July 4th promotion
Ready for one of the biggest holidays of the year? The 4th of July is a huge retail holiday. It is also universally liked. I mean, who does not look great in red, white and blue?
As a gym owner, take advantage of this prosperous holiday by planning your Independence Day promotions now.
Why? People love the 4th of July. The National Retail Federation reports 87% of people make a purchase for the holiday.
Planning your 4th of July promotion
Whom should you target?
Your gym demographic. If your gym attracts younger people, design a social media-infused campaign with active videos, trivia challenges, and content contests. Sit with your staff and brainstorm recent video trends.
Conversely, if your client base is more patriotic and older, consider promoting military discounts and membership giveaways.
When should you start?
Early. Like now. Maybe yesterday. It’s a big holiday – don’t miss it!
How do I make this happen?
Well, that’s why we’re writing this blog. To give you plenty of BBQ for thought.
First, what is your objective?
Promotions usually serve one of several purposes: increase sales, decrease inventory, or build brand awareness. Your promotion will differ based on your endgame. Here are four gym promotions based on different business goals.
Goal #1: Build membership during slow summer months.
The ideas are endless. Consider designing an innovative membership bundle for family and friends. Limit its availability and promote it, both in-house and across social media. Offer specialized pricing or personal training discounts for friends on the “A” list or family members with skin in the game.
To add zest, tie an accompanying promo to a giveaway, such as tickets to a local theme park or a must-have summer grill. The program can be promoted in-house, encouraging members to recommend friends for memberships in exchange for entry in the drawing.
Make it enticing to nonmembers by bringing in a local celebrity to pull the winning ticket. Or, better yet, encourage your gym’s social media influencers to talk up the campaign in exchange for a month’s membership credit.
Then put your sales people on those leads. Call the prospects, explain the limited-time offers, and watch business rise with the temperatures.
Goal 2: Empty retail shelves
If you run a retail operation inside your gym, what about running a half-yearly sale? Promote a sale on in-house clothing, supplements and gym accessories. If you’re blessed with an eye for design, create and order a shipment of hip, versatile July 4th clothing or accessories. That gym-branded 4th of July tee-shirt or water bottle becomes an attractive prop in social media posts or advertising campaigns and may boost interest in your older items, as well.
Approach your distributor about co-op advertising. This is when the manufacturer shares ad space with their reseller. Some companies have extra dollars to spend when partnering with complementary businesses. It saves you money, and solves the burden of overflowing shelves for both businesses.
Goal 3: Grow name recognition
Go big time on this one. Stand up and be heard while sponsoring a local event. Buy a banner in your town’s 4th of July parade, support a parade participant, or give the local media something to talk about – such as a significant donation to a nonprofit. Or choose to partner with a well-known 5k run and become a significant part of its story, by offering volunteers, media buzz, and discounted memberships to participants.
It’s here where creativity pays off. Consider establishing a challenge tied to an event. If your core gym community is over a certain age, host a parking lot car show and barbeque by teaming up with a local car club.
If you love the youthful energy of your members, share the buzz by bringing in gym influencers for a meet and greet. Generate extra zip through an athletic demonstration. Competitions are a great idea, too, but we encourage you to think through the liability of one, including producing an express assumption of risk document the event.
Goal 4: Want to keep July 4th promotions simple?
If all this is too much to deal with, paid advertising is still a wonderful choice for businesses. Establish a budget and design an advertising campaign that targets your desired members. Use the holiday as a promotional angle, and provide a deep enough discount or incentive to drive action immediately. Don’t offer 10 percent off. It never works.
Give prospects a good reason to call, click, or sign up with you. If you use Gym Insight, our digital keytag system allows for embedded links on social media. Prospective gym goers can literally go from your social media account to key-holding club members within a few swipes of the screen.
Here’s few advertising adages:
- Repetition works. If you’re going to pay for advertising, make sure you’re buying enough coverage to ensure repeat views.
- Consider geography. You know the three-mile rule. Try to geo-target or constrain advertising coverage to the area in and around your gym.
- Target demographically. Research your members’ favorite media and run with that. Keep it slim.
Remember to enjoy our great American holiday!
The 4th of July is uniquely American. Buffeted by Bastille Day and way cooler than Cinco de Mayo, our country’s Independence Day celebration can’t be beat for its liveliness and universality. So be creative. Have fun and find a way to show your patriotism while reaching those gym goals. Go #TeamUSA!
Gym Insight
When you’re ready for awesome gym management software that does not cost you a fortune in fees, give us a call. Our gym software suite is a designed to optimize fitness clubs’ and studio owners’ revenue streams while freeing up their time. We offer cloud software payment processing, member and health club management, tablet-based sales solutions, digital keytags, and more. Call 855-FOR-GYMS and ask for Anthony or Natalia. They will be happy to demo our software for you.
