CASE STUDY – THE GYM
#1 OFFER 5 Free Trial fo GYM Membershop
Most of the gyms offer free trials but they don’t Market this strategy, let everyone know that you are happy to offer free trials. Put banners inside your gym offering 5 Day trials and see how your members promote your gym to their friends / relatives  and once you have the potential customer in your gym, game is in you hand.
The majority of people want to try before they buy and there is no exception when it comes to gyms. Potential members want to spend a few days trying out the equipment, meeting some of the staff and members and getting a good feel for the center before they commit to signing up.
#2 Doctor Referral
As per Fit Business Insider.com
“Every month we get a couple of new health club members that are referred from a local physician. It may take a bit of work to establish a relationship with a local doctor – but it’s well worth the effort.”
#3 Cross Promotions with Other Businesses
Health food or exercise equipment stores handing out your gift cards when their customers make purchases is an easy way to get in front of good leads.
#4 Have a loyalty program
Don’t get caught up in getting new gym rats that you forget the old, loyal, 4 times a week gym rats. This program is much more important than any other marketing program you have. If you treat your top 10% of your customers right, they will take care of most of your other marketing for you. Come up with programs to make them feel appreciated. Free t-shirts. Got extra services at your gym, like massage therapists, supplements or a Smoothie King? Give them a coupon for one of them. Keep the people who love you in love with you.
#5Â Invest in a Modern Website
We are amazed by the number of extremely poor websites that we come across in the Health & Fitness industry. First impression is EVERYTHING!
Approximately 70% of prospects will do a search on Google to find the nearest gym in their location and check out the website BEFORE coming down for a visit. 20% will be referred by family or friends and 10% will drive by and drop in to have a look.
What impression are you making to the 70% of prospects who check out your website? Does your website show up on the front page of Google when people search in your local area? Has it been updated with the latest timetable and class information? Do you have images to showcase your facilities and provide impact or do you just have a bunch of boring text and links? If your website is old, boring and outdated then people will assume that your gym is also old, boring and outdated!
A modern and up to date website is crucial to make a great first impression when people land on your site.
We highly recommend the following features:
- Header design and logo to match your clubs branding and colours
- Image slideshow on the home page to showcase some of your main facilities
- Form offering a Free 5 Visit Pass in the top right hand corner of the home page
- Facilities tab with a list of the key programs and descriptions for each (along with images)
- Group Fitness timetable showing a current list of classes, times and descriptions (make it easy to open in pdf format and also easy to print)
- Testimonials from happy members (combination of short videos with written testimonials and profile images)
- A page including key staff profile pictures and a brief bio for each
- Contact Page with phone number, email address, contact form, image of facility and embedded Google map so people can easily find you.
The average member at a gym is worth between $500 – $700 per year.If 70% of your potential members are getting a poor first impression from your website and going somewhere else, how much money are you missing out on each year?
Updating your website should be listed as the number one priority in your marketing budget!
Example THE GYM
Enter your Details for a free Consultation
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#6 Get involved with the community
Work with local businesses, apartments, associations, etc. and offer special rates for their employees/patrons. Find out who’s new in town and give them a month for free. Or a free training session. Or a free 1-hour massage (they probably need it after moving in). The smaller your community, the more important this is. Make sure you’re seen as a foundational part of the area, and people will appreciate that.
#7 Create a Facebook Page
Facebook is one of the most effective marketing methods for generating new members, adding value to current members and increasing membership retention. Every gym simply must have a Facebook Page! A basic page is free to set up so there are no excuses!
Facebook currently has more than 700 million users worldwide and the average user has more than 200 friends. People are now spending more time on Facebook than any other website (including Google!). When used correctly, your Facebook Page can generate huge amounts of traffic and interest in your gym.
Benefits of a Facebook Page
- Facebook provides a great platform to keep members and fans up to date with the latest news at your gym. You can easily share updates on timetable changes, opening hours, launch new classes, post testimonials, articles, motivational tips and training information. Facebook is a fantastic way to stay connected with your members
- Every time a visitor comments, likes or shares your Facebook page content it is like a free advertisement that is placed on the News Feed of all of their friends. Their friends can easily see that they have interacted on your page and can follow the link to find your page. The majority of Facebook friends also live in the same local area so this is incredibly powerful targeted marketing for your gym!
- Facebook allows more interaction between staff and members out of normal gym hours. Developing a friendly, social environment in a gym is crucial to membership retention
#8 Run Monthly Member Challenges
A great way to maintain member motivation and generate more energy in the gym is to run regular challenges.
Here are some ideas for Member Challenges:
- 5 Minute Rowing Competition (maximum distance covered in 5 minutes)
- 3km Treadmill Time Trial (best time for 3km)
- 30 Days of Fitness (members receive cards and receive points for each workout during the 30 days. 10 points for weights, 10 points for cardio, 10 points for group fitness class. You can also offer bonus points for classes that you want to boost attendance or new classes on the timetable – 20 points)
- Pyramid Cardio Challenge Time Trial (50 Squats, 40 TRX Rows, 1km Rowing, 2km Bike, 30 Push ups)
- Triathlon Challenge (500m rowing, 3km bike, 1500m run)
- Have a staff leader board as well as the member leader board and the key is to make it more fun than ultra competitive!
Other Ideas – Organise monthly beep tests for members, blood pressure checks, running groups, boot camps, etc
#9Â Fundraiser Sales
Find an organization that needs to raise money and let them sell short term memberships to your program or facility and keep all the proceeds. Â You get the leads and they raise funds. (Paid Clinics, Free Clinics, Mini Clinics)
#10 Group Special Offers
Teacher’s Appreciation Week, Administrative Professionals Week and any other day / week / month that highlights a certain group is a great excuse to make an offer specifically to them.
#11 Â Wall of Fame
If you have your own space, use it for in club promotions of your ancillary offerings and to showcase your success stories. This is one of my favorite low cost marketing tools.
#12 Testimonial Book
Testimonials are one of the biggest influential factor while taking a Gym Membership. You have done good stuff over a years, but not everyone knows this, create a flyer or a small book containing Testimonials, Before and After pictures and give this to everyone who visits you gym. Let them take that copy of book with them. More they see that testimonial book at their home, more word of mouth publicity they will do for your brand.
Conclusion
Thank you for taking the time to read through the Ways to Promote Your Gym Memberships. The tips above are all simple to implement and not rocket science. Often the simplest strategies are the most powerful but they are also often overlooked. I guarantee that these strategies will go a long way toward increasing your membership numbers and retaining your current clients. Taking ACTION is the key!
We offer a range of services to assist you in your Marketing campaigns and we offer Free Consultations to everyone who is interested in developing a specific plan for their gym. If you are interested in a Free Consultation fill out the form on our website at https://thinkncode.com/contact/
Our Services include:
- Website Creation
- Custom Facebook Fan Pages
- Search Engine Optimisation
- Video and Mobile Marketing
- Sales and Communication
- Facebook Advertising
- Twitter and YouTube Marketing
- Personal Training Business Systems
- Graphics and Logo Design
- Membership Sites
- Shopping Carts
- Content Management Systems
Please don’t hesitate to contact us if you have any questions or would like some further information.
We are a small team based in Rajouri Garden, New Delhi and specialize in Online Reputation Management.
Anirudh Babbar 9540491178 / 9812430938
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