The fitness industry has seen a sizable boom in recent years, and, unfortunately, the market has become incredibly saturated. Standing out from the masses has become harder than ever, especially if you’re just starting out in the gym business.
To succeed, you’ll need to launch a number of gym marketing ideas aimed at boosting gym membership rates. In essence, you need a marketing for new gym owner guide. Thankfully, you’ve come to the right place. Here are sure-fire gym marketing ideas for new gym founders that work wonders.
1. Do everything you can to keep current gym members
Obvious, right? Well, we figured we’d start with this because of how important it is. In business, it is 10 times more expensive to acquire a new customer than it is to keep a current one.
And when you’re working in an industry as competitive as fitness, you want the most affordable and effective gym marketing campaigns.
Don’t be one of those owners who tend to focus only on incoming clients at the expense of current ones. Some of the things you can do to keep your current members happy include:
- Listen to their feedback and act. onit
- Maintain equipment frequently
- Offer fun classes that help them achieve their goals
- Give incentives like a referral program with great rewards.
- Let members pause their membership
This final point is one most gym business owners struggle with because it seems counterintuitive to profit. But you should consider implementing it because it’s ultimately in the best interest of your gym members.
Give them what they want, and they’ll stick around.]Even though it’s not strictly a gym marketing strategy, investing in the retention of gym members will have a massive payoff for your business.
2. Invest in SEO
Looking for an affordable fitness marketing strategy? It doesn’t get better than SEO, especially if you’re one of the few gyms in your area. People will go online to find gyms around them, and your establishment needs to be one. of the first things they see. Now, SEO might not lead to an immediate revenue increase for your small gym, but it’s a fantastic investment.
If there was a metaphorical toolbox containing all the tools to help you grow your business organically, a website is the most useful of the lot. Having a user-friendly gym website with a well-designed interface will make you gain you more gym membership subscriptions in the short and long run.
Besides SEO, your website can serve as a hub for information about your gym: details of the classes that you offer, your timings and gym membership rates, etc. You can also hire a freelance writer online the internet to create content for your fitness blog, or write it yourself.
Content is critical for SEO, but even more, it will give people free advice on what they can do to achieve their goals. If you can include key insights from personal trainers, even better! The goal is to draw prospective clients to your website, give them all the necessary information, and ultimately, convert them into a customer.
Here are two more points to keep in mind when building or optimizing your gym website.
- Ensure it is mobile-friendly because most of your visitors will.use mobile
- Invest in a pleasing user experience that includes pleasing aesthetics and quick load times.
If you already have a website for your gym business but don’t see it receiving steady traffic, it might be time to get an upgrade. This post by HappyShrimp.com has a handy checklist that tells you if your website needs an overhaul.
3. Use social media
If you’re including a website in your gym marketing plan, a social media presence needs to closely follow. While making an account on all the popular social media platforms doesn’t cost money, you should know that you’ll be facing stiff competition on all social media platforms.
As a result, your social media posts should not simply inform, but also connect you with your target audience and show them why your gym is worth putting money and time into.
There are a million and one resources online on what you should post to your social media channels. This post by Hootsuite contains a lot of helpful information.
Here are some highlights you can start with:
- Share client success stories
- Post workout challenges and inspiration for people chasing their body goals
- Post frequently because your target audience won’t find you unless you’re consistent
- Don’t be afraid to share other users’ posts
Ultimately, you should treat your social media pages like another part of managing your gym. That means bringing dedication and being intentional about everything. Your posts may just bring the next user to your gym.
User-generated content is another fantastic way to expand your reach. It might include feedback, reviews and social media posts by regular gym goers using the brand’s hashtag.
4. Run referral programs
A gym referral program isn’t as common as it should be, because it can be wildly successful under the right circumstances. It has the power to turn every single gym user into a billboard.
There are many ways to run a gym referral program; you could offer to extend membership, offer rewards like t-shirts and supplements, or even a combination of both. It’s one of the gym marketing ideas where you can pretty much tailor it to what works for you.
