Have you given your long-term members a New Year’s bonus yet? Last week I talked about how I felt disgraced because of all the deals new members receive for signing up during this busy season, but as a long-term member I get nothing new.
Why don’t all clubs pass out resolution t-shirts to all their members during the beginning of the year? I know it costs money, but that’s what marketing dollars are for.
As a fitness advocate, I’m also an advocate of t-shirts — especially t-shirts I can wear when I exercise. As someone that enjoys advantageous marketing attempts, I see the opportunity in t-shirts to all members, and not just those newbies.
A new member might wear your t-shirt, but they are probably more apt to wear it in your gym. It should be your assumption that most new members don’t exercise outdoors. I say that you should make this assumption because, if they are like any new gym members I know, they joined because they couldn’t make themselves exercise outdoors.
However, as a long-time gym goer, I also exercise outdoors. I’ll go for runs in the park in the Spring, Summer, Fall and Winter. I don’t discriminate against seasons, nor do I let certain weather altercations change my fitness routines. This means, I am more apt to wear a t-shirt provided to me by my gym in more places than just the gym, thus making me a slowly moving billboard — I’m not a fast runner.
Additionally, a long-time member is more apt to be an advocate of your club. I enjoy going to the club everyday, and I believe all of my friends should follow suit. That doesn’t mean that my friends do exactly as I do, but they have been known to come to me, from time to time, with fitness questions. If I love my club, and they ask where I go to get fit, I tell them about my club. If I was to be wearing my club’s t-shirt in a park walking one of my dogs, and a person approached me and asked about the club advertised on my t-shirt, I would gladly endorse my club.
In the event that the average member, like myself, doesn’t possess a free t-shirt from your club, they won’t ever have the opportunity to endorse your business. That is unless they are the type that will stand on a street corner and preach about the positive affects of your club, without any reason whatsoever.
This New Years, provide your long-time members with something a little extra. Use some of that marketing budget that is devoted to bringing in new members, and do a little pampering of the members that continually bring in money. I’m not suggesting that you give your current members a free year, just a free t-shirt to let them show off where they sweat.
Tyler Montgomery is the Editor of Club Solutions Magazine. Contact him at tyler@clubsolutionsmagazine.com
