Appearances Matter

Image Branding & Marketing Ideas for Your Club*
*Please note that all promotions shown in this article are the property of the respective companies and cannot be reproduced or copied without direct consent of all parties involved.

Health clubs are in a unique position when it comes to image branding and marketing efforts. As Tony Wells, the Chief Marketing Officer for 24 Hour Fitness points out, fitness clubs are one of the few businesses that get to interact with their customers every single day! Furthermore, since only 15% of the population currently belongs to a health club, there is a huge market still out there for club owners to reach. This means that a huge opportunity exists and important decisions have to be made by all club owners to make sure that their marketing and branding efforts are both effective and hitting their target market. Here, we try to take some of the guesswork out of the process to help you make the most of what you have to offer!

THE BASICS
The fundamentals of branding and marketing sound pretty simple – figure out who you are, develop it, get the message out, and deliver on it! However, as with many things in life, the execution is often more complicated than it seems. For starters, it can be difficult to figure out “who you are” as a company, and it can also be challenging to execute that vision through your club and your marketing campaigns. “There are a multitude of touch points and opportunities for interaction – from the sales team, to the front desk, to the facilities, to personal trainers,” says Wells, adding, “We need to make sure we execute at every level and make members feel valued and welcomed. Our branding should reflect this, especially at a time when members are looking for us to improve their experience and deliver greater value.”

Mark Pawson, North American Business Development Manager for Creative Fitness Marketing, also points out that every club owner has to combat the negative experiences people may have had with other health clubs, so it is more important than ever to take action to stand out from the crowd. Jim Martin, President of Powerful Promotions, agrees stating, “How customers view the health club industry plays a crucial role in its viability. One of the biggest challenges the industry faces is how the public perceives us.” So, the question becomes, how do you do it?

BRANDING 101
“Branding is key for defining who you are and what you are about. Develop a sense of ‘This is MY flag, and I stand tall next to it’ when it comes to your business,” says Eric Casaburi, Founder and CEO of Retro Fitness. Since nearly every market in the country is filled with competition, each club has to first establish its “Reason for Being” in order to attract new customers. “Branding becomes the expression of the club’s unique message,” says Steve Freedman, President of Getmembers.com. Repeated awareness-building of your brand is what will train consumers to be attracted to your facility once they decide to take action – whether it’s through joining or recommending your club to a friend. KT Remus, Senior Director of Marketing for Urban Active, says it’s important to remember that consumers make decisions based on a “need”: to lose weight, get in better shape, appease a doctor or spouse, etc. Remus says consumers choose which fitness facility to join based on location, price and the amenities and/or services that are provided. For maximum impact, include all three of these qualifiers in your branding strategy.

According to Wells, the most logical place to start a branding campaign is in your club, where your focus should be applied to everything members come in contact with. He says 24 Hour Fitness tries to make almost all decisions based on what their members want. If you are unsure what this might be, just ask! This is also a great way to figure out what aspects of your image branding and marketing plan worked on current members, and can help you move your club towards a more consumer-focused business plan. Pawson says the best way to get started is to sit down with your team and figure out exactly what you are trying to do as a club. Are you a club that is all about helping the community? Are you interested in helping members with nutrition and weight loss? Whatever you decide, it will give you a great platform to build on. Casaburi says consistency is key to developing this image, and that your message should be loud and clear to all members and potential members. Remus also agrees with gathering up your top players to build the brand message. She suggests finding answers to questions like “Who are we?” and “What do we believe as an organization?” then creating a game plan to send this message to your staff. Once your employees are on board with your company “story” it becomes easier to expand this message through your marketing efforts, because your team is speaking the same branded message.

You will also need to challenge your maketing team to build “brand concepts” for you to choose from, says Freedman. This core package of signage, logos, advertising headlines, graphics standards, staff uniforms, offers, and promotions is the very foundation of branding. Remember, however, that the best branding campaign in the world can’t succeed if you don’t deliver on the promises you’ve made when people actually come in to your club! “The inherent expectation that your marketing presents should unfold before their very eyes in your club,” says Casaburi. He also notes that, whatever a health club owner chooses to stand for, it should be something he or she is personally passionate about. Freedman agrees, stating “There was a reason for starting your business, and that is often the best inspiration for the branding effort.” Use this vision to fuel copywriters and art directors who are given the task of developing branding materials. Also, study your local competition; you will find that it is amazingly easy to spot the good versus the bad branding efforts, and you should find a unique niche to fill or a weakness in your competition that you can overtake with stronger branding and a better facility. Once you have developed branding concepts, test them out on your target audience and let them shape your final decisions. Remember, all great companies listen to their customers!

