Hosting events at your club is a great way to engage with current members, and expose your club to prospects. Events you can host at your club include Member Appreciation Days, new class launches, social mixers, wellness festivals and more.
But what goes into hosting a successful event? Here, Club Solutions’ director of events, Carrie Yeiser, shares her tips and tricks for hosting successful events.
Know Your Audience
“This may seem obvious, but what are your members interested in outside of the gym? There are so many businesses you can partner with in your gym’s neighborhood that your members love going to and spending time at. For example, do you have a younger membership crowd? Host a social hour at a nearby brewery for members after work one day, and create a roped off or private area for your members. This not only grows community with your members, but it is also an awesome marketing tool in that non-members at the brewery see your gym as a community, which will grow curiosity. Have marketing items out on a table nearby and staff readily available to talk with patrons about the gym and options on joining. Everyone has an intrinsic need to belong and a seeks out community where they live. Your gym is an excellent way to do that.”
Know Your Budget
“We’ve all heard ‘champagne tastes on a beer budget’ remark before. Know what you’re wanting to spend on your events before the year starts so you can strategically plan when and where you want to spend that money realistically. It’s always wise to leave some available in the budget for opportunities that arise that are great for your members and the community you’re in. For instance, you may learn that many of your members are participating in a 5K near your gym. You could host a pre-race spaghetti dinner for those doing the race the night before to carb up. Make events that support your members’ interest, as often as your budget allows, and you’ll find genuine connections begin to form with your members naturally.”
Communicate
“When you host an event it’s your worst nightmare that no one shows up or is interested in what you’re doing. Don’t let this be the case. Only when you under-communicate and under value your event do members not see it worthy of their time or not know about it. You must communicate clearly what the event is, how it benefits your member to attend — again remember their interests — and create a regular communication about events in your gym. Make it ‘cool’ to attend, and over share everything that happens at your events through social media, texts and emails. Everyone loves to be featured — promote your members’ photos with the event or have them lead an event as part of an event task team. They will share and promote the event just as hard as you do when they’re involved with making it successful.”
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Rachel Zabonick-Chonko is the editor-in-chief of Club Solutions Magazine. She can be reached at rachel@peakemedia.com.
Giveaways are best in these types of events.