It’s a question many clubs owners have asked themselves. Do you spend money on a gift to giveaway at the point of sale? The answer is: yes, yes and yes.
However, there are a couple things to keep in mind. For example, you should weigh the cost of the gift against the revenue collected from the point of sale. For instance, if you are a lower-priced club, you can easily go with a t-shirt, as you can get higher quantities of t-shirts with a simple logo for $2 to $2.50 each.
If you are a higher-priced club, you’ll need to go with something more expensive. A good example is a brand-name gym bag from companies such as Under Armour or Nike. These may cost a little more, but you can still get a good price break if you order a lot of them. And the perceived value of a name-brand gym bag is much higher than a generic one.
In fact, perceived value is very important to a new member at the point of sale. If a member is paying $200 to join your club, they will not appreciate a $2 t-shirt. But a gym bag with a perceived value of $40 will go a long way.
A point of sale giveaway is great for a few reasons. The first reason is it gives a new member instant gratification for the money they just put down to join. A new member typically does not see the results of their changing body until weeks or months after joining your club. A giveaway is something tangible the new member can take away when they join, so they feel like they are not leaving their new club empty handed.
A gift also makes a new member feel like they are part of your club. You’ve welcomed them in and now they feel like a true member, because they have a cool t-shirt or gym bag that other members of the gym have.
The last reason is new members are a great source of marketing for your club, especially if your gift bears your club’s logo. A new member is the happiest the first 90 days they join the club, so not only will they wear their t-shirt to the gym, they’ll wear it to the grocery store, to run errands or to simply walk their dog around the neighborhood. A new member may even take their cool gym bag to work for their after-office workout.
These people are proud to be a new member of the tribe, which is your club. What a great topic of conversation. When others see the new member with their cool giveaway they will ask things like, “I was thinking about joining. How do you like that club?” If your staff has done their job and the customer service the new member receives is outstanding, they will rave about your club.
Donyel Cerceo is director of marketing for Merritt Athletic Clubs.
