Company Profile: Whetstone Fitness, Donnie Whetstone, owner Sometimes it takes a rainy day to see the future. The gym IFBB Pro Donnie Whetstone co-owned was closed. The keys were in his hand. And the darkened building stood alone against a gray sky, waiting for his decision. Now, he thought, I have to breathe life back into it. It’s going to be hard. Eventually, it will be worth the effort. That’s the message this 63-year-old Master Pro Body Builder wishes to impart to our readers. That no matter how hard the struggle, if you have faith in your intuition and a [...]
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The fitness industry is always in competition with itself. Although we would love to think everyone wants to join a gym, in reality, we are all fighting for the same people, many of whom already belong to another health club or fitness center. That’s why your health club needs a gym referral program. Tapping loyal members for friends and family referrals is one of the most effective methods of luring new customers. What is a gym referral program? This is a specific marketing effort created to encourage existing members to refer other people. It can be baked into your signup process, [...]
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Price Presentation In our first two blogs in the How to Sell Gym Memberships series, we discussed two critical techniques – how to establish an immediate rapport with new leads and the essential elements of a proper gym tour. In this piece, we explore presenting price. While this can feel like the scariest moment in the sale, it can actually be the simplest — if you’re prepared. Here are the three rules to remember about price presentation. 1 — Limit membership choices. By the end of the gym tour, it’s time to present the price. Start by ensuring your gym presents a streamlined, easy-to-understand [...]
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Gym Brand Products Promotions You know that you need to establish your brand name and image in the fitness industry, but how will you do that? Giving excellent customer service and providing state-of-the-art gym equipment and facilities are just some of the initial steps. You also need to create some buzz about your gym and appeal to the public at large. While we strive to get creative promotion ideas, we tend to overlook one of the simplest and most effective promotion technique – giving out promotional products. Using branded promotional products are one of the sure-fire ways to increase brand visibility and ensure member loyalty. When you have [...]
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This blog was originally created and published for and by IHRSA ; produced by Alexandra Black Larcom; May 14, 2021. Republished in full. As more Americans receive the COVID-19 vaccine, there are several matters health club operators will need to consider. We looked at insights and perspectives from legal experts to help answer your questions around vaccine policies for members and visitors. There’s no doubt about it, vaccines are good news for the fitness industry. However, until vaccinations are widespread, clubs need to consider their policies around vaccinations for both staff and members. Disclaimer: Please keep in mind new research [...]
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With all this coronavirus negativity lurking, just how likely is it an irate member will unleash online over a small incident at your club? Right. So you need to be ready for negative social media. How can you do that? First, put a good plan in place before a problem arises. Create a clear social media policy for your employees. In the simplest terms, a social media policy is a guideline for how everyone should conduct themselves online. Here’s a good template and guide. Establish a gym photography policy. Many larger national gyms have a “no photo” and “no video” policy. And while there’s no keeping phones out of [...]
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Risk Management Best Practices for Fitness Facilities Developing a risk management strategy for your fitness facility, health club, or personal training studio involves three basic steps: Proactively identifying and handling problems in your gym is an important risk mitigation tactic. Identify the potential risks;Evaluate the severity of the potential risks;Develop strategies to mitigate the potential risks. Taking a cold hard look at your facility from a risk management point of view is the first step in developing a risk management plan. Take some time to tour each area of your facility and imagine what possible hazards could possibly arise in [...]
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Contacting gym members through text messaging is a great idea. Your health club is a vital part of their lives, and by keeping in touch with them, you express interest in their fitness and health while staying mindful of communication trends. So what could go wrong? Well, let’s talk about that. Text Messaging Is Communication; Every Word Represents Your Brand Studies suggest most people open their text messages. Estimates are as high as 98 percent. We love the ease and simplicity, and, in large part, prefer texting to receiving a phone call. Yet, the act itself is infused with a [...]
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Remember when fitness was an exploding rocket, taking off like a firebrand in everyone's consciousness? The future seemed endless with new innovations blending technology and health, fun and funky athletic trends, and a swath of boutique and health club options catering to every age, income, and preference. The future will be "virtual, gamified, and totally immersive," claimed a January 2020 Fast Company article. Then came the COVID-19 shutdown and gym attendance petered out, to the point where an estimated 70% of health club members have not returned to their local gyms. Many turned to exercise at their home - a [...]
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Everyone, it seems. From teens to octogenarians, we're all pumping iron and taking classes to stay in shape. Thanks to medicine and technology, we are both living longer and more aware of how habits impact our health. And because of that, gyms are no longer the realm of young, beautiful adults. Today, your gym can attract everyone from a 16-year-old high school athlete to an 76-year-old retiree, and chances are, it will.However, just because everyone's exercising, doesn't mean we are all the same. There are many key generational differences and understanding them will help you refine services without wasting time [...]
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No two individuals want the exact same experience from joining a gym. Likewise, no two gyms offer the same atmosphere and experience to their customers. Trying to please everyone is needlessly complicated and may actually undermine your authority as a "specialist" in a certain fitness niche. For example, no one goes to a box gym chain expecting world-class martial arts training, and no one would go to an old school boxing or lifting gym wanting to join a spinningclass. Your atmosphere tells your customers what your gym is all about. The fitness niches your trainers excel in, the services yourcustomers [...]
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Your gym may be well known for coming up with creative promotion ideas, but that doesn't guarantee your members will want to stay for a long time. The key is to provide excellent service, so that they fall in love with the experience of working out at YOUR gym. You can do this by offering and focusing on three important services that will improve their first impression and leave a lasting effect. Let's find out how health assessments, orientations, and free personal training sessions can help in retaining the newest members of your gym... 1) Health Assessments Every person who [...]
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Most people have some sort of mobile device connected to an SMS text-messaging network these days. That creates an opportunity for the enterprising fitness center owner to use text messages as another medium in their marketing strategy, with which to engage with gym members. The question is how does that fit into your marketing and how do you get the most out of it? Is Texting The New Email Marketing? As I've stated before, email marketing is a really powerful tool to increase your fitness center's profitability. Health and fitness are such an important marketing demographic that, as an owner, [...]
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We can all agree that in today's world, marketing with pictures and video makes a greater statement than with words alone. However, marketing in these realms has become competitive and tricky. Graphic design work for pictures and professional videographers can also be out of the budget for the smaller independent fitness businesses that are just opening their doors. Thus, many business owners in the fitness industry have taken advantage of social media outlets to market, because they are practically free (other than "boosting" your posts on Facebook) and can reach a countless range of people. Although the amount and variety [...]
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Gym Industry Trends In 2013 The 2012-2013 Edition of Occupational Outlook Handbook published by the US Department of Labor has projected that the employment of fitness instructors and trainers will grow by 24% from 2010 to 2020.[1] The handbook further states this increased demand for professionals in fitness industry originates from the changed perception of insurance companies and businesses about fitness.[2] Today, organizations recognize the benefits of fitness and health programs for people and this has resulted in more incentives for people to join gyms and other fitness facilities. Fitness Trends of 2013 Let's take a look at the top [...]
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