MARKETING METHODS
The real difference between branding and marketing, according to Pawson, is the difference between a dripping tap that is always running with a simple but steady stream of the same message over and over (branding) and a broken water main that immediately jumps to the top of your to-do list (marketing). While these are two separate areas, they are undeniably closely linked. Another way to think about it is to see branding as letting consumers know what you are about, while marketing is getting them to do something about it. Freedman agrees, stating that branding sets up the room and marketing closes the deal. However you want to view it, while every marketing activity should contain a call to action, they should also contain some of the same elements as your branding so consumers feel the natural consistency between the ads and what happens at the club. For example, at Retro Fitness Casaburi’s direct mail pieces, billboards and radio ads all convey the same message that consumers will notice the minute they arrive at one of his clubs. Good branding sets the tone for all marketing, and your “brand guidelines” should be like a lens you look through when deciding on the final version of every marketing activity.

It is also crucial for club owners to fully understand their target audience, and to reach them in innovative ways. Wells points out that “community” is no longer just a place where someone lives, but is rather a connection across demographic, social, economic, physical and lifestyle choices. Freedman agrees and urges club owners to focus on building awareness and getting the message out to the targeted audience. “Businesses are built by gaining credibility with repeated exposure, known as advertising awareness, to potential future customers,” he says. He also notes the importance of getting staff members, owners and current members on board with your message. To do this, Freedman suggests arming everyone with branded tools like guest passes to give the potential new customer a reason to come try your club. In addition, it is important to market yourself year-round instead of just randomly tossing out a few ads a couple of times a year and hoping for the best. “Without a steady flow of potential members coming in your cash flow could come to a halt, making further marketing efforts difficult to pay for,” says Matt York, Vice President of Marketing for Premier Fitness Marketing.

Remus warns against clouding your branding and marketing efforts with too many “salesy” offers, and points out that spending thousands of dollars to create a T.V. commercial that motivates people to get in shape, join a fitness facility and change their life for the better is still only half the battle. While the viewer may be motivated to join a club, it’s just as important that they are motivated to join your club in particular. If you don’t do a good job of differentiating yourself from the competition, you could be paying for advertising that winds up benefiting other clubs in your area! According to Marc Gonzalez, Director of Marketing for VoiceScapes, clubs can get the most out of marketing by using some of the least expensive channels to spread the message. In-club marketing, phone on-hold messages, your website and PR placements should all be tailor made to fit your message, “We’ve found that savvy club owners are instructing us to pare down portions of their on-hold messages designed to persuade prospective members, and are asking us to add information on member appreciation events, club parties, new equipment arrivals and new group exercise classes,” he says.

For most clubs, Freedman says marketing activities do the “real” work of putting the brand out to the community, stating “New customer acquisition ads of any type should include measurable marketing offers.” Everything you put out, from fliers to mailers to radio spots, should consistently convey the art and message of your brand. Remus agrees, stating “If you spend all of your time and money developing a brand identity and message, but don’t expend the effort to market it to employees, members and the public, you’ve just burned your money.” Pawson says it is also important to be willing to take calculated risks that are based on an understanding of your vision and have a common purpose. “Everyone from the cleaning staff to the head trainer should know what you stand for and work together to achieve it. Everything else will be so much easier once this seemingly simple step is taken,” he says.

Once you have a plan in place for a specific period, Casaburi recommends a minimum of 12 months to measure the results. “Decide on a message and give it time to resonate with your potential members,” he says. Avoid changing direction too often, as this will only confuse everyone from your staff to your members to the general public. Freedman agrees and suggests picking a few marketing vehicles and going as deep as you can with them. Advertise where you can prove the target audience is listening – your marketing vendors should be able to demonstrate a return on your investment and any advertising that doesn’t do this is money poorly spent. Whether it is with new, outside the box guerrilla marketing techniques, or more conventional methods, don’t settle for marketing that doesn’t deliver results.

THE CORPORATE CONNECTION
According to Martin, one of the greatest untapped resources in the fitness industry of qualified, inexpensive lead sources is local businesses and non-profit groups. They know that healthy employees have a very positive impact on a company’s bottom line, so make a point to reach out and cultivate relationships that are mutually beneficial. To start with, Martin suggests offering organizations a one-month membership for individuals, couples and families. He then recommends following up with a strong support system to ensure that these potential members get the most out of the experience and are comfortable and confident in your club.

