Ensuring your gym is profitable can be a long and daunting task - even for those who are passionate and well-informed about the services they offer and the industry. Many entrepreneurs may steer clear of opening their own fitness club for this reason.
While there is a debate surrounding the failure rate of new businesses, it's estimated to be around 50%. There is a consensus however on the keys to success which are careful planning and having a defined strategy.
Is opening a gym profitable? Follow these tips to maximise your gym’s potential
From educating yourself about the market you're trying to crack to developing excellent customer relationships, there are many vital techniques which can be employed to maximise your chance of success.
Understand the Market
The rapid expansion of the global fitness industry has saturated the market with gym facilities. However, this shouldn't prevent you from trying to break into the industry or attempting to grow your already established business.
It's a widely understood business trope that the more mediocre products there are available, the more in-demand quality alternatives become. If your local area has an abundance of badly run budget gyms, this doesn't mean you should avoid establishing another facility. However, you should do it differently and do it better.
Understand Your Brand
After extensive research and planning, you might have decided on a concept for your gym – the next step is creating a detailed blueprint of your brand. The type of gym you want to open or overhaul will impact everything from your typefaces and interior décor to the membership prices and supplementary facilities.
Transparency is also key here. People will accept a fundamental class schedule, basic equipment and a limited range of optional extras if they are aware they are being offered a budget alternative and this is reflected in the subscription fee. This type of experience is likely to be represented in everything from a simple, clean logo design to a limited, but excellent, core range of machines.
Invest in Online Advertising
Online marketing is now widely considered the most cost effective marketing methods. Not only are overheads cheap in comparison to more tradition publicity conduits, such as radio, print and television, it's also highly targeted and is considered to have an excellent cost to profit ratio.
Using Google Ads or a Facebook campaign enables you to curate adverts to reach individuals by age, gender, location, behaviors and interests. It can, for instance, be highly beneficial to target your campaign to people with an interest in sports and the outdoors rather than those with a preference for television and movies.
Incorporate Technology
Your primary demographic of gym users are going to be well versed with technology, as well as valuing technological integration in all aspects of their life. Booking classes online, connecting personal devices to gym equipment and having a digital payment solution are just some things to consider.
Incorporate Customer Retention Strategies
Encouraging people to sign up to the gym isn't the real challenge – nor is it the answer to a successful business model. The key to business prosperity is customer retention. It is imperative to value those who have decided to join your gym, keep them engaged, and turn them into a long-term customer.
Firstly, you can offer fiscal incentives in the form of discounts and special offers. It's important not just to offer these to new customers. Offer old members a half-price January subscription or summer discount. This acts both as a monetary stimulus to stay and also a reward or thank you for being a member. An additional way to retain members is to offer them new goals and objectives. After 6 months, give them an hour with a personal trainer for free in a bid to generate new objectives for them to achieve.
Communicate with your Customers
We all have our own noteworthy ideas, however, when it comes to business, the customer reigns supreme and should dictate your business strategy. Engaging with your members on a regular basis can give you clarity about where changes in your business model need to be adjusted.
Business owners often report that it is small, incremental and easily implementable changes which can generate customer retention. Even if requested changes are not feasible to achieve, the very principle of asking for opinions has been proven to instill customers with the positive feeling of being valued – even if they have nothing to say.
Create a Community
Creating an online customer community is an effective and proven method of marketing. Social media tools like Facebook Groups and newsletters are excellent for generating online discussion and enthusiasm among members.
Encourage people to share tips, form friendships and discuss their gym experiences. This helps foster a sense of inclusiveness in customers and thus they stay enrolled. It's also an excellent place for you to see what customers are saying to each other honestly. People tend to either hold back or embellish in surveys. Don't forget to act upon what you learn here.
Sell Additional Retail Products
If you want to generate an additional revenue stream, and as a business this should be a central element of your strategy, then think about retailing supplementary products and services. As a service, personal trainers are an obvious choice but can be a costly overhead if not employed on a freelance basis. Fitness products, for example, protein powders and low-calorie snacks have a long shelf life, can be purchased in bulk and resold with a healthy profit margin.
