Cover Story Classics
Club Marketing - Then, Now, Always
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Justin Cates
Publisher's Note: The following Cover Story Classic comes to you from February 2014. The subject is Club Marketing, and it is fascinating to read the words written then, now, in hindsight. It seems like so much has changed, but a lot has stayed the same. Throughout the article, I will provide a few updates. Additionally, the original version of the article featured interviews from an all-star line-up of contributors: Mike Grondahl, Derek Barton, Casey Conrad Bill McBride, Terry W. Browning, Sherry Robb, Tracey Bourdon and Nancy Trent. Though not included here because of space constraints, these interviews can be found in the original version of this article. Their insights, combined with what you are about to read (or re-read), will give you a true arsenal of tools to take your club's marketing to the next level.
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Marketing... It's the function of business we have all turned a blind eye to at some point. We don't have the time for it. We don't have the budget for it. We will do it next year. If we build it, they will come... At least, that is what we tell ourselves.
At a time when television, radio and print were pretty much the only mediums to consider for a traditional marketing campaign, this mindset was understandable. Those mediums are expensive, and they require a lot of legwork to make the cost worth it. Then, it is still not guaranteed to provide a return. That was then, though. This is now, and things have changed.
Today, television, radio and print are still there, but the prolific expansion of the Internet has created a new medium with numerous sub-mediums upon which to shine light on an organization's brand at a fraction of the cost. The top resources required are time and creativity, but that has always been the case if an organization cares about how the public perceives their brand.
I'm getting ahead of myself, though... Let's start with the basics.
What is Marketing?
Let's go to business school for a moment. If you Google "Marketing," you will get a plethora of different definitions. Some are complete; others not so much, but they all vary in clarity. So, instead of providing a precise definition of the word, let's discuss the inherent knowledge we all have about the subject of business:
- 1. We have a product or service to sell.
- 2. We need a customer to whom to sell the product or service.
Marketing is essentially the linkage between these two definitive statements. It is the process of making someone aware of a product or service he can buy. Going further, though, successful marketing should not just make someone aware of a product or service he can buy, but it should make him want to buy it. As Steve Jobs said in 1998, "A lot of times, people don't know what they want until you show it to them."
The reason marketing is hard to truly define is because it is more than just a process to be followed. Marketing, at its core, is actually infused into the DNA of a product or service. Enter the marketing mix, the Four Ps of Marketing:
- Product: This is what is actually being sold to the customer. It can be a tangible good or an intangible service. In health and fitness club facilities, the primary product is technically an intangible service. However, this can be comprised of numerous components (tangible and intangible) that create the final value proposition for the customer, so the product mix (not to be confused with marketing mix) should be considered. For example: What is included in a membership? Are there membership levels? What add-ons are available? Are tangible products sold in various departments, such as at a café, pro shop, juice bar, spa, etc.?
- Price: This is the amount the customer must pay for the product. Pricing will affect the product itself, and vice versa. For example: Think about Planet Fitness vs. Equinox and what is offered to the customer. Also, given a price, think about the expectation of the product by the customer. In cases of elastic demand, price will also greatly affect the demographics of the target consumer.
- Place (Distribution): This is where the customer will actually consume the product. The obvious answer for health and fitness club facilities is that the customer comes to your facility to consume the product inside your four walls. However, is this always the case? What about outreach to the consumer (such as an off-site boot camp) to boost a brand's visibility in a specific community?
- Promotion: This is the method of communication to the consumer, and it is what most people think about when they hear the term Marketing. Most don't really think about the three Ps already discussed as a part of marketing, though they are equally as important as all three will affect the method of communication and the message being communicated.
In marketing, especially at the academic level, there is always talk of a fifth P. I won't get into the dissenting opinions on this one; however, I do have one additional P to add to this discussion, but it's not to the four Ps. This P is Perception, and it is the sum of Product, Price, Place and Promotion. When all four Ps are taken into account, a potential customer will have an opinion of your organization. Simply put, they will have a perception of whether or not your club is for them.
Traditional Promotional Tools
Now that we have the business school stuff out of the way, let's go more in-depth about the fourth P of marketing: Promotion. I am not forgetting about the other three. The assumption for the rest of this article is that the previous three Ps are set. Your organization has a fully developed product, it has a price for that product and distribution of that product (place) is set. Assuming this, the crux then becomes promotion, and that is something that should never be set in stone. It should always change and adapt (technically, the other Ps should always adapt to changing conditions as well because there are always numerous business factors to take into consideration, but that is outside the scope of this article).
Delving into Promotion, we must of course begin with the traditional mediums: television, radio and print. Even with the rise of the Internet, for the foreseeable future, all three will remain relevant and should be part of a promotional mix (promotional mix should not be confused with marketing mix, as it is a subset of Promotion and includes a mix of advertising, sales promotion, personal selling, direct marketing and public relations).
One of the key factors that will affect your traditional media buys will be your target audience. Is your organization comprised of one local club, several local clubs or multiple clubs in multiple locations nationally or worldwide? Obviously, if your organization is buying television, radio or print for one local club, your organization will go with local sources for that medium. If your organization has more than one club locally, local sources would still be used, but now, your organization will be able to buy more media in aggregate because those costs can be spread across facilities, providing economies of scale. Finally, if your organization is going national or worldwide, it is an entirely different ballgame given the power of syndication and an exponentially larger audience.
Once this is determined, selecting the right sources then becomes the next task. These selections will be based on their audiences and whether or not they are within the demographics your organization hopes to target. This is where those first three Ps really come into play. They will help determine what those demographics are, and therefore, who those potential customers will be.
Then, of course, comes the process of developing the campaign itself. Within this area, there is the actual development of the message (slogans, taglines, storyboards, jingle lyrics, copy, etc.) and then the development of the content itself (television commercials, radio spots, print ads or offers, etc.). For the most part, there are standard formats and regulations to follow; however, the task can be daunting if they are in addition to daily club duties. To create a great campaign, having a marketing department or outsourcing to an agency can easily be justified. Creating and disseminating inferior media would simply be a waste of money, so the additional expense of a separate department or agency commission is a worthy insurance policy to have in place.
Modern Promotional Tools
This author understands that many reading this are seasoned veterans, and this process is nothing new. Been there, done that, so let's talk about modern promotion. Namely, let's talk about the Internet and its great power when properly utilized.
Originally, a product of government and academia, the Internet has now come of age, and in doing so, it has quite literally changed the world. For a while, email was the Internet's key capability. Really, communicating by text was the Internet's original goal. Then, came all the websites we now use by habit. Then, of course, came social media. All along, where there are people, there is going to be promotion by business, and that's where we will begin the real meat of this article.
Gain and Retain
What follows will be a synopsis of several of the major Internet tools your organization should now be using (at a minimum) to utilize the power of the Internet. Where pertinent, the tool described will then be further broken down into ideas and strategies to Gain and Retain members. New members have always been a club organization's lifeblood, but the old thought that your best customer is your current customer still holds true; even more so when competition is tight or the economy is weak.
Club Website
Everyone knows what a website is, and your organization should absolutely have one by now. If it does not, make this a top priority because it is simply a necessity in the modern business world. On your website, there should be content for members and non-members alike. Many club companies split this content up by asking the website visitor on the home screen if they are a member or not. This is okay, but always consider that this is an extra step between a website user and the information they seek from your company. Online attention spans are at an all-time low, so anything to ease the possibility of a bounce (i.e. click away) is worthy of consideration.
Gain Members: One of the tried and true methods of gaining potential members via your organization's website is by utilizing a system to issue Free Trial passes to those who sign up. The key here is to keep it simple! When developing the form for the potential customer to fill out, ask for two pieces of information: Name and Email Address. That is it. There is an indirect correlation between the number of fields a website visitors must fill out in a form and the completion rate of that form. More fields, less completions; it's really as simple as that.
So, what happens with the information the potential member submitted? It goes into a database and they are automatically sent an email thanking them for their interest in the club, and the email provides them with the pass to print out and bring into the club (an electronic pass sent to their smartphone can also be used). When they come into the club with the pass, you now have a hot lead to take through your general sales process, but that process should not inundate them because all they really want to do is try out the facility. It is acceptable to keep a dialogue running with them as they progress through their trial and after the trial, should they choose not to join at that time. You want to walk with them through the buying process, not push them.
Retain Members: A current member will revisit your website for several reasons. He may want to double-check your club's hours, he may want to download this month's group exercise schedule, or he may want to know more about your staff, etc. These are all things that are expected and can be anticipated. However, if provided with something of value he does not expect, he may have new reasons to continue returning to your website, and hopefully, your facility. These could be things such as basic workout plans developed by your personal training staff (this will not cannibalize your PT revenue but can enhance retention), diet plans and recipes, forums for members to talk to and support each other, member success stories, non-commercial messages from the owner or general manager, or a blog with all the above and some, etc. This is only limited by creative imagination.
Email Blasts
Email blasts can be used to disseminate information to members and non-members. Very importantly, though, make sure you have their permission to email them. This is done by disclosure when signing up on your website or on a new member contract. If you do not know how to design an email, which is a pain from a technical perspective because of varying standards in that realm, there are plenty of templates to choose from with the two companies I recommend for your mass email needs. Those companies are Constant Contact (www.constantcontact.com) and MailChimp (www.mailchimp.com). One of the key factors in having an email opened and read is having it sent through a reputable third-party company, such as those mentioned. And, of course, you must have pertinent content to share. If you would like to have an email template more customized to your club's website branding, which I highly recommend because of consistency across mediums, talk to your web developer and see if you can add this to the service they provide. If they cannot assist you here, it may be time to look elsewhere for your web development needs because this is a basic task for a professional web developer or firm. (UPDATE: Since the original version of this article, SMS capability has been added into the services listed above. Add this to your eblast schedule for anyone you have a phone number for.)
Gain Members: In the previous Club Website section, a system to deliver Free Trial passes to potential members was discussed, but for non-members, it does not have to be limited to just that. Since these leads are now in your system, and have given you permission to email them, they may be receptive to pertinent content. This does not mean to barrage them with emails that read like an ad to come back into the club to be sold. However, periodic, personally written check-up emails from a new member advocate (i.e. salesperson) are acceptable. So too are inspirational pieces that can help a potential member through the buying process. Some people who sign up simply may not be ready to buy, but when they are, you want your club to be top-of-mind, right? Well, being knowledgeable and showing you care about them, even as a non-member, will go a long way toward accomplishing this.
Retain Members: As just discussed, having your club remain top-of-mind to current members is important. Sure, you will have the typical email blasts to advertise club events or new programs, announce schedule changes, etc. But, providing content that is more personally useful is even more critical to accomplishing the goal of staying top-of-mind. Guess what, that content already exists or is being produced regularly... On your website! So, you can also email it. Or, with help from your web developer, you can mix the two and allow the member to select what information he would like to receive by email to keep connected to your club.
One of the keys with both the website and email blasts is the Google strategy. Start with a minimum viable product (MVP) and constantly add to it. So, for example, if you are starting from scratch, make sure a simple, but useful and usable, website is in place. Then, implement the Free Trial email system. After those two key tasks are accomplished, add to it from there. It should be a constant process. Analyze, modify and evolve.
First, there were websites. Then came more personal and easily updatable websites able to be followed by other web users. These were called blogs. Then, entered micro-blogs, which is what Facebook is, and it is the king of the mountain. You likely have a personal Facebook account. This is different than a business page. If your club does not yet have a business page, it is very easy to get one. Go to www.facebook.com/pages/create, and it is very intuitive from there. If you are logged into your personal Facebook account, that account will be tied to the business page you create. If you are not logged into, or do not have, a personal Facebook account, you can still create a page for your business. Once you have created a page for your business and you have some followers, you want to procure a username for the page so that is easy to access. To do this, go to www.facebook.com/username. A great place to start when searching for available usernames is to use the prefix of your website address. So, if your website address is xyzclub.com, search for xyzclub as the username. If it is available, get it! Later, I will discuss why this is very important.
Gain Members: Business pages on Facebook are public to the world, meaning, even if someone does not have a Facebook account or is not logged in, they can still see the content your business page is posting. This means that members and non-members will see what your business posts, should they decide to look. That being said, a member of your club is more likely to follow your club on Facebook, so the content should be more tailored to him. There are still opportunities to gain club members via Facebook, though, and that is through the use of referrals. When a club member follows your page, they are essentially giving your page permission to have your content appear in their News Feed (not all content will appear because of Facebook's business model). This is very similar to opting in for regular email blasts. So, carrying this further, club members who follow your page are also Facebook friends with non-members. Bingo; it came to you before you read the next sentence. Periodically, target your club member Facebook followers with some sort of referral offer. The details will depend on how your club handles referrals, but the idea itself is what is important here. This can all be done through a plethora of advertising products/formats that Facebook offers.
Retain Members: To have posted content read by club members, you first need club members to follow your Facebook page. Before they can do that, they must be told your club has a Facebook page. So, first and foremost, make sure there is a Facebook button on your website. Or, you can even embed your Facebook page's feed into your website using widgets Facebook provides (talk to your web developer about this one). Then, of course, add it to your traditional marketing mediums. Don't just add the Facebook logo. Provide the full address to your business page, something like www.facebook/xyzclub. Okay, so your club members know you have a Facebook page; why should they follow it? Remember the content you provide on your website and through email blasts? Well, this content is prime for Facebook posting! You should now be seeing a pattern here, and why a good website is so crucial to your club. Next, to ensure some following occurs, sweeten the deal and offer something to your club members as an incentive to follow your club's page. Maybe it's a free sandwich in the café, a free smoothie at the snack bar, or even a free, and limited, small group personal training session with other Facebook followers so they can interact. Once again, the details are up to your club, but the idea is what is important, and especially, the why behind it. The goal is to stay on top of the member's mind. Website: Check. Email: Check. Facebook: Check. You are now even more in the club member's daily consciousness.
X (formerly Twitter)
A few years after Facebook came out and took over the Internet, Twitter (now X) offered something different. The key to Twitter's differentiation was simplicity. A user of Twitter had 140 characters to create a message to share with the network. That small quantity of characters forces concise, albeit not always coherent, thought. Twitter has since become more complex with the addition of photos and video, but it is still much simpler to use than Facebook. If you do not already have a X account for your club, you can go to www.x.com to sign up. (UPDATE: The character limit for X posts is now 280, and premium users can post up to 25,000 characters).
Note: If the identical username you use for Facebook is available for X, get it. Your goal should be to have the same username across all services: Website, Facebook, X, YouTube, Tik Tok, etc. Everything you use. For example, if your website address is www.xyzclub.com, your goal should be to have:
- www.facebook.com/xyzclub,
- www.x.com/xyzclub,
- www.youtube.com/xyzclub, etc.
When this is accomplished, only one username must be remembered by a potential visitor to any of your pages or services. If they can remember xyzclub.com, they can find you on any of the social networks. Don't take my word for it, though. Search for a large company across the different social networks without using Google, and you will see the same pattern.
For the Gain Members and Retain Members sections of this tool, I actually refer you to what was written for Facebook. Many of the same things apply here; however, there are two options for the actual posting of content to X. Facebook actually allows you to connect an X account to your business page, so whatever you post to Facebook is posted to X automatically. When time or technicality is limited, this is a good option, as you are guaranteed that the post will take place. However, many organizations do craft specific content for X because there are some differences in the X user base and how content is displayed. There are pros and cons to both strategies, but the key takeaway here is that your club should use both Facebook and X, and they should be used accordingly to gain and retain members.
YouTube, Instagram, and now, Tik Tok
Once again, the ongoing theme continues. If your club does not yet have a YouTube, Instagram, Tik Tok or all three, sign up. When you sign up, if the username you use for your Facebook and X is available, get it.
Gain Members: The primary use of video and photo services to potentially gain members is to provide some sort of video tour of your facility. This should then be embedded on your club's website using the embed codes that these services provide (your web developer will come to the rescue again). Member testimonials are always a tried and true content feature, as would be a Thank You videos from the Club Manager or Department Heads thanking a potential member for signing up for a free trial. A link to this could be embedded in the Free Trial email that is automatically sent upon signup.
Retain Members: Where the written form of things such as workout plans, recipes and other content described in the Club Website section might not be read, videos can go a long way in helping that content be consumed. For example: Personal trainers could provide videos of proper exercise techniques, recipes could be cooked on video (think Food Network here), etc. The possibilities are endless, and once again, only limited by creative imagination.
Note: One thing that must be mentioned is production value. Though your videos won't be Hollywood productions, reasonable time and effort needs to be put in to ensure that the product is presentable. If it views like a wobbly home video with bad lighting and sound, it's better not to publicize it.
UPDATE: As has been seen since the original version of this article, the true value in video now is guests and members of clubs sharing their experiences there! Whether it is video or live streams of their workouts, viral movements that are duplicated in the gym, etc., make sure the ingredients for good videos and photos are there. Good lighting, maybe even a social media wall with full club branding! It will get used.
Google Plus and Pinterest
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I will mention LinkedIn briefly because it is more of a backend business service and not business-to-consumer. Like Facebook, LinkedIn has company page capability, so your club should create one and enable employees to add your company to their LinkedIn Profiles (remember to be consistent with your username if it's available). Don't make it a requirement for employees, as it is more of an enhancer for an employee should he choose to include it on his profile. It is also good for employee search. This is also important for consistency and completeness. If a potential or current member does happen to come across your company page on LinkedIn, it will just be one more avenue where he will be impressed at your company's thoroughness and professionalism.
Tying it All Together
There has been a lot covered in this article, but believe it or not, the list of tools discussed is not exhaustive, as many other tools were not covered. In fact, it would be better to think of this list as a minimum for your organization. If these tools have not been implemented, your organization is behind. But, luckily, playing catch-up is not difficult because these tools are so easy to use, and they are free. The only resources required are time and creativity. Yes, paid options (such as ads, featured posts, etc.) do exist for most of these tools but those were not discussed in this article. They are worth research on your own, though, because they are very affordable and can provide measurable results.
Let me close with this. The modern promotional tools discussed are not a replacement for the traditional promotional tools club businesses have always used. Think of this time in technology as a melding of two eras. All these tools must be used in concert with all the others to create optimum results. The job is never done. Analyze, modify and evolve.
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Thank you for your time reading this article, which was a labor of love. Marketing is one of my favorite subjects, so it was a great honor to be tasked with this article's authorship. I hope it helps your club organization further succeed in the future.
