Email marketing is still one of the most effective and direct ways to market your health club today, but it’s evolving.
While newsletters and one-off campaigns will always have a place in your email marketing strategy, the smartest clubs are setting up automatic email campaigns that are triggered based off member and prospect actions.
The beauty about email automation is that you set up your emails once and then as more members or prospects meet your defined trigger, the email will continue to be sent without you having to lift a finger.
Finding ways to trigger automated emails will produce timely and hyper-relevant content to the reader. As a result, they are opened and clicked on more frequently. Effective email marketing will aid in converting your prospects into members, strengthen your brand, drive more visits, increase sales and boost loyalty.
To make it work, automated email marketing ought to be designed around your member or prospect actions. Actions can include: members who joined today, prospects who have taken a tour at the gym, members who haven’t worked out in 30 days, or members who are down to their last three personal training sessions. The triggers can be limitless — just ask your club management software (CMS) or email marketing service provider.
Ready to start automating your email marketing? Here are four must-have automated email campaigns:
1. Welcome Email
An automated “Welcome to X Gym” is the first email communication you have with your member. The campaign can set the stage for a long-term relationship with your new member. It’s an opportunity to highlight your services, show them how to register for a class, answer any questions they may have, and most importantly, make them feel welcomed at your gym.
2. Promotional Email
Promotional emails are messages that are aimed at completing a purchase or converting a prospect into a member. Data from your CMS can help filter specific groups of customers (i.e. based on interests, club usage, age range, etc.) to automatically shoot out a series of emails. Your promotional emails should showcase the benefits they can expect to receive when becoming a member.
3. Upsell Email
A lot of club owners miss out on a golden opportunity that’s right in front of them — repeat sales from their previous buyers: their members. Upsell emails are a perfect opportunity to foster your club-to-member relationship, deliver satisfaction with every purchase and boost your member lifetime value. Use these emails to present your members with solutions that relate to their needs — whether it’s an upgrade, add-on or a repeat purchase.
4. Retention Email
Haven’t seen some members in awhile? Are you looking to decrease member cancellations? Retention emails should be intended to help members understand the value of their membership, prompt engagement and reduce cancellations. Remind them about the reasons why they initially joined your gym. Keep them motivated. Invite them to take a fitness assessment with one of your qualified trainers. Win their loyalty.
Joanna Truong is a sales consultant at Twin Oaks Software and a former health club manager at various fitness centers. She can be contacted at 860.829.6000 or jtruong@tosd.com.
