What do your members really want to know about nutrition? Do they really want to know how to eat healthy? Or, do they seem more interested in the cooking tips or the food samples?
I have to admit that members in a gym have come for the exercise. That is usually their primary reason for joining and for some; it may even be stretching their budget to do any more than that. Now that doesn’t mean they aren’t interested in learning something about nutrition.
It is easy to provide nutrition information and services to members who express an interest. It is not so easy to create interest for those who don’t want or expect such information from a health club. But there is one thing that most everyone at a health club or gym does want to know — how do I lose weight?
And like the thousands of books, magazines and videos in the stores prove, everyone wants a quick fix. Don’t tell them what they have to give up. They know that. Don’t tell them it’s going to take a while. They know that too. They want you to tell them it will be easy and fast, like all the infomercials tell them.
Well, we know that’s unrealistic, but we have to compete with all that media shouting out how to take pounds off and keep them off forever! And we do have the advantage of the fact that they actually joined our club and came to us, right? So what is the answer?
My answer is to give them what they want in a way that works as well as an infomercial product. I’m not trying to be tricky. I just think we can do it better and smarter and still present sound nutrition information in a weight loss package that is better than anything else on the open market.
I think that we need to use a few of the same marketing techniques to sell what we have to offer. And we need to offer a weight loss program that meets the expectations of our members. It must produce results and most of all, in my opinion, it needs to educate. That is where we can excel because we can combine outstanding nutrition information along with the lifestyle and fitness components that will ensure long-term success.
If you don’t have the staff or the resources of a nutritionist on hand, there are licensed programs available specifically tailored to health clubs. You do want to be careful when it comes to meal planning, so use a reputable source. Hopefully, you can promote a program especially for your population and be more than a few notches above an infomercial.
Judith Samuels, M.A. is a certified nutrition and wellness consultant and master personal trainer at Sport&Health Clubs in the Washington D.C. Metro Area. She can be reached via e-mail at judi@judisamuels.com.
