If you're looking for an awesome health club advertising promotion for January, then look no further! The team at www.cuecd.com has put together an impressive list of sales promotions that are sure to help you succeed!
It’s a well-known fact in the fitness industry that sales in January SKYROCKET to new heights due to New Year Resolutions. This is the month where literally millions of people nationwide are committing to lose weight. These folks are looking for somewhere to spend their money, and it’s our job to keep them away from the ‘get thin quick’ gimmicks on the market and put them on the path to true life-long health: exercise!
Any and all business promotion begins with YOU, the gym owner. If you don't dig into this project, then nobody else will. So take some time right now to carefully and thoroughly read this www.cuecd.com article! We've done the homework, and proudly offer you gym marketing promotions that are sure to help you learn how to sell gym memberships in January!
You've of course heard about the Twelve Days of Christmas. Since Christmas just ended, and the new year is upon us, we thought we'd bring to you the Twelve Gym Advertising Promotions of January. So, without further ado, here are a dozen of the best January fitness center marketing promotions you'll ever find.
New Year Resolutions:
A solid health promotion can easily be based on the New Year Resolution phenomenon. More than 80% of Americans typically make New Year Resolutions, and the vast majority of those resolutions (26%) are for better health and fitness (source: mygoals.com). "10 million-plus Americans will pledge to get fit….." said Katie Rollauer of the International Health, Racquet & Sportsclub Association.
The easiest way to take advantage of New Year Resolutions is to simply offer to help people with their resolutions. For example, you could put up a sign outside your gym that says something like this:
"New Year Resolution? We Can Help!"
"Our New Year Resolution Is To Help You Achieve Yours."
"Happy New Rear! Join Now For Only $_____!"
You should also consider sending out a promotion letter to everybody on your lead list announcing that you're ready, willing and able to help them achieve their New Year Resolutions. Not only will you capture those who have already made such a decision, but you'll also subtly prompt everyone else to think about getting into shape this year.
The bottom line is that, as the owner of a fitness center, you need to remind people of their New Years Resolution and then offer to help them achieve their goals.
Open House:
Regular readers of the www.cuecd.com newsletter know that we're big believers in a form of event promotion known as the Open House. After all, this is one promotion idea that is inexpensive, easy to administer, and almost always generates results!
Probably the easiest thing to do is set signs up outside the gym announcing “Open House Today”. Here you can copy the realtors, who are experts in the open house business! They typically place signs at all intersections around the home, as well as in front of the home. Flags and balloons on each sign are a nice touch, and help to draw attention to the message. Many realtors also offer light snacks during the open house. All of these are good ideas that you can use at your health club.
An open house is particularly effective because there are members of the public that think they cannot visit a gym. Perhaps they’ve never been a gym member before, or used to be a member of a gym with strict visitation guidelines. For whatever reason, some folks think that gyms do not allow visitors. An open house sign (event) tells these people that it’s okay to visit!
To super-charge your own Open House, consider buying some small promotion gifts to distribute throughout the day. That way you can advertise that you're offering FREE GIVEAWAYS. The gifts don't have to be expensive, either. Water bottles or t-shirts with your logo would work just fine, as would scented candles or even protein bars.
Be sure to let the locals know about your Open House by:
Inviting members
Asking members to invite their friends
Both outdoor and indoor signs
Press release to local media (newspapers, radio and television)
Web site promotion
Send email invitations to everybody on your lead list
Send promotion letters (or at least postcard invitations) to everybody on your lead list
Gym voicemail
Doorhangers or other neighborhood posters
The bottom line is that an Open House can be extremely effective IF you put in the effort. How big and expensive you make it is entirely up to you. For example, you could go all out with radio promotion and have a remote from your fitness center on the day of the Open House. We know health clubs that have been remarkably successful with that strategy. On the other hand, we are also aware of gyms that have spent less than $100 on an Open House and have pulled in over $1,000 in new sales!
Referral Contests:
Perhaps the best source of new leads will be from your existing members. When you can get a member to refer their gym to their friend, then all of a sudden it’s not YOU selling a gym membership…..now it’s the friend that is doing the selling, and that’s powerful!
Member referrals are so incredibly effective, a national franchise chain actually brags on their website that 80% of their new members come from existing member referrals! Whether that data is accurate or not, it cannot be denied that member referrals are a force you must harness for your own gym.
