Fitness Assessments: Test, Train, Repeat

Rike Aprea, the marketing director for Spartan DEKA shares why regular fitness assessments will not only be essentials for your client’s progress, but also for your business success.

In the health and fitness industry, many buying decisions are based on word-of-mouth, aka the offline version of influencer marketing. This is why a strong focus on customer satisfaction and loyalty is key to owning a successful fitness business.

While many of us use fitness assessments to convert new clients, they are also a great tool to keep them engaged, successful and thus loyal to your gym. Here are five tips that will help you to make the most out of your fitness assessments.

1. Create a sense of urgency.

When you help your clients to understand their fitness baseline and the areas they have to work on, they are more likely to commit to a training program that is tailored to improving their weaknesses. Being confronted with the results of a fitness test can be a great motivator to start exercising or to adhere to a workout program.

2. Turn clients into brand ambassadors.

When clients love their results, they will become your most influential brand ambassadors. Regular assessments can help people to stick to their programs and seeing measurable progress will make your clients feel good about their fitness journey. If you provide them with stats they can share on social media, you can make it even easier for them to spread the word.

3. Use assessments to celebrate wins.

Every improvement and progress a client makes is a great chance to celebrate their success. Long-term goals are necessary but it’s crucial to appreciate every win along the way. Turning any assessment into a positive, encouraging experience will help your clients to appreciate the time/sweat/tears they have invested into their fitness goals.

4. Make progress visible and understandable.

When doing a fitness assessment, make sure to capture enough measurable data that you use as a base for comparison during follow-ups. Data are more easily understood when put into a context — like what is considered ‘normal’ or ‘healthy.’ Utilizing pictures or videos during assessment is often more powerful than just providing data and explanations.

5. Create healthy competition.

If your clients are open to it, sharing their results through tools such as leaderboards can be helpful to boost not only their motivation but also the morale of your entire community.

Fitness assessments are a win-win for you and your clients. Having an upcoming fitness test on the calendar will increase their exercise adherence, improve their results and will help you to optimize their training program.