Wes Gibson, the vice president of sales at UpSwell Marketing, shares how to win more members with integrated campaigns.
The new year is in full swing and if you don’t have a solid plan in place to attract new members to your club, you’re already behind the curve. The past few years put the fitness industry in survival mode, with many Americans feeling the risk of illness outweighed the benefits of in-person fitness. Fortunately, recent data has shown an uptick in foot traffic in fitness facilities, making it more important than ever that your club is top-of-mind when your prospects are considering where to join this year.
Targeting + Frequency = More Members
The truth of the matter is most people don’t belong to two gyms. Meaning you’ll need to stand out from the competition in your area, specifically the five miles surrounding your club. The one-two punch to any effective member-generation marketing campaign is targeting and frequency.
Without the right targeting strategy, you’ll be wasting your hard-earned marketing dollars on people who are unlikely to join your club. To discover your ideal prospect, the best place to look is your current member base. Analyze your most loyal members’ profiles and demographics — their age, income and even what neighborhoods they live in — and use that information to help build your target audience for your upcoming campaigns. Advances in technology have made targeting specific audiences easier than ever, allowing you to get as granular as segmenting by interests and behaviors. The more precise and personalized your targeting is, the more effective your campaigns will be. In fact, including your recipient’s name in your messaging has been shown to increase response rates by over 100%.
Once you’ve narrowed down your ideal prospects and refined your messaging, you’ll want to build in multiple touchpoints to have your ad be seen. Between their phones, computers and print advertisements, the average person is exposed to 4,000 to 10,000 ads daily. With such an overload of offers, it can feel near impossible to stand out from the crowd. By getting in front of your audience in multiple formats, you’re not only increasing your brand recognition but also your likelihood of conversion. Reaching your prospective members from multiple media channels allows you to meet them where they already are — online, on their phones or in their homes.
The More, the Merrier
The more you can get your club’s ads in front of the eyes of your local community, the more you’ll see your member base flourish. With the right combination of targeting, tactics and frequency, you’ll not only notice an increase in new members but also an improvement in member retention. Consistent, tailored messaging will create a lasting impression among your target audience. You’ve done the heavy lifting to make your fitness facility the best in the area. Now’s the time to make sure everyone around you knows it.