Some ways to capture sales from your existing member base are:
Sponsorship Program – when the member first joins.
Free Month Contest – different from the Sponsorship Program!
Prize Time! – prize for each referral.
Drawing – everyone who makes a referral is entered in the drawing.
Mother/Daughter/Grandmother – Mother’s Day promotion.
A Sponsorship Program is offered only when a member first joins the gym. After the new member signs the membership agreement and provides their first payment, then you will ask them for ten names of friends or family members that might be interested in joining as well. Depending on how many of these initial referrals join, the member may gain anywhere from one to twelve months free! This is the only time you will offer them up to twelve free months. The reason for this excellent offer is to draw out their best leads (referrals) as soon as possible. As the gym owner, your job is to then call all ten names and set up appointments.
A Free Month Contest is distinct and different from the Sponsorship Program in that you are not offering multiple levels of awards. In other words, for each new member that is referred the prize will be one free month. Unlike the Sponsorship Program, this is a one-to-one ratio of referrals to free months. There is no limit to the number of free months a member can earn.
It's a fact that incentive promotion items are fun and exciting, and you’ll find that some people will respond to an offer of a small prize better than they did to a free month offer. On a ‘dollar basis’ it simply doesn’t make sense, but you will indeed find that some members will try harder to refer people and win a movie ticket than they would for a free month membership. This type of referral contest involves you giving out a small promotion product for each referral received. Good examples of prizes include: two movie tickets, scented candle(s), a $50 EE Savings Bond, a health club T-shirt, free month of unlimited tanning, etc. Try to keep the value between $10 and $25 per prize. By giving away clothing items with your logo, you'll also be picking up some free promotion when members wear their prize around town.
While some members will get very excited about a small prize, others will respond better to the Drawing program. There are two ways to hold a referral drawing: 1) four smaller prizes will be awarded, one each week or 2) one grand prize will be awarded at the end of the month. Each time a member refers a new person, their name is ‘put in the hat’ for the drawing. If you opt for the weekly drawings, keep the value at $10 to $25. If the drawing is going to be at the end of the month, make it a nice prize in the $100 range. Either way, the key to this method is to purchase the prizes ahead of time and have them on display in the gym all month! People are often motivated by a physical prize, something they can see and touch. Besides, the display will be a constant reminder of the contest.
Finally, the success of the Mother/Daughter/Grandmother advertisement cannot be forgotten. Although this promotion is typically reserved for Mother’s Day or Grandparent’s Day, you may certainly use it any time during the year. There are many variations on this type of referral contest, but the most successful seems to be that if an existing member refers their mother/daughter/grandmother, then they both receive one free month.
Whichever methods you choose to employ, remember that the goal of any referral contest is to generate sales. By making the contests fun and appealing, you will essentially turn your existing members into ‘walking, talking billboards’ for you!
National Activity Professionals Week (4th work week begin Sunday): http://www.thenaap.com/
January is host to National Activity Professionals Week, an event that you can use to create more sales for your gym.
NAAP is the only national group that represents activity professionals in geriatric settings exclusively. NAAP serves as a catalyst for both professional and personal growth and has come to be recognized by government officials as the voice of the activity profession on national issues concerning long-term care facilities, retirement living, assisted living, adult day services, and senior citizen centers. NAAP is nationwide in scope with a growing membership in Canada and Bermuda.
Here at www.cuecd.com, our favorite tactic is to tie some serious brand promotion into this event. Here's how you do it. Take a case of branded water bottles (they have your logo, name, and phone number printed on the side) and to each water bottle attach a nicely printed note that says "In honor of National Activity Professionals Week, please accept this small gift as our way of saying THANKS for all you do." Of course, the note should also have a 2-week FREE PASS printed near the bottom, or alternatively a coupon for a discounted membership.
Take these water bottles, with attached notes/coupons, to every area long-term care facility, retirement center, assisted living center, adult day service and senior citizen center. At the front desk ask how many employees they have, and then leave that many bottles in their breakroom. They'll appreciate the fact that somebody is recognizing them, and you'll pick up some new members!
