January is over, and with it also ends the big marketing and advertising push by health club owners. Gym marketing typically explodes in January, and for good reason: the customers are buying!
How big is the January fitness pie? As reported by mygoals.com, 80 percent of Americans made a New Year’s resolution in 2005. A whopping 26 percent of those resolutions were to improve overall health and fitness, making this the top category for self-improvement. This year was no anomaly, either, according to Amy O'Connor, deputy editor of Prevention magazine: "Fifty-nine million people every year resolve to lose weight".
Health Club Promotional Marketing Plummets In February:
But health club owners cannot allow their business marketing to end on February 1st. Most gyms have more competition than they did a year ago, due primarily to the rapid growth of circuit training health club franchise operators like Curves and Cuts for Women. Efforts towards network marketing and direct marketing must continue all year if a gym is to be successful in today’s business environment.
Most fitness centers, unable to afford an advertising agency to handle their marketing and advertising strategy, instead plan and purchase their own advertising promotions with varying degrees of success. Unfortunately, far too many health club owners spend all their marketing plan money in January, leaving little for the remainder of the 1st quarter.
You Don’t Need To Hire A Marketing Firm For Your Gym:
In early February, savvy gym owners and managers are actively seeking out a free advertising and marketing strategy that they can use to boost membership beyond January results. Shrewd fitness center owners know that selling health club memberships in February is just as important as it was in January.
Fortunately, the www.cuecd.com newsletter and website are packed with FREE marketing tips for gym managers and owners! You don’t have to spend $300 an hour to retain someone with an advertising specialty (or so they claim). You don’t have to pay anyone $149 per month for marketing consulting advice that turns out to be nothing original….just repackaged ideas from other sites like www.cuecd.com. Finally, you don’t even need to pay big bucks for a small business marketing program only to find out that it’s not tailored to the health and fitness industry.
The information you’ll find in the www.cuecd.com newsletter, and on the www.cuecd.com website, is chock-full of marketing tools and promotional advertising ideas – and it’s all FREE to you! The marketing consultant team at www.cuecd.com is here to teach you how to sell gym memberships all year long!
A Marketing Idea You Need To Implement RIGHT NOW:
So what can you do right now to get more members? In February it’s important to capitalize on the new members you gained in January and hit them up for referrals. These new members love your gym, they exercise eagerly every day, the novelty hasn’t yet worn off and they’re absolutely ready to help you sell memberships! All you have to do is ask.
One of the best low-cost strategies to pick up referrals from these new members is to mail them a love letter and some referral cards. No, we’re not jumping the gun on Valentine’s Day here – a ‘love letter’ just means that they love your health club, so why wouldn’t they refer you to their friends?
Make your letter brief, to the point, and don’t be afraid to ask for the referral! If your fitness center isn’t getting referrals, it’s probably because you’re not asking for referrals. Some folks in the fitness industry consider asking for referrals to be as tacky as calling your best friend to push your latest multilevel marketing scheme, but those folks typically don’t have many members. If you want to enroll more members, then you simply must include referrals in your marketing promotion this month.
Here's an example of how this direct mail advertising letter should look:
Dear _____,
We are excited that you’ve chosen ABC Gym to help you achieve your health and fitness goals. Please let us know if there is anything that we can do to help you succeed.
Enclosed you will find some discount passes to give to your friends and family. These valuable cards are good for a free workout and 50% off the enrollment fee. But the best part about these cards is that when one of your friends joins ABC Gym using this card, we will give you TEN dollars cash! Be sure to write your name on each card before giving them out – that way we can make sure you get credit for the referral.
It’s just our way of saying “thank you” for referring us to your friends.
Thanks again for choosing ABC Gym. We look forward to helping you achieve your health and fitness goals!
Yours In Good Health,
Gym Owner and/or Manager
You may have noticed that we recommend paying $10 for each referral generated. The reason for this that, with a cash incentive, your response rates will be much higher than normal. As for the $10 referral fee, it will take care of itself because remember that each new member will be paying you a registration fee + first month dues. In most circuit-training gyms, this initial payment works out to be in the $80 range. Paying $10 out of approximately $80 is not a bad deal, and you still get the monthly draft with no exceptions. Also, it’s important to note that you only pay this $10 referral fee to the member if their referral produces a new member for you! No new member = no referral fee.
This letter, when sent to your newest members, has selling power that will amaze you! But in order for this selling strategy to be effective, you must include a discount card for the members to give to their friends and family. Of course, it must include the basics: your logo, name, address and telephone number. A good selling technique is to also include a photo of yourself or your gym. This advertising idea works best when you also include a freebie of another service you offer, such as tanning or massage therapy.
Start This Advertising Campaign TODAY:
Here we’ve given you a fantastic selling idea that is guaranteed to bring in quite a few referrals, but only if you act quickly! The new members that you worked so hard to enroll in January are still excited about exercise. They’re seeing results now, and it’s important to hit them up for referrals while they’re in this state of mind. The time to act is NOW. Try this same advertising technique next summer, for example, and the results will be lackluster at best.
This is one advertising opportunity that is best implemented in early February, so get out that list of new members are start writing referral letters TODAY!
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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