Fully-fledged Gyms and boutique fitness studios are on the rise, across the country. In fact, even during times of economic free fall, health-, wellnesses-, and beauty-minded businesses — which, obviously, includes gyms — rarely suffer from catastrophic profit losses. Even when times are tough, people want to both feel and look their best.
But this brings up a problem: competition and congestion. As more studios and gyms come onto the scene, it’s harder to make your’s stick-out above the fray. Thankful, though, there are more than a few ways to make your gym or studio shine.
Here are eleven ways to make sure your fitness business really stands out above the competition.
1. Create a One-of-a-kind Space
People do, in fact, judge a book by its cover. And the same philosophy stays relevant when we’re perusing shops to visit.
Creating a unique space — especially inside the workout spaces and locker rooms — is crucial to attracting new, loyal customers.
Think about incorporating interesting bits of architectures in the locker rooms that can be appreciated after working out. Also, scientifically speaking, more captivated by warm, bright colors than they are lackluster hues. Power colors like bright reds and deep oranges are proven to boost performance; consider painting workout rooms with those colors.
2. Encourage Online Reviews
The vast majority of consumers these days will hawk online reviews before checking out a restaurant, gym, you name it; they’re that important. And, if your gym is lacking online reviews, that raises a red flag to curious minds looking for a new gym to check out. To encourage online reviews, offer your clients certain incentives when they leave online reviews or use one of our other 10 tips to encourage customers to leave reviews for your gym online.
3. …And Deal With the Bad Ones Properly and Promptly
Conversely, if you receive a bad review, make it a priority to not only respond to it but see how you can rectify the situation. A negative online review, even if it’s just one, can affect your revenue — but fixing it can reverse that from happening.
4. Appeal to Millennials
Millennials are quickly becoming the largest consumer base in the entire country. They, too, are the ones most likely to splurge on health and wellness products and services, including gym memberships. Consider doing the below to help bring droves of them through your gym’s doors:
- Build certain deals and saving into your services that can attract these cash-strapped consumers
- Use online and “mobile only” deals to entice them
- Embrace eco-conscious practices; millennials are more likely to do business with companies that are environmentally responsible
5. Offer Various Classes at Different Skill Levels
One of the biggest reasons people won’t’ join any one particular gym is because they feel overwhelmed. However, offering a slew of classes that range in intensity can subdue those worries — and make people more keen on signing up for a gym.
6. Include Amenities
There’s nothing more maddening than getting to the gym, only to realize you’ve left x-y-and-z at home. Try to make sure you have things like towel, mats, gloves, even headphones at the ready to be either sold or given out to paying members.
7. Have Late Hours
People are working out later in the day than ever before, which is exactly why 24-hour fitness studios and gyms are on the rise. While you by no means need to be open at 3 am, consider stretching your hours to, say, 10 pm or 11 pm to appeal to the athletic night owls.
8. Embrace Social Media
Make sure you’re savvy on social media and stay active (and engaged) on platforms like Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter. These days, virtually everyone is on social media. So, if your gym isn’t on it, you’re not marketing nor appealing to a huge demographic.
9. Make Sure Your Website is Mobile Friendly
Make sure your website is mobile-friendly. A growing number of consumers of all ages, including millennials, are using their mobile devices more to research and find businesses.
10. Become a WiFi Hub
Everyone’s on their phones, nowadays. So, it’s little wonder why having your gym connected to the world-wide-web at high-speeds is a good idea. To make sure only paying patrons can tap into your WiFi network, password protect your network.
11. Create a Digital Loyalty Program
Last but not least, choosing to create a digital loyalty program is a phenomenal way to help attract new customers to your gym, enticing both soon-to-be and current members with deals on classes, renewal memberships, etc.. And, by opting to create a completely digital one with Loopy Loyalty you’re foregoing physical production costs and reduce waste, which is a saving that goes right into your gym’s revenue. So, not only are your loyal customers coming back for continued business, but they’re boasting slightly smaller carbon footprints, too boot. (See what we did there?)
Feeling inspired to create digital loyalty cards for your business to really make it stand out above the rest? Check out Loopy Loyalty, the world’s first digital stamp card solution for Apple Wallet & Google Pay and schedule a demo today.
