Every gym owner dreams of having a gym full of devoted members who consider fitness a lifestyle. But this is a highly competitive niche, even if you’re a small-town gym owner. The reason why your gym struggles with attracting new members can be why you can’t retain existing members. Every fitness lover wants to get the best value for their money, so we’ll discuss some of the reasons why your gym is not as attractive to members. Luckily, all of these can be fixed and you’ll boost your membership sales.
Location
People already struggle to make exercise a part of their lives due to a hectic schedule. Thus, everyone want’s the most accessible option – the closest gym. If your gym is in a difficult location that is hardly accessible and lacks parking space, you might struggle with attracting new people. Your target group is people living close by so use this in your marketing strategy and target people in or near your area.
Working hours
Your gym is there to cater to people’s exercise needs, not the other way around. Your working hours have to work for your members, not against them. If you want to boost membership sales, set up convenient working hours. For example, you can have exercise classes or small group PT sessions at different time intervals.
Rude staff members
When people pay for their monthly or yearly gym membership, they also pay for excellent customer service. The person working at the front desk has to be professional and cater to every member’s needs. If they are rude, people will go somewhere else and receive better treatment for their money. Read reviews on Google, read the comment sections on social media, and deal with all or any member dissatisfaction the minute it happens. Also, screen your potential employees thoroughly and invest in their training as well.
Poor hygiene
The gym has to be clean if you want to retain existing and attract new members. The first thing people will notice is cleanliness. It’s the power of first impression and gym hygiene can make it or ruin it. Make sure that the showers, lockers, and toilets are clean, and do a deep clean every month. For example, Friday mornings can be days when a cleaning team comes over to ensure everything is clean for your members. You can even announce that on social media and say that working hours start two hours later than usual because a cleaning team is doing a deep clean.
The price
If the price is too high, while everything else at the gym lacks quality, people will refuse to pay as much for a gym membership. The price has to be equal to the service and the quality of service you offer. It has to include everything a gym member needs – space, equipment, variety, hygiene, support, and excellent customer service. If it doesn’t include amenities, the price of a gym membership won’t be justified.
Equipment
Lack of equipment, outdated equipment, broken equipment, misplaced weights, and a messy gym without any order, all lead to members’ dissatisfaction. You need to continually invest in high-quality gym equipment like CyberFit to appeal to existing and new members. This is especially important because you want to stay competitive in a highly competitive niche. If your competitors just introduced a new machine, stay on top of it yourself. You need to get the same machine, or something similar. Even the basic pieces of equipment, like resistance bands, floor mats, and pilates balls have to be updated and replaced.
Lack of skilled PTs
A lack of professional trainers can be another reason why potential members sign up with your competitors. You need to have skilled PTs available and ready to work with your members. Not everyone wants to work with a private trainer. But it doesn’t mean that you shouldn’t have one PT walking around and helping newcomers get settled and explaining the basics of gym exercise. This can be an additional feature new people get upon signing for a gym membership.
Loyalty benefits and programs
If you solely focus on new members, you might neglect existing ones. That’s also a bad business model because you need to nourish existing memberships and reward their loyalty. Especially those people who pay for a yearly membership. These people have made a financial investment a year ahead so they have to stay committed and remain your member for at least another year. You need to implement a loyalty and rewards program to appeal to existing members. Whether it’s a discount, free PT sessions, a personalized towel, or a protein shaker, there’s a way to say thank you to existing members.
If you want to tell your story, build your social media presence. Instagram is a great platform to share photos from your gyms, and repost photos published by your members (with their permission, of course). You can also share any special offer you might have, and target people in your area with a sponsored post. Another great way to attract new people is to share free workout ideas or tutorials. This helps build an online community. Those in your online community can become your gym member one day, you’ll never know.
Implement these nine tips into your yearly gym expansion plan and you’ll create a gym people will want to join.
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