REACHING THE 85%
Almost every club owner would love to know how to reach even a small percentage of the 85% of the population that is de-conditioned and is not (and possibly has never been) a health club member. To find answers, it is important to understand these people and the unique obstacles they must overcome in order to cross a health club’s threshold. In 2005, IHRSA and a team of researchers from George Washington University did a great study on this very topic titled Why People Don’t Join – A Look at the Behavioral Barriers that Inhibit Health Club Membership, which found that the top reasons include lack of time, cost, and intimidation. According to Martin, intimidation is exacerbated by advertising campaigns that depict hard-bodied individuals, which can cause prospective members who are not in good shape to imagine that everyone in the club looks great – which is simply not true in most clubs!

Instead, if you are hoping to appeal to the de-conditioned population, let the public know through your marketing and branding efforts that you welcome beginners and non-exercisers. Bill yourself as an expert in getting non-exercisers started and guarantee results. Send out the message loud and clear: BEGINNERS WELCOME! One way to do this is to include normal and even some overweight people in your marketing pieces. “Non-exercisers will see this and think ‘Hey, there are people just like me at that club’,” says Martin. In addition, he suggests offering potential members a two-week trial membership that includes several workout sessions with a personal trainer, which is often critical to the success of a new exerciser.

Martin says it is also important to consciously tailor your branding and marketing to non-exercisers if this is who you hope to reach. Many clubs only market to people who understand “club speak” which can seem like a foreign language to someone who has never worked out. For example, try to limit advertising that talks about getting a discount on joining. Many of these people have no idea what an initiation fee is, and it could turn them off.

In the end, it’s really up to you – the club owner – to understand branding and marketing and to effectively use these tools to grow or sustain your club. Casaburi points out that there are many excellent books out there. In fact, he suggests reading everything you can get your hands on until you locate the “golden nuggets” that work with your business format. “A few $20 books may yield you a small fortune in just one good marketing and branding strategy,” he says.

INDUSTRY RESOURCES:

Image Branding & Marketing Ideas for Your Club*
*Please note that all promotions shown in this article are the property of the respective companies and cannot be reproduced or copied without direct consent of all parties involved.

Health clubs are in a unique position when it comes to image branding and marketing efforts. As Tony Wells, the Chief Marketing Officer for 24 Hour Fitness points out, fitness clubs are one of the few businesses that get to interact with their customers every single day! Furthermore, since only 15% of the population currently belongs to a health club, there is a huge market still out there for club owners to reach. This means that a huge opportunity exists and important decisions have to be made by all club owners to make sure that their marketing and branding efforts are both effective and hitting their target market. Here, we try to take some of the guesswork out of the process to help you make the most of what you have to offer!

THE BASICS
The fundamentals of branding and marketing sound pretty simple – figure out who you are, develop it, get the message out, and deliver on it! However, as with many things in life, the execution is often more complicated than it seems. For starters, it can be difficult to figure out “who you are” as a company, and it can also be challenging to execute that vision through your club and your marketing campaigns. “There are a multitude of touch points and opportunities for interaction – from the sales team, to the front desk, to the facilities, to personal trainers,” says Wells, adding, “We need to make sure we execute at every level and make members feel valued and welcomed. Our branding should reflect this, especially at a time when members are looking for us to improve their experience and deliver greater value.”

Mark Pawson, North American Business Development Manager for Creative Fitness Marketing, also points out that every club owner has to combat the negative experiences people may have had with other health clubs, so it is more important than ever to take action to stand out from the crowd. Jim Martin, President of Powerful Promotions, agrees stating, “How customers view the health club industry plays a crucial role in its viability. One of the biggest challenges the industry faces is how the public perceives us.” So, the question becomes, how do you do it?

