Many smaller fitness centers offer specialized services that justify a higher monthly rate. Yet, selling that price requires a more refined approach to customer managment than it would at a cut-rate gym. To figure out the details, we’ve interviewed a Muay Thai studio owner on what it takes to sell and manage high-dollar gym memberships. Read on to learn his four critical steps to managing high-dollar memberships. Step 1 — Sell value, not price Tampa Muay Thai membership is $145 per month. The 17-year-old fight gym sits in the heart of a growing medium-sized city and competes with other martial art studios. To [...]
Read more...
Gym Insight's management team has always been laser-focused on the success of its gym owners. That's why we started The Gym Owner’s Podcast on YouTube five years ago. We created the original podcast to provide our customers with easy access to software training videos. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2GHsKOL5wZk&t=27s Yet, at the start of the pandemic in 2020, we decided to ramp up our content. Turns out, our amazing sales guy Anthony Pasquale enjoys chatting with customers – he loves talking shop with you guys. What can one business owner teach another? As a former gym owner himself, Anthony wondered: What’s going on in the fitness world today? [...]
Read more...
Opening a new gym can be really stressful. You’ve put a ton of money into this new business and now it’s time to switch on the lights and hope members sign up fast enough to cover mounting bills. But it does not have to be that way. Established gyms know the best way to promote a new location is Pre-sales. This simple idea takes the pressure off opening day and provides much-needed cash for final construction snafus. What are gym membership pre-sales? These are sold prior to your fitness center’s opening. Marketed through social media or an advertising campaign, this [...]
Read more...
Buying used gym equipment for your business can seem like a cop-out. Why would you invest in second-hand gear for an industry seeped in an Instagram culture? Don’t looks matter here? Uh, no, actually. What matters is keeping your health club in the black so you can stay in business. Last month, Gym Insight’s sales representative interviewed Steven Harvalias, owner of Superfitness New & Used Gym Equipment, based in Burlington, North Carolina, about starting a successful fitness business. In this podcast, Steve and Anthony Pasquale discuss how keeping start-up costs low and customer service at top-of-mind, safeguards an emerging gym’s success. Originally [...]
Read more...
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 [...]
Read more...
As a gym owner, you're constantly balancing spending money with losing money. One of the hardest decisions is always — where to invest your marketing dollars. Although that's a complex question, it might be easier to start at a very basic idea. From how far away will someone drive to exercise at your gym? Most industry experts say about four miles. Gym goers will trek twice that distance, or between six and eight miles, if they can expect a high-end, exclusive club experience. There are exceptions, of course, but we can safely assume the best way to survive – and thrive as [...]
Read more...
It takes passion to run a small gym. Not just an interest in hanging around weights, but a true desire to be in the industry, to pull it off when so many factors are pushing against you. We all want you to succeed, but what does it take to make it in today’s competitive fitness industry? Who are the ones succeeding? Most Americans are not gym members! Fewer than 40% of people in the United States currently have gym memberships, according to Policy Advice’s research. That totals about 64 million people who visit a club regularly. So although the number [...]
Read more...
Hashtags, those crazy little pound signs, are a big part of making social media work for your fitness studio. However, like every marketing tool, hashtags have their own list of do’s and don’ts. Read on to gain a better insight into the best practices of adding hashtags to your social media posts and how to make them work for your gym. What’s the purpose of hashtags? Hashtags direct your post to a community of like-minded people and magnifies your social voice. Additionally, they grow reach organically. That means individuals discover your posts without searching specifically for you or by clicking [...]
Read more...
Originally published on 4-6-21 by Cory Sterling, founder of Conscious Counsel, on the Conscious Counsel website. Republished with permission. Five minute read. Music can increase motivation and add a spark of fun to anything. The music you play in your business is the soundtrack of your customers’ experience. In this blog post we explore the legalities of using music in wellness classes: what is a copyright, do I have the right to play music on my premises, how can I legally play music in my classes and can I play music online? What is Copyright? Copyright is a collection of [...]
Read more...
Digital marketing is here to stay. Chances are you’ve already dipped into online advertising by promoting your fitness center on social media. However, when it comes to spending money on digital advertising, where should you start? To understand the fundamentals of digital marketing we turned to Get Amplified Marketing Group owner Nick Sakkis for some answers. First, what kind of budget do I need? There are two main players in the digital ad world: Facebook and Google. If your budget is $1,000 or less a month, Facebook (which also owns Instagram) is the most cost effective promotion. Facebook and Instagram attract different viewers, [...]
Read more...
Here’s a Great Checklist to you get started! We know designing a seasonal marketing plan can be daunting. It may seem easier to wait until after the holidays to encourage new sales. Don't think like that. Promoting your gym business is like exercise - consistency creates results that lead to great success. The challenge is in overcoming the negative self talk. To help you get started on this onerous task, we've prepared a simple overview of the primary ingredients you'll need to promote your health club this fall. First, what’s it going to be? Paid advertising or a referral campaign? [...]
Read more...
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, [...]
Read more...
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 [...]
Read more...
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 [...]
Read more...
Every gym owner intends to run a profitable health club, but reaching that goal can feel impossible. There are, however, small effective steps you can take today to position your studio for a stronger, healthier future. These good habits start by conducting a line-by-line review of every expense and considering new ways to run an old business. Accountants and business analysts recommend printing out a 12-month profit-and-loss statement twice a year (or even quarterly) in order to accurately appraise every company expenditure. Although such effort sounds tedious, watching every penny is the only way to ensure you’re not wasting money. As [...]
Read more...
