Someone recently made a very excellent comment on the Gym Insight Blog. The commenter posted that, while walk-ins are great, they don't just materialize out of thin air, clubs have to work for them. Yes, that is absolutely true, you are going to have to invest some time and effort to generate walk-in inquiries. The result you want is a new face loitering by the front desk asking questions and taking the tour. Advertise and Brand Building The old school concept of marketing is as valid as it ever was, you need AIDA: attention, interest, desire, and action, to cultivate [...]
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The Digital Natives Expect You To Bring Your A-Game There is a simple logic that justifies marketing to Millennials; it is the fact that, being young people, they will be around for years and years to come. So if you can capture the mood and attitude that appeals to them, you have a shot at building relationships with a valuable demographic. Millennials are the offspring of past generations that were subject to sophisticated marketing, even if the media was less advanced. This recent generation has grown up within that context, and they are the first generation that is truly native [...]
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Big Fitness is doing well these days, and that can have an impact on small gym businesses. However, the market looks set to continue growing over the next few years, which means there's enough business to go around. The shape of the fitness industry is changing, and it may be unrecognizable by the mid-2020s. Success at the top is a good thing; it represents expanding opportunities for small gym business owners, here's why. The Shape Of Big Fitness Companies I was reading a report about the Top 100 Health Clubs of 2016 that Club Industry posted last August, and as [...]
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If you're one of the many Insight Gym Management Software users, you have used our cloud-based services. So what is this cloud and why does it help small business owners and fitness clubs run businesses? Talk about the Cloud seems to be everywhere these days. Any time you use applications like Facebook, Slack, MS Office 365, or one of the many others, that's the cloud. Apps that appear in your web browser or your mobile device put all of the work on the far side of the connection to deliver better service and to do it efficiently. The cloud is [...]
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Here's some more economics stuff, but it's golden, so if you're an aspiring fitness entrepreneur, stick with me here. If there were perfect competition, no one would make a profit. The fact is there are hidden opportunities that arise because the gym industry has quirks that make it possible for an enterprising gym enthusiast-slash-professional to make a splash. Getting In The Mix While Standing Apart Even if the biggest McBigBox franchise were to open right across from your studio or club, the fact that it's there might be a sign that you are in the right place and you can [...]
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This One Hack Will Generate Early Feedback Here's a tech term that you can use as a principle to drive your small gym business empire ahead: In tech jargon, they call it Dogfooding. The expression, to "eat your dog food" is not a literal thing, obviously. I don't think that trend has gotten off the ground yet thank goodness. However, if you don't take heed and begin to practice this brand-building principle, you might literally end up sleeping in your back office. Dogfooding applies most intensely when you're attempting to make significant changes. For example, when you roll out changes [...]
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It's Not What You Think So, what does a small fitness business or startup look like? From the outside, it might resemble any one of a variety of business models that have nothing in common. Inside it's likely to be a different story. Your business probably has an architecture that fits into a format that any gym manager will recognize, a club with a subscription membership. It's a service business that has consumers for members. You have to deal with a competitive market, fight against lots of similar companies, and also contend with the giants that have unlimited resources. These [...]
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Insights That Nudge Your Membership If you are an independent fitness business owner, it always helps to find the simple hacks that get exceptional results. Let's look at some awesome hacks to analyze your operational data in search of small changes that give you big rewards. There is even a new scientific way of thinking about customer behavior that might help find the points where a nudge will get your members to get the fitness results they signed up for in the first place. Hacking Members With Nudges The latest thinking in economics (bear with me) is about applying common [...]
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Fitness In The Healthcare Business Prescription Healthcare and fitness are closely related, as you already know, no doubt. There is also a consensus among organizations like the ACSM and the medical profession that exercise is essential to human health, also that technology changes the way we deliver care. As fitness becomes part of medical prescriptions more frequently, it sounds like good news for fitness professionals who have the knowledge and certifications to capitalize on the trend. Before you rush into any healthcare related business commitments, though, make sure you understand the burden of responsibility you'll take on for data protection. [...]
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When you have the highest possible rate of employee retention it keeps the work and the cost down; it will also reflect in your levels of membership retention too. Unfortunately, hiring staff can be like jumping on a treadmill that's cranked up to eleven; it's hard work that takes all your time and another expense to eat into your bottom line if you have to keep doing it. The point of having employees is to have reliable and competent agents, so you can go home, relax, and sleep soundly at night, leaving them in charge. It is enough hard work [...]
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I recently wrote a post about virtual reality and mentioned Augmented Reality, which extends VR into the real world. When you superimpose digital images onto the real world with AR software that makes them interact with your physical space. So, all of this talk about things likes VR and AR in the gym sound like science fiction, but they are coming at us fast. We still don't know how things will play out, but the technology is largely in place it just remains for entrepreneurs and consumers to figure out what works and what they want. VR Enters Your Reality [...]
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The Armchair Stage Of Starting A Gym Business Do you dream of starting a gym or fitness studio? If so you may have made serious inquiries into what it takes. Like starting a restaurant, founding a gym captures the imagination of people at all levels of experience and qualifications. The fitness industry seems like an easy entry; passion is a great starting point. Running a gym is a consumer service business, and there are many resources available, including software like Insight for Gym Owners. Visit the Small Business Administration website, determine your strengths and weaknesses, set your goals and outline [...]
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Retention, Retention, Retention! The subject of retention keeps coming up on the Gym Insight Blog because it keeps gym owners in the business. In fact, any business that depends on periodic payments and satisfied customers must make retention a priority. As long as you maximize the length of time that you retain your members, you'll minimize the cost of replacing them. Retention touches on issues such as membership turnover and the lifetime value of a customer. So let's review some of the things that you can do to hang on to your clients for the long haul. Build Trust In [...]
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The new technologies of Virtual Reality and Augmented Reality are set to change the fitness industry if the current trend continues. Both VR and AR have threatened to do something interesting for years now. But this time the promise might turn into VR products that consumers can use. Your gym members may soon demand fitness equipment that allows them to connect to digitally rendered worlds and games while they work out. Digital devices and smartphones have changed the way consumers use technology; they don't think twice about exploring and testing new apps. Keeping up with your neighbor means having the [...]
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The Great Marketing Concepts Are Eternal Channels are big in marketing these days. Not that the concept is particularly new or changed recently, but there are more ways to connect to your customers than ever before. I have already written about strategy and marketing, but I want to discuss marketing channels here. Your communication channels for marketing can be digital such as email, social media such as Facebook and Twitter, text messaging and IM platforms, Slack, et cetera. They are also your telephone lines, your front desk, and the script that you have your staff use to close sales. The [...]
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