BRANDING 101
“Branding is key for defining who you are and what you are about. Develop a sense of ‘This is MY flag, and I stand tall next to it’ when it comes to your business,” says Eric Casaburi, Founder and CEO of Retro Fitness. Since nearly every market in the country is filled with competition, each club has to first establish its “Reason for Being” in order to attract new customers. “Branding becomes the expression of the club’s unique message,” says Steve Freedman, President of Getmembers.com. Repeated awareness-building of your brand is what will train consumers to be attracted to your facility once they decide to take action – whether it’s through joining or recommending your club to a friend. KT Remus, Senior Director of Marketing for Urban Active, says it’s important to remember that consumers make decisions based on a “need”: to lose weight, get in better shape, appease a doctor or spouse, etc. Remus says consumers choose which fitness facility to join based on location, price and the amenities and/or services that are provided. For maximum impact, include all three of these qualifiers in your branding strategy.

According to Wells, the most logical place to start a branding campaign is in your club, where your focus should be applied to everything members come in contact with. He says 24 Hour Fitness tries to make almost all decisions based on what their members want. If you are unsure what this might be, just ask! This is also a great way to figure out what aspects of your image branding and marketing plan worked on current members, and can help you move your club towards a more consumer-focused business plan. Pawson says the best way to get started is to sit down with your team and figure out exactly what you are trying to do as a club. Are you a club that is all about helping the community? Are you interested in helping members with nutrition and weight loss? Whatever you decide, it will give you a great platform to build on. Casaburi says consistency is key to developing this image, and that your message should be loud and clear to all members and potential members. Remus also agrees with gathering up your top players to build the brand message. She suggests finding answers to questions like “Who are we?” and “What do we believe as an organization?” then creating a game plan to send this message to your staff. Once your employees are on board with your company “story” it becomes easier to expand this message through your marketing efforts, because your team is speaking the same branded message.

You will also need to challenge your maketing team to build “brand concepts” for you to choose from, says Freedman. This core package of signage, logos, advertising headlines, graphics standards, staff uniforms, offers, and promotions is the very foundation of branding. Remember, however, that the best branding campaign in the world can’t succeed if you don’t deliver on the promises you’ve made when people actually come in to your club! “The inherent expectation that your marketing presents should unfold before their very eyes in your club,” says Casaburi. He also notes that, whatever a health club owner chooses to stand for, it should be something he or she is personally passionate about. Freedman agrees, stating “There was a reason for starting your business, and that is often the best inspiration for the branding effort.” Use this vision to fuel copywriters and art directors who are given the task of developing branding materials. Also, study your local competition; you will find that it is amazingly easy to spot the good versus the bad branding efforts, and you should find a unique niche to fill or a weakness in your competition that you can overtake with stronger branding and a better facility. Once you have developed branding concepts, test them out on your target audience and let them shape your final decisions. Remember, all great companies listen to their customers!

MARKETING METHODS
The real difference between branding and marketing, according to Pawson, is the difference between a dripping tap that is always running with a simple but steady stream of the same message over and over (branding) and a broken water main that immediately jumps to the top of your to-do list (marketing). While these are two separate areas, they are undeniably closely linked. Another way to think about it is to see branding as letting consumers know what you are about, while marketing is getting them to do something about it. Freedman agrees, stating that branding sets up the room and marketing closes the deal. However you want to view it, while every marketing activity should contain a call to action, they should also contain some of the same elements as your branding so consumers feel the natural consistency between the ads and what happens at the club. For example, at Retro Fitness Casaburi’s direct mail pieces, billboards and radio ads all convey the same message that consumers will notice the minute they arrive at one of his clubs. Good branding sets the tone for all marketing, and your “brand guidelines” should be like a lens you look through when deciding on the final version of every marketing activity.

It is also crucial for club owners to fully understand their target audience, and to reach them in innovative ways. Wells points out that “community” is no longer just a place where someone lives, but is rather a connection across demographic, social, economic, physical and lifestyle choices. Freedman agrees and urges club owners to focus on building awareness and getting the message out to the targeted audience. “Businesses are built by gaining credibility with repeated exposure, known as advertising awareness, to potential future customers,” he says. He also notes the importance of getting staff members, owners and current members on board with your message. To do this, Freedman suggests arming everyone with branded tools like guest passes to give the potential new customer a reason to come try your club. In addition, it is important to market yourself year-round instead of just randomly tossing out a few ads a couple of times a year and hoping for the best. “Without a steady flow of potential members coming in your cash flow could come to a halt, making further marketing efforts difficult to pay for,” says Matt York, Vice President of Marketing for Premier Fitness Marketing.