National Blood Donor Month: http://www.aabb.org/
AABB (the American Association of Blood Banks) is an international association comprised of individual members and institutions, including hospital and community blood centers, transfusion and transplantation services, cord blood banks and individuals involved in activities related to transfusion and cellular therapies including transplantation medicine.
You should volunteer to host a blood drive in your fitness center, and maybe even give away a small promotion item to everyone who donates. Hosting a blood drive isn't just good for the community, it's also good for business. It gives you an awesome excuse to issue a press release and get some free publicity, while at the same time bringing in new people who may not have ever seen the inside of your health club. In other words, this is truly a positive promotion in that it helps you generate more sales and also provides much-needed blood for area hospitals.
The AABB will help you organize a blood drive in your town. Click here for details: http://www.aabb.org/Content/Donate_Blood/Organize_a_Blood_Drive/orgbd.htm
It should go without saying that everybody who participates in the blood drive should receive either a free tan (if they're a member) or a free 2-week pass (if they're not a member).
Birth Defects Prevention Month: http://www.marchofdimes.com/
January is Birth Defects Prevention Month, which is an excellent health promotion any gym can use to increase sales. The best way to do this is to support the March of Dimes by signing up for Mothers March, WalkAmerica, and other upcoming events. Get a team together and attend the event as a group. Make sure everyone is wearing t-shirts with your fitness center logo so you'll get the brand promotion you're seeking.
Another marketing promotion to run in conjunction with Birth Defects Prevention Month is to approach the local hospitals and provide free 1-month gift certificates to pregnant mothers. After all, preventing birth defects fits under the 'healthy pregnancy' umbrella, and as a health club owner you can certainly help expecting moms achieve that goal!
Cervical Cancer Screening Month: http://www.cervicalcancercampaign.org/
Cervical Cancer Screening Month offers you the opportunity to partner with local physicians to educate your members about this deadly disease. This is another truly positive promotion where you will increase gym sales while at the same time (possibly) saving a life!
Invite a local doctor to come into your fitness center and teach a class on cervical cancer. What causes it? Are there any known treatments? What can I do to prevent cervical cancer? Promote this as an honest question-and-answer session with an expert, and your members will not only attend…..they'll bring their friends too!
Why would a doctor agree to teach a free class in your fitness center? Perhaps they need more patients. Perhaps they just want to help people. Perhaps they see it as an opportunity to 'give back' to the community. Whatever their reason, be sure to place a follow-up phone call to thank them for their time. You may even want to give them a small thank-you gift. In other words, you'll want to do whatever you can to leave them with a positive impression of your health club because physicians are a vital source of new member referrals!
As always, don't forget to issue a press release and advertise this free class like crazy! A health promotion like this one can be highly effective at bringing non-members into the gym, but only if you let the public know about it!
National Folic Acid Awareness Week (2nd work week?): http://www.folicacidinfo.org/
Folic acid is a B-vitamin that is necessary for proper cell growth. If taken before and during early pregnancy from a multi-vitamin or fortified foods, folic acid can prevent from 50% up to 70% of some forms of birth defects called neural tube defects.
So what in the heck does National Folic Acid Awareness Week have to do with health club sales?
Simple. Think about the GOAL of National Folic Acid Awareness Week: to help women have a healthier pregnancy. Now think about your goal (or one of your goals) has a gym owner: to help women have a healthier pregnancy. Regular exercise has been proven again and again to improve overall health during pregnancy.
So, think of National Folic Acid Awareness Week as just another way to get your message into the local hospitals. Consider putting together some materials about pregnancy and folic acid, combined with information on how exercise also helps with overall health during pregnancy. Include a discreet coupon for your fitness center, and ask the hospital to deliver these informational packets to their expecting mothers.
National Glaucoma Awareness Month: http://www.preventblindness.org/
Since 1908, Prevent Blindness America has been the nation's leading volunteer eye health and safety organization with the sole mission of preventing blindness and preserving sight. National Glaucoma Awareness Month is a huge educational effort set forth by Prevent Blindness America.
This is another exceptional opportunity for you to partner with local medical experts, to your mutual benefit. For example, you could contact a local optometrist and allow them to distribute coupons in your health club. In return, you would be allowed to place brochures in their eye care facility.