You just have to keep a few things in mind
- The higher the value of the reward, the more likely you are to acquire new customers.
- Be careful with users who want to game the system and collect ridiculous rewards
- Implement a failsafe to avoid spending too much and reaping too little
Here’s an example of how a referral program can go wrong. Imagine that you offer cash rewards for every new gym member you invite. Users could simply invite a friend, collect the user, and then cancel their credit card before you get a chance to bill them.
Or they could invite the same person over and over, and unless the same staff attends to them, they could collect the cash reward as often as they want.
These are extreme cases, but it’s important to keep in mind, especially when you’re implementing gym marketing ideas involving cash rewards.
5. Offers and discounts
This is one of the things no-one tells you as a new gym owner. You may have heard that discounting is bad for branding, but that only applies to some businesses. As a gym, it’s possible to offer a discount without watering down the perception of your establishment.
While it may seem like you’re cutting off a portion of your potential earnings, doing so generally increases the profitability of your small gym in the long run because you can attract more users. You just need to focus on having enough equipment and perks to keep them coming back.
Before formulating discounts, you need to research the market and survey the cost of operation and your profit-loss percentage. The average cost of gym memberships certainly vary by region, gym type, and other factors, so it’s important to do your own research instead of picking a random number and running with it.
You should also keep an eye on your competitor’s gym marketing campaign. If they are also offering discounts, it may be time to switch up your approach, so you don’t start competing on price.
6. Make data-driven decisions
Companies have gained more access to user data than ever before, which allows them to make calculated decisions and changes to their marketing strategies accordingly. As a gym owner, you need to focus on gathering as much data as you can and then using that to your advantage.
You may find it for free online or have to pay a few dollars. You could even ask your users to fill out a survey and get their thoughts on some of your plans.
When you make decisions using data, be sure to pay attention to key metrics like your ROI, gym subscriptions, and changes in your client base. You should also be leaning heavily on your gym marketing software to provide all of this information, otherwise, you’ll have your work cut out for you.
7. Ask friends and family for help
Hiring friends or family members to work part-time (or full-time, if their schedule permits) for your gym may sound like an insignificant step, but it really saves you a lot of trouble sometimes as a new gym owner and mitigates the risk of getting involved with subpar employees.
You’re also allowed flexibility in more ways than one, and you’re more likely to have a better work experience since family and friends tend to care more about your business than some random employee who is doing it solely for the money.
This is also a great idea if you’re trying to create a friendly atmosphere for your gym members. They can come into the gym and feel like they are a part of the family, which is always great for morale, motivation, and of course, retention.
8. Have a consistent process
It’s the sign of a mature business and professional ownership to have standard processes around how you contact leads, set appointments, and conduct sales consultations. Just have a framework that keeps staff on track and puts the customer’s mind at ease knowing they’re in a business that has its act together.
9. Increase your physical visibility
If you haven’t already, boost your offline presence by letting everyone around you know that your gym exists. This doesn’t belong among gym marketing ideas because you should already be doing it.
Some ideas to consider include:
- Hosting training in a local park or other public areas
- Launching fitness challenges that anyone can join
- Sponsoring local events
- Placing your signage in strategic places
Fitness businesses that struggle to attract members should probably start with this marketing strategy. It is cost-effective, and because your business is in the community, you have a good chance of building traction.
Consider these marketing strategies early on
If you’re reading this, then there’s a good chance that you’ve already opened your gym. But if not, consider adding them to your launch plan.
You can even incorporate some marketing strategies into your initial publicity – offer personal training session coupons for new members, conduct outdoor workouts, get support from other local business owners.
The key is to be creative when creating marketing strategies; some will work, and some won’t. You just have to keep testing.
Conclusion
It can be challenging for a new gym to stand out in today’s world of fitness influencers and home workouts. Fitness brands should assess their marketing strategies to make their gym more engaging and attract a wider pool of potential customers.
By understanding consumer needs and adapting quickly to provide the right services with a seamless user experience, you can flourish in the fitness industry with ease.
