Welcome to GROWvember at PushPress! This month, we’re sharing all kinds of resources, tools, PushStart webinars and ideas that are designed to help your gym be successful. Why GROWvember? Because PushPress Grow is a game-changer for your gym. It's one of the most powerful tools available for everything from lead generation to creating the ultimate member experience. If you're not using Grow yet, we hope GROWvember will show you how it can help you level up and... GROW!
The fitness industry is often an anomaly when it comes to gym ownership. Most gym owners have a fitness background, rather than a business one. So when it comes to direction and strategy, successful gym owners are constantly seeking to learn.
That’s exactly why we created PushStart by PushPress, a collection of resources and education for every stage of running a successful gym. Put simply, PushStart helps you take your small business to the next level.
The free resource library includes more than 20 video courses and resources. It’s categorized using the AMPED acronym: Attract, Monetize, Plug-in, Expand and Delight. Each category is broken down into short sections. This allows you to choose the content that best helps you, and consume it in time frames that work with your busy schedule.
Throughout this month, we’ll be focusing on each of the five categories. Today’s focus - ATTRACT - is all about how you attract new clients. It includes marketing, branding and client-acquisition best practices.
Sneak Peak: Three PushStart ATTRACT Courses.
1. Create Free Traffic with Your Google Business Listing.
In this PushStart course, Stu Brauer, owner of WTF Gym Talk, shows you how to create free traffic from your free Google My Business (GMB) profile. This profile is something Brauer says is “one of the most underrated marketing tools out there for anyone who owns a brick and mortar business.”
Here are four tips from Brauer for optimizing your listing, bettering your Google search rank and gaining visibility:
- Consistently Add Photos and Videos. Many gym owners set up their GMB profile and then forget about it. Brauer says it’s important to update it consistently, just like your social media. Ultimately, it shouldn’t be stagnant. He recommends doing a batch dump of videos and photos at least once a month. To make this easy, simply transfer these from your other social media platforms.
- Complete Your Profile. This might sound obvious but it’s easy to overlook sections of your profile as you fill it out. Brauer said the more information you can include, the more likely it will help you rank higher on Google searches. Therefore, fill out every question and update any changes, like operating hours.
- Collect (and Respond to) Reviews. We know online reviews are important. But what a prospective customer really wants to see is how your business interacts with customers. So when someone leaves you a review, take the time to reply to it thoughtfully. Brauer says, “This will show a humanistic side to your business.” (The same is true if you get a negative review. Reply, show empathy and make an effort to make it right).
- Create and Promote Offers. GMB offers business owners the ability to include offers. These can be short-term or evergreen promotions. Oftentimes, gym owners neglect to share current offers here, despite the high visibility. Brauer recommends including all your offers on your GMB profile, which can go a long way in encouraging prospects to act immediately.
2. How to Leverage Your Members as Your Best Marketing Weapon.
In this PushStart course, you’ll learn how to create a referral culture at your gym. As you probably know, referrals are often the easiest new clients to sell. Most likely, your current members have already “sold” them on the benefits of joining your gym.
“In an ideal world, every single member would refer one to two people each year,” said Brauer. “And if this happened, you would have more members than you would know what to do with.”
However as gym owners, we know this isn’t what happens.
Most often, clients play the passive referral game, meaning they’re not actively asking people in their lives to join the gym. Brauer explained, they don’t leave your gym asking themselves, ‘How can I get three of my colleagues to join my gym?’
“What we want are active referrals,” said Brauer. “But what’s practical and realistic are passive ones.”
So instead of pushing clients to play a game they don’t want to play, learn to help them maximize the passive referral game. Brauer offered these tips:
- Swag is a great way to get people asking about your gym. Sell attractive clothing your clients want to wear, and their friends might start asking about your gym.
- “Create content about your members that makes them look badass and fit,” Brauer offered. This will get them to share the content. In turn, their friends may begin asking about their experience at your gym.
- Host a photo shoot (outside of class) with a professional photographer. Brauer recommends asking your members to wear appropriate, branded apparel. And stage particular shots like client/coach relationships. This will help to attract your ideal clients and “make these images come to life.” This will give you an album of the best possible images to share with your members (and for them to share of themselves).
3. Organic Marketing Checklist.
In this PushStart course, you’ll learn how to develop a strong organic marketing campaign. Before you dive into paid marketing, Brauer recommends focusing on your low- or no-cost marketing efforts to make a big impact on your bottom line.
Organic marketing is a strategy that helps you generate traffic naturally, versus paying for reach, impressions or engagement.
Brauer believes there’s a time and place for paid marketing. But he said, “I believe most gym owners would do sufficiently well with their lead acquisition, sales and brand awareness through organic marketing.”
In fact, he suggests new gym owners “go with organic marketing first, and exhaust that” before venturing into paid marketing strategies. With that in mind, here are his recommendations for a monthly organic marketing checklist:
- Search Engine Optimization. As stated earlier, everything should be up to date on your gym’s GMB profile. Brauer suggests striving for five new reviews each month, saying that this is what makes your profile “come to life.”
- Social Media. The key to organic social media efforts is consistency in posting. Create content that’s designed to educate, entertain or simply show prospective clients what it’s like to be a part of your gym. A great way to do this is through telling your clients’ stories. In fact, there’s an entire course in PushStart dedicated to Storytelling 101.
- Off-Site Events. Brauer recommends hosting two off-site events each month. Events can be held at local businesses, like a First Friday event at a local brewery, or in popular public locations. Either way, the goal is creating brand awareness and building relationships. Brauer says, “Be scrappy. Save your money in your cash flow, and get out in your community and make your brand known.”
Pro Tip: Get exclusive access to all the resources you need to run your gym better and grow! Sign up for PushStart today!
In Summary: ATTRACT New Leads with PushStart.
Attracting new members doesn’t have to be tricky. And paid advertising isn’t your only strategy. Check out the PushStart courses and keep it simple!
Create free traffic with your Google Business listing. Leverage your members with a referral marketing program. And create an organic marketing strategy.
As Stu Brauer from WTF Gym Talk says, “Social media, search engine and getting out in your community” are the first steps. He reminds gym owners to do these first before “getting fancy” with paid marketing and advertising.
For more information and resources to attract new clients, check PushStart by PushPress today!
