How often do you overcomplicate the tasks that come with gym ownership? If your answer is, “all the time,” you’re not alone. Especially when it comes to gym marketing.
From lead generation to closing the sale, gym owners can be really good at searching for a “magic pill.” But just like we tell our members, that magic pill doesn’t exist. Instead, it’s all about sticking to the basics. Because the basics work to achieve the best results.
So, where do you start? To answer that question, we spoke with Blake Ruff, co-owner of LASSO. LASSO works with gym owners around the world on paid ad strategies and sales training. Together, you come up with an offer that gets put into action via ads. The goal is digital gym marketing that brings in high-paying members, increases ARM (Average Revenue per Member) and overall revenue.
Five Steps to Level Up Your Digital Gym Marketing.
1. Start with Sales Training.
For many fitness business owners, it’s not uncommon to prioritize gym marketing efforts over sales. But it should actually be the other way around. Sales, then marketing? That’s right.
When you do start running paid gym ads, you’ll be investing time and money to get people in the door. But if you don’t start by refining your sales process, those leads might not end up converting to members.
The LASSO team provides extensive sales training, but ultimately, the key is finding solutions to solve a prospective member’s problems. Your goal is to listen to their goals and struggles. And instead of selling them a membership, prescribe a solution to help them live a better life. Effective sales training can help you and your team be prepared to do just that.
2. Prioritize Response Time.
As Ruff says, responsiveness to leads can make or break a sale.
“We see it too often, responses take hours or even days to get back to a lead,” he said. “If you want to be successful in paid marketing, you have to show you care and be responsive. If you don’t text, call and respond quickly, your competition will.”
Ruff recommends an immediate response, no matter what time of day it is. But 15 minutes is the maximum time it should take.
“A swift reply to an inquiry demonstrates your gym’s commitment to customer service, significantly enhancing the likelihood of conversion,” he said.
Pro Tip: Use the power of automation in PushPress Grow to respond to every inquiry immediately. Want to find out more? Book a demo with our team today!
3. Track Key Gym Marketing Data.
Tracking important gym metrics is truly the key to understanding the success of your gym and the effectiveness of your gym marketing efforts. After all, how do you grow your business if you don’t know what’s working and what’s not?
Ruff said too many gym owners tell him they don’t feel like their marketing is working. But it’s because they’re not tracking the point that their funnel is breaking down. So Ruff referenced a quote from Mark Cuban: “If you don’t know your numbers, you don’t know your business.”
Ruff went on to explain, “[Our clients] may say, ‘I only signed up five new clients.’ Well, they may have had one hundred leads and twenty consults, but they only signed up five. They don’t have a lead problem. They have a sales problem.”
With that in mind, the LASSO team recommends consistently tracking these five metrics: Leads, booked appointments, showed appointments, closed sales and new revenue.
4. Make a Long-Term Commitment.
According to Ruff, your gym marketing should be viewed as a long-term investment, rather than a quick fix.
“A consistent, well-planned marketing strategy can yield substantial returns over time,” he said. “But it requires commitment and patience.”
He recommends giving paid marketing at least six months to be able to adequately analyze results.
“We are not saying you won’t see a return before then,” he explained. “Most of our clients make $3,000 in new revenue each month. But taking a longer-term approach is only going to bring more success.”
5. Save Time and Increase Results with a CRM.
Any gym owner with a consistent number of monthly leads can attest to the fact that managing them manually is nearly impossible. Some will join immediately, while others might take six months or longer. Some respond to texts, while others will take action after reading relevant email content.
That’s why a gym CRM (customer relationship management) tool like PushPress Grow is so powerful for your gym marketing. When you use the power of automation to take the work off your plate while nurturing leads properly, you can increase sales conversions and avoid letting people slip through the cracks.
“Manual tracking of leads is inefficient and impractical, especially when dealing with large volumes,” said Ruff. “An automated CRM system is crucial for effectively managing a high number of leads, allowing for regular communication through texts and emails, that nurture leads along the customer journey. If a lead takes eight to ten touch points, and you get one hundred leads in a month, that’s one thousand manual text or phone calls that need to be made.”
In Summary: Stick to the Basics for a Powerful Gym Marketing Strategy.
Don’t make your digital gym marketing strategy more complicated than it has to be. There’s no magic pill when it comes to lead generation and closing sales. Instead, the key is sticking to the basics.
Start by dialing in your sales process, so that marketing efforts won’t be negated. Prioritize response time to strike when the iron is hot. Track your key data to find areas for improvement. Be patient with your marketing strategy to allow enough results for proper analysis. And finally, use a CRM to help you properly nurture leads from inquiry to sign-up.