Another, even better idea, is to partner with a local eye care professional and put together a joint poster or brochure. It could say something like "ABC Eye Care and XYZ Health Club Care About Your Health!" This promotion item should include coupons from each of you, one for glaucoma testing and another for a free fitness assessment (body fat analysis, etc.). Print up several thousands of these combo-advertisements, and then mutually agree to distribute them all during the month of January. Printing costs are cut in half because you're sharing the ad, and distribution is doubled! It's a win-win!
Healthy Weight Week (3rd full week)
Women's Healthy Weight Day (Thursday of 3rd full week)
http://www.healthyweightnetwork.com/
Both of these events are sponsored and promoted by the Healthy Weight Network, a relatively unknown organization to most gym owners.
Healthy Weight Network provides a critical link between research and practical application in weight and eating issues. Recognizing that weight is a complex condition of increasing concern throughout the world, we are committed to bringing together scientific information from many sources, reporting controversial issues in a clear, objective manner, and the ongoing search for truth and understanding.
A smart fitness center marketing promotion for January would be to capitalize on these two events and bring in new members. You can use either Healthy Weight Week or Women's Healthy Weight Day as an 'excuse' to offer one-time-only pricing, for example.
Another approach would be to give away free promotion gifts like tanning gift certificates to everybody who joins during Healthy Weight Week.
Why not plan your Open House to coincide with Women's Healthy Weight Day? Yet another option would be to plan events for your existing members during Healthy Weight Week. For example, you have members bring in healthy recipes and cook one up each day throughout the week. At the end of the week, the best recipe wins a prize!
Use your imagination and create your own advertising promotion based upon Healthy Weight Week! The possibilities are endless!
National Medical Group Management Week (4th work week): http://www.medicalgrouppracticeweek.com/
Celebrated annually during the fourth week of January, National Medical Group Practice Week promotes awareness and understanding of medical group practice as the premier form of health care delivery.
Every marketing promotion idea that we covered for National Activity Professionals Week may also be applied here for National Medical Group Management Week.
This is an absolutely stellar opportunity for you to partner with local physicians like never before! Help the medical group doctors get more patients, and they will help you get more members. It really is that simple!
The www.cuecd.com team advises that you create the water bottle/coupon combo (see National Activity Professionals Week information above) and deliver these same promotion gifts to all the local medical offices. While you're there, be sure to speak with somebody about advertising partnerships. These partnerships can be powerful, even if it's just something as simple as setting brochures on each other's check-in counters.
The beauty of National Medical Group Management Week is that all medical offices are encouraged to form partnerships with other local businesses like yours! Click here for more information: http://www.medicalgrouppracticeweek.com/publicity.cfm
Thyroid Awareness Month: http://www.aace.com/
The American Association Of Clinical Endocrinologists (AACE) sponsor this annual event. The exciting part for you as a health club owner is that the AACE's first physical activity manual is here! The Power of Prevention (POP) initiative has developed the POP Guide to Physical Activity, which provides members, patients, and the general public with exercises and instruction on how to develop a healthy lifestyle no matter their circumstance.
This provides yet another opportunity for you to partner with physicians (specifically, with endocrinologists) to bring lifelong health and fitness to the public.
Local AACE members should be particularly interested in forming a partnership with neighborhood gyms this month, and you should take this opportunity to create a health promotion that will generate sales!
How about creating a coupon or offer specifically for patients of a local endocrinologist? Make it look like a gift certificate, like something that the doctor went out and purchased for his/her patients. If you create a coupon or offer, and make it look like it's actually from the physician, then that physician is much more likely to distribute it to their clients.
There are many, many other ways to partner with local physicians. The bottom line is that you need to help the doctor either give something valuable to their patients or gain new patients. Once you've done that, you can expect to receive referrals from that physician. You help them. They'll help you. It's that simple.
Conclusion:
So here's the deal. January can be, and should be, a tremendous month for every single health club owner. That's a fact. You don't need to hire a promotion company to be successful, either. Just follow the simple self promotion ideas you learn from www.cuecd.com, and soon you'll know how to sell fitness like a pro!
If you appreciate the information you're receiving for FREE from www.cuecd.com, then wouldn't this be a great time to refer us to other gym owners?
Be sure to visit http://cuecd.blogspot.com/ where you’ll find a business link for all circuit training gyms and health clubs. Get the latest fitness center business news and trade secrets with other gym owners.
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