Every gym owner knows summertime is one of the slowest times of the year. Gyms historically see a jump in membership at New Years’ and in the spring. Unfortunately, by late May this universal urge to slim down fades as summer arrives. Sadly, many of these newcomers are ready to cancel their memberships as well. Many gym owners are tempted to just ride out the summer months As a fitness club owner, summer is a great time to refresh equipment, renovate interior or exterior gym areas or go on vaca. After all, burnout is real in this business. However, it is [...]
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Seeing your gym’s company name on a product being worn or used by a member is just a great feeling. That stamp is like a walking billboard. As well, branded gym apparel is an easy and simple marketing technique. So, what's the smartest way to take on branded products ? First, read our top tips for selling branded gym apparel: Make friends with an apparel company. Find a firm that will allow you to order on an as-needed basis. Let them hold onto stock. Keep your stock limited — often an over-abundance of shirts, joggers, hats, etc. will just sit in [...]
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What motivates us to exercise regularly? Has your gym figured out the right hook to lure new members? Well, the answer to what truly inspires us to sweat it out might surprise you. Continue reading to discover how incorporating themes of mental health and wellness into your advertising campaign may boost membership sales. Reason #1: Exercise kicks the blues to the curb. As most long-term fitness buffs know, a little exercise goes a long way to reducing feelings of sadness. But for many individuals, exercise is worse than feeling bad. It’s doing something they’re bad at, while feeling lousy. Who [...]
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So, let’s talk about January gym membership sales. Too early? No, not really. The January bump in sales is too often just a hangover remedy from a slow fall sign-up season. True, January is the month to become fit. After all, 12% of all new members join at year’s start. That’s easily 40% more than on an average month, when about 8% of your new members come on board. However, many of those new members might have said yes sooner -- if you had just asked them. November and December are traditionally tough months for the health club industry. In [...]
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Gym Management Have you considered raising your gym membership rates yet? It’s a scary thought but the truth is inflation is running hot with no signs of cooling off. As a gym owner, you get the big picture: higher fuel prices, limited labor market, and costly commodities. This all adds up to less cash in the bank. And, even though you didn’t start a gym to make a fortune, that buffer between income and expenses — aka your profit margin — is the foundation of a well-run business. Profit is where growth, reinvestment, and risk-taking occur. In order to keep [...]
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Read on for six simple and easy promos. 1. Spin & Win These table top spinners turn an everyday contest into a Wow! adventure. Pair it with video and the spinning wheel pulls in viewers on social media. In fact, the spinner can become a promotion all on its’ own. Consider inviting members to spin the wheel and win a free month, a club tee shirt, a family membership, or a gallon of gas. Then, post their happy responses with a call out for guest to come in and try their luck. With a little creativity, this promotional prop can [...]
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What could be better than exercising every day and hanging out in your own awesome health club? If owning a gym is your dream job — keep reading our blog. The truth is – opening a gym is a lot more than just buying gym equipment and unlocking doors. Succeeding at owning a gym takes planning, perseverance, moxie, and money. Today, we've spoken with experienced gym owners to learn four of the most common mistakes new gym owners make when getting started in the business. Understand your lease fully before signing on the dotted line! #1 — Signing a lease too quickly [...]
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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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Summer is the time when people start finding time to relax and have some fun. As people are becoming more and more health conscious by the day, health clubs are becoming a popular hangout for people of all age groups. Health clubs can leverage this demand to their advantage, and come up with events or promotions that people enjoy. This will also increase the popularity of the health club significantly. Here are a few simple ideas for cool summertime events and promotions in your health club. Discounts or Free Trials One of the best promotions you can offer in your [...]
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If you have opened a new gym, you must know that it is, after all, a new business. So you should be prepared to run and develop that business as a business. To do so, you must acquire knowledge about the fitness business industry, and also be aware of the pitfalls of why new gyms fail so you can be sure to avoid them. In my opinion, here are the top 10 reasons why new gyms fail... #1 - No proper business plan No business plan can be fatal to your new gym. Before starting a gym know: Successful gyms watch finances, [...]
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The Value Of Holding Events What do you do for your marketing and promotions currently? Hopefully, you are connecting with local businesses and getting creative with trial memberships. But in addition to that, have you been sponsoring or holding events that bring people into your gym space? These days, you can put any unused capacity to work better by getting involved locally. Do some networking by using a web-based or mobile application like meetup.com and Eventbrite to connect with like-minded fitness fans around you. This can extend to promotions, sponsorships and even to organizing paid events. Get Some Digital Leverage [...]
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Getting your fitness trainers and gym staff to promote products and services requires some work from you as the business owner first. This means that you're going to have to do a little selling in the form of leadership. It is up to you to motivate your team to generate sales result from the members of your gym or fitness center. Individual selling skills are very important and they will help trainers build a career in the long term. However, there needs to be a common frame of understanding within your organization. It all hinges on providing the skills and [...]
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Marketing your fitness center is always a battle to stand out from the crowd. The voice most likely to be heard is the one that makes the best use of media to consistently send the message that will appeal to the most potential members. Over time you will discover a whole host of methods to promote your gym. A press release is one of the most effective ways to get the word out to potential new members and to raise your brand awareness in the marketplace. If you haven't tried using this method to spread the word about your promotional [...]
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If you own a small gym, you probably know about taking on the heavy burden of capital investment and leasing your venue and equipment. It'll keep you awake at night when you're signing the checks, believe me! Like all small business owners, you really need to look at every possible way to bump up the value of foot traffic entering and leaving your gym. One effective way to do that is to sell retail items at the front desk or at a cash register in the foyer or lobby. What will people buy? It may take you some research and [...]
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Fitness facilities generally involve a large amount of investment in the beginning and high maintenance costs throughout. On top of this, keeping up with the competition in terms of technology and training is another expense. Returns come much after this chunk of money is being fueled into the heart and soul of the business. What this implies is that you must have a great start to break-even as soon as possible. Your facility deserves a huge opening so that people know that a lot of effort and money has been put into a project for their benefit. Here are some [...]
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