As we move into 2010, our nation’s economy is in a pickle – fortunately, we are in the health club business. I don’t think that there is a more positive industry to be involved with in good times or in bad. Marching into a new year allows us all to reflect and realize that there are new opportunities at our feet.
Step back and think about how effectively you have communicated to your core audience over the past year and what you can do better. We often look at how to market to those outside of the club, trying our best to attract new members. The new members are going to come, it is a New Year’s expectation and trend to get healthier, but what percentage of the new member influx keeps their New Year’s resolution. The good news is that this is the perfect time to ask yourself if you have all of the tools to retain your new and existing members.
The trend in the health market is shifting and members, more then ever, are looking for a total wellness package. If your club can offer a great exercise program and nutrition program, which includes continuing education, you are truly able to offer what they need and you will hold on to your members for a long time. Your target audience is already walking into your club each day. If you do not offer the most important ingredient to achieving total wellness – Nutrition and Education – your members will purchase these services elsewhere. Nutrition is 80 percent of the battle in finding health. If you can provide healthy products and educate members as to when and what they need to consume after workouts, they will start obtaining their goals and then you can market your club as a wellness center.
With that said, how do you create a nutrition and education program and then most importantly, how do you market your wellness services? If you have a Juice Bar, you are well on your way, but you should take this time to ask yourself: “do you educate your member as to when and what they should consume before and after they workout relative to their specific metabolic profiles and performance goals?” If members are going to come to your Juice Bar after their workout, we have to make it easy for them to do so and let them know why their body needs a healthy mix of carbs, proteins and fats to meet their performance goals.
Over the past 10 years, we have learned that the only way to properly market and educate to your members is through a continued stream of constantly changing marketing and educational materials to catch their attention. Marketing should be a multi-pronged approach to provoke thought and discussion. It needs to be fresh and come at you from all angles.
Everyone is aware of the typical posters, tri-folds and flyers, but how many of you change their locations or refresh the materials? In addition, there are dozens of other ways to promote a message within your club or outside your club; i.e. electronic medias like scrolling messages on your circuit TVs or in the locker rooms, to name just a couple. The key here is that the content needs to constantly be refreshed.
If you do not currently have a Juice Bar or nutritional program in your club there is only one question, what are waiting for? Wellness is the trend in 2010, and in order to offer and market your club as a wellness center, nutrition and education should become a priority. You have the perfect audience for a Juice Bar and Nutritional program walking through your health club each day. If your goal is to help your members achieve their health goals, just remember that exercise is part of the equation and nutrition is the key to success in 2010!
Kristin Ritter is the Marketing Director of Performance Food Centers. She is accomplished in Juice Bar and Health Club Marketing and Management and she is certified as a group fitness instructor. She can be contacted at 888.PFC.9151, or by email at kritter@performancefoodcenters.com, or visit them online at www.performancefoodcenters.com.
