bookings will be updated automatically.
This is a good way to retain your members as they will find it extremely convenient to make subsequent bookings.
Handling Payments
The reason why fitness industry is burgeoning is because its business model allows generation of more revenue per customer. However, if you are negligent about payment structures, you can easy lose out on your hard-earned money.
The success of your gym depends upon timely payments or you face the risk of running out of business. In order to overcome the burden of making timely payments, consider using a good gym management software.
