As any good operator in our industry knows, vertical sales are key when it comes to boosting revenue at your club. For some it’s juice and smoothie bars; for others it’s apparel. In our Snap Fitness clubs, we’re committed to providing members with the best results possible, which is why we choose to focus on providing members with high-quality vitamins and supplements.
No matter what type of product you’re attempting to merchandise in your club, there are three things to keep in mind in order to avoid hassle and boost profits.
1) Understand Your Members
At least once a week, I’ll get a call or an e-mail from a sales person who has a new protein bar, energy shot, clothing line or piece of fitness technology that he or she wants us to stock inside our Snap Fitness clubs. The key for us, however, is deciding what members are going to value. Sure, compression t-shirts might look cool, but are our members coming to our clubs because they want to shop for apparel? Probably not. We know that members join our clubs because they’re focused on getting results, which is why we stick to products that are in line with those goals. Bottom line: don’t try to sell dog food in a fish supply store.
2) Price vs. Value
Like any business owner, profits are important. However, you need to take a look at the price tag on the items you’re looking to merchandise, and make sure they’re in line with what your members are willing to pay. For example, when we were looking for a vitamin and supplement partner for our clubs, we spoke with dozens of potential suitors. Knowing that our members are price-conscious, but don’t compromise on quality, we set out to find an option that was competitively priced against other leading vitamin and supplement providers, but were still top-shelf quality. In the end, we found the partner that fit our members’ needs, without breaking the bank. The same can be said for apparel, smoothies and anything else you want to merchandise. After all, if your monthly membership cost is $40, do you think your members are going to buy a $10 smoothie or a $150 pair of yoga pants?
3) Window-dressing Isn’t Enough
Have you ever been in a department store and had a sales clerk follow you around the whole time, trying to show you different pairs of pants? It gets a little obnoxious, right? The reason that can be annoying is that you don’t need to be told about the products. You know what jeans and t-shirts are —you don’t need a sales person to explain. In a fitness club setting, however, that’s not always the case. With things like vitamins and supplements, often members are unsure of what they should be using, or why they should be using it. Having a nice point of purchase display is great, but you need to make sure your trainers and staff members take the time to not only showcase your products to members, but also explain the benefits. This also holds true for things like fitness technology (heart-rate monitors, etc.), specialized apparel and more. If you’re just letting products sit on the shelves in your gym, get ready to do a lot of dusting.
By Patrick Strait, communications manager for Snap Fitness