Remus warns against clouding your branding and marketing efforts with too many “salesy” offers, and points out that spending thousands of dollars to create a T.V. commercial that motivates people to get in shape, join a fitness facility and change their life for the better is still only half the battle. While the viewer may be motivated to join a club, it’s just as important that they are motivated to join your club in particular. If you don’t do a good job of differentiating yourself from the competition, you could be paying for advertising that winds up benefiting other clubs in your area! According to Marc Gonzalez, Director of Marketing for VoiceScapes, clubs can get the most out of marketing by using some of the least expensive channels to spread the message. In-club marketing, phone on-hold messages, your website and PR placements should all be tailor made to fit your message, “We’ve found that savvy club owners are instructing us to pare down portions of their on-hold messages designed to persuade prospective members, and are asking us to add information on member appreciation events, club parties, new equipment arrivals and new group exercise classes,” he says.

For most clubs, Freedman says marketing activities do the “real” work of putting the brand out to the community, stating “New customer acquisition ads of any type should include measurable marketing offers.” Everything you put out, from fliers to mailers to radio spots, should consistently convey the art and message of your brand. Remus agrees, stating “If you spend all of your time and money developing a brand identity and message, but don’t expend the effort to market it to employees, members and the public, you’ve just burned your money.” Pawson says it is also important to be willing to take calculated risks that are based on an understanding of your vision and have a common purpose. “Everyone from the cleaning staff to the head trainer should know what you stand for and work together to achieve it. Everything else will be so much easier once this seemingly simple step is taken,” he says.

Once you have a plan in place for a specific period, Casaburi recommends a minimum of 12 months to measure the results. “Decide on a message and give it time to resonate with your potential members,” he says. Avoid changing direction too often, as this will only confuse everyone from your staff to your members to the general public. Freedman agrees and suggests picking a few marketing vehicles and going as deep as you can with them. Advertise where you can prove the target audience is listening – your marketing vendors should be able to demonstrate a return on your investment and any advertising that doesn’t do this is money poorly spent. Whether it is with new, outside the box guerrilla marketing techniques, or more conventional methods, don’t settle for marketing that doesn’t deliver results.

THE CORPORATE CONNECTION
According to Martin, one of the greatest untapped resources in the fitness industry of qualified, inexpensive lead sources is local businesses and non-profit groups. They know that healthy employees have a very positive impact on a company’s bottom line, so make a point to reach out and cultivate relationships that are mutually beneficial. To start with, Martin suggests offering organizations a one-month membership for individuals, couples and families. He then recommends following up with a strong support system to ensure that these potential members get the most out of the experience and are comfortable and confident in your club.

REACHING THE 85%
Almost every club owner would love to know how to reach even a small percentage of the 85% of the population that is de-conditioned and is not (and possibly has never been) a health club member. To find answers, it is important to understand these people and the unique obstacles they must overcome in order to cross a health club’s threshold. In 2005, IHRSA and a team of researchers from George Washington University did a great study on this very topic titled Why People Don’t Join – A Look at the Behavioral Barriers that Inhibit Health Club Membership, which found that the top reasons include lack of time, cost, and intimidation. According to Martin, intimidation is exacerbated by advertising campaigns that depict hard-bodied individuals, which can cause prospective members who are not in good shape to imagine that everyone in the club looks great – which is simply not true in most clubs!

Instead, if you are hoping to appeal to the de-conditioned population, let the public know through your marketing and branding efforts that you welcome beginners and non-exercisers. Bill yourself as an expert in getting non-exercisers started and guarantee results. Send out the message loud and clear: BEGINNERS WELCOME! One way to do this is to include normal and even some overweight people in your marketing pieces. “Non-exercisers will see this and think ‘Hey, there are people just like me at that club’,” says Martin. In addition, he suggests offering potential members a two-week trial membership that includes several workout sessions with a personal trainer, which is often critical to the success of a new exerciser.

Martin says it is also important to consciously tailor your branding and marketing to non-exercisers if this is who you hope to reach. Many clubs only market to people who understand “club speak” which can seem like a foreign language to someone who has never worked out. For example, try to limit advertising that talks about getting a discount on joining. Many of these people have no idea what an initiation fee is, and it could turn them off.

In the end, it’s really up to you – the club owner – to understand branding and marketing and to effectively use these tools to grow or sustain your club. Casaburi points out that there are many excellent books out there. In fact, he suggests reading everything you can get your hands on until you locate the “golden nuggets” that work with your business format. “A few $20 books may yield you a small fortune in just one good marketing and branding strategy,” he says.

INDUSTRY RESOURCES: