![\"World](\"http:\/\/www.clubinsideronline.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/World-Gym-300x172.png\")
World Gym<\/p>\nWorld Gym<\/p>\n
In \u201cnormal\u201d times, gym operators have a host of options for marketing their facilities, from participating in community events to sponsoring sports leagues. But, during COVID, the very thing that makes these marketing tactics appealing (a large potential audience) is mostly off-limits. Additionally, gyms have to counteract the public\u2019s potential concern about indoor activities, including workouts.<\/p>\n
\u201cYour No. 1 path to success in reaching new members will be building consumer confidence,\u201d says World Gym Chief Operations Officer Jarrod Saracco. Here are five ways to get new and existing members back in your building by appealing to what they need now.<\/p>\n
People are less inclined to believe a message from a business than their own personal contacts, Saracco points out. \u201cHearing testimonials from their friends and family is what builds confidence.\u201d He recommends walking around the gym floor and capturing your members on video (with their permission, of course) so that followers can see the social distancing and masks and hear firsthand what it\u2019s like to be at the gym.<\/p>\n
\u201cJust ask your member, \u2018Hey can I have two minutes of your time to tell our audience why you love being back at the gym? Encourage them to share what it\u2019s like to work out in a mask, or how safe they feel with the new sanitation practices in place.\u201d Then repurpose the videos on all your digital platforms, from your website to your social media channels, and encourage your members to share it themselves and hashtag your gym.<\/p>\n
Yes, your members are your top marketing ally, but you still should use your own video to explain what you\u2019re doing behind-the-scenes to keep members safe and healthy. \u201cShow and tell how you strategically have added sanitation stations, promote social distancing and brought cleaning staff on board to do extra overnight work,\u201d Saracco says. \u201cCombined with the members\u2019 testimonials, you\u2019ll have a great story to tell when you detail these enhanced protocols.\u201d<\/p>\n
As people focus even more on their health, it\u2019s important to connect exercising at the gym with all the ways it promotes physical, social and even mental health. (Check out this blog post which offers background on why gyms are essential, now more than ever or this blog post on how exercise boosts your immunity.)<\/p>\n
If you have members who have lapsed or frozen their memberships, this is an ideal time to call them up and talk to them about their reservations, if any. \u201cPersonally invite them to take a tour so they can see how safe it is and regain their gym habit,\u201d suggests Saracco.<\/p>\n
With many youth sports put on hold, kids are losing out on their training, and even just all-around healthy physical activity. A recent survey finds that kids are spending just 7.2 hours per week playing sports, down from 13.6 hours before the pandemic. \u201cGyms can reach a whole new potential group of members by creating youth programming for different ages that will appeal to those who just want to burn off some steam, as well as those who want to keep their fitness levels high,\u201d points out Saracco.<\/p>\n
In the new virtual workforce, many people are more stressed than ever, and companies are looking for new ways to provide perks that will help their team avoid burnout. Make a list of every local business you can think of and create an appealing email offer that explains the importance of exercise as a way to boost employee productivity through physical and mental health. Offer trial memberships in person or a subscription to streaming classes to help ease them back into the workout habit.<\/p>\n
\u201cAs communities begin to reopen, people are eager to return to or start a fitness regimen, but might need a little extra support,\u201d Saracco says. By focusing on the safety of your gym and the benefits of exercise, you can reach new members and reinforce your importance to existing ones.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
In \u201cnormal\u201d times, gym operators have a host of options for marketing their facilities, from participating in community events to sponsoring sports leagues. But, during COVID, the very thing that makes these marketing tactics appealing (a large potential audience) is mostly off-limits. Additionally, gyms have to counteract the public\u2019s potential concern about indoor activities, including workouts.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":567,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[1],"tags":[23,488,487,69],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.clubinsideronline.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6171"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.clubinsideronline.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.clubinsideronline.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.clubinsideronline.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.clubinsideronline.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=6171"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"http:\/\/www.clubinsideronline.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6171\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":6173,"href":"http:\/\/www.clubinsideronline.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6171\/revisions\/6173"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.clubinsideronline.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/567"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.clubinsideronline.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6171"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.clubinsideronline.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=6171"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.clubinsideronline.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=6171"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}