With every New Year comes new opportunities, and of course, new members. Many people are walking into a gym for the first time, or for the first time in a long while. They have made a commitment to better themselves in 2013, and at O2 Fitness, we are making a commitment to help them through that process.
The last thing we want to do is “set it and forget it.” We strive to make every experience unique and memorable for new members, as well as existing members. January is an opportunity to build a base of new long-term members, and avoid having members call us in March to cancel their membership due to their lack of use since January.
For January 2013, O2 Fitness’ tagline is, “This Year, Put Fitness First,” and we mean it! Here are a few things we are doing internally, at our 10 clubs, to hold members accountable for their 2013 goals, to avoid the fitness plateau, and of course, to have fun!
What are your goals for 2013?
The other day I posted this same question on O2’s Facebook page, and moments later, comments started pouring in. Members — new and old — wrote about how they wanted to run their first 5K, train for a marathon, lose 10 pounds, increase their strength — and the list kept growing.
I started to think how inspiring it would be for our members to see these goals throughout January? So, starting January 1st, O2 Fitness will have a huge board inside all of our locations where members can actually write their 2013 goals down for all to see. They can walk by that board everyday, and see what they wrote and stay motivated.
The best part — O2 team members can now see their goals and help them plan out how to achieve them. Whether it is by taking our 6 p.m. yoga class every Thursday to increase their flexibility, or by starting training with an O2 personal trainer twice a week to build strength and burn fat — we are really excited to see what goals our members have this year. It will be great to bring the boards back out throughout the year to keep everyone on track.
Two Free Personal Training Sessions:
We always offer new members two free personal training sessions, and January is no different. We really like to get our new members to do their fitness assessment, and training session, as soon as they can. This way they can learn how to use some of the machines, create a special bond with another one of our team members and help get them in shape, and stay in shape with a customized personal training package.
O2 Rewards
To really put “Fitness First” this year, O2 Fitness has launched O2 Rewards. As a points-based program, members will rack up points for doing different fitness — as well as non-fitness — tasks, throughout the club, and redeem them for gifts, like t-shirts, gym bags, massages, free personal training sessions and a free one-year O2 membership! It is a great way for our members to keep track of their workouts, and get cool stuff for just coming to the gym. We have also set up a bonus structure where the more you check into the gym, the more points you can earn. We are also offering over 50 points for completing two free personal training sessions.
Launch, Sample, Exercise!
As a club with Les Mills group fitness programs, we re-launch our classes once per quarter with new music and new choreography. In January, our Group X launch is a huge deal for us because we encourage our newest members to come and try a sampler of our group fitness classes. We host four to five classes, back to back, 30 minutes each, instead of the traditional 45-60 minutes, so they can come and try as many as they want in a shorter period of time. It provides them with the opportunity to see which classes they enjoy the most. With two instructors in each of these classes, they are bound to have a great time. These samplers are also made for our existing members — it gives them a reason to try new classes that they may not have tried before, and spice up their workouts to avoid getting bored with their routine.
So this year, at O2 Fitness, we are putting fitness first, by helping guide our new and existing members down a healthier, and fitter, path. What programs are your clubs using in January to excite members and get them in your club more often?
Shanna Kane is the director of marketing for O2 Fitness, based in North Carolina. She can be reached at skane@o2fitnessclubs.com.
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Rachel Zabonick-Chonko is the editor-in-chief of Club Solutions Magazine. She can be reached at rachel@peakemedia.com.
