Old and new customers and how to bring them back to the gym. Here is our exclusive guide for you.
To this day in the world thousands of owners of gyms, cross training boxes, swimming pools and personal training studios are using every ounce of their energy and money to save their business from the risk of closure due to the aftermath of the pandemic.
We know many of the owners of these companies personally and we know very well that they have to face this challenge once again on their own.
As a company linked to the world of fitness, we have always tried to meet the needs of our customers, helping and supporting them in the best possible way.
To try to give even better help, we decided to post this guide on how to bring old customers back to our gym and how to try to have new ones at the same time.
Let’s understand together how to realize our new online marketing plan step by step.
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Premise
The health situation is finally improving. The clouds of this pandemic are thinning, but the challenges for fitness-related businesses are not over.
The challenge above all is to be able to bring back old customers and attract new ones.
In this digitized society made of views, stories, tags, reels, being to capture the attention of a potential customer is really difficult. So it is vital to focus your energy on trying to give a clear message that can really reach people interested in your products.
5 ways to keep and attract new customers to the gym
everyone in the digital age is a potential customer.
Customers, despite all the best intentions, browsing the various social network apps or the simple search engine are bombarded by thousands of different Ads that invite them to try some services like :
Your gym membership at 19.90 per month. Sign up we are open 24/7
Or :
Come and try our courses! You will have plenty of time to decide you get: 1 day free, 15 days, 30 days free and so on….
I mean, a real jungle, where it seems like only the strongest can survive…
Yes to new customers but remember the old timers
The first rule of a healthy business is to focus on attracting new customers, but also on establishing long-lasting, good-quality relationships with old time customers, so that they can stay with us for a long time and form the core that keeps our business going.
To keep our customers, we first need to understand what they expect from our gym and what they would like us to improve.
Offer affordable subscriptions
Needless to say, the fitness industry has changed a lot since the onset of the pandemic, as have the habits of gym customers. According to a recent survey, 45% of gyms in the world will never reopen.
That is truly tragic news, but it could be a good thing for those who plan to stay open, less competition means more chances of succeeding in their business.
The pandemic crisis has also made itself felt economically and many of our old customers may have problems spending the same amount of money as in previous years.
Our number one tip is: Try to create quarterly or half-yearly subscription packages at discounted prices, so that old and new customers can train saving money.
We are sure they will appreciate this very much.
Intercept the application
40% of people who have never done any kind of physical activity before the crisis now say that they would very willingly join the gym.
Because of the lockdown many people have gained weight and want to finally get back in shape.
Communicating through your social profiles and your website is crucial and putting the emphasis on the benefits of post-pandemic physical activity could be a very smart move.
Finding new subscribers means doing marketing, it’s uncescapable. The way of communicating has changed and we can not be caught lacking.
Fortunately, the demand really seems to be peaking right now and we think it’s the right time to rethink your communication tools.
Our number two advice is: Use your social profiles and your site to explain how starting or returning to train is important and especially how it’s smarter to take advantage of the training packages created for your new and old customers.
Do online marketing with blogs
Be sure to create valuable content, this is the only rule that matters in the world of modern communication.
If you have a website you should definitely have a blog. The blog has huge potential to attract customers interested in your services locally.
For example, a gym based in Rome could write blog posts on how to get in shape with your own training method.
With a title like that : Get back in shape with the training method of Gym X in Rome
To help with the SEO be sure to use good keywords such as “gym in rome”.
Surely you have wondered why when you search for something on Google some results appear on the first page, while others do not. This is due to the positioning of your website.
The better the content, the higher you’ll be able to place your site. And the higher the ranking, the greater the chances of the interested customer finding your gym.
Our tip number 3 is : Make sure your website has a blog with content relevant to your business and that it is optimized with relevant keywords, search terms and good content, so that you can increase the number of your new and old customers.
Be proactive! use your emails
Email marketing is a great strategy to extend promotions, benefits and special offers, to attract both new and old customers!
Just do not be insistent, remember to send no more than 2 emails per month and make sure to always send new content especially offers, tips and pdf guides.
Email communication can be very effective. People read their emails much more willingly when they are at home or on a break, especially if they come from known senders.
So remember to send your newsletter at the right times.
Send an email with a title like : Hello Claudio we miss you at the gym! It could be an excellent strategy to encourage the opening of the email sent, it could trigger old emotions experienced during training with old friends, so as to push the customer to return.
Our tip number 4 is : Use email marketing to entice your old customers to come back with an offer dedicated to them. It might be a great way to leverage their hesitation so we can hit the target.
Micro-influencers and sponsored posts
Find micro fitness influencers in your area to promote your gym. No big names, with thousands of fake followers. Use genuine people who reside in your area with a small but genuine audience.
Micro influencers are a great way to attract customers. For example, you could invite a fitness influencer to your gym to have a masterclass open to new members.
Do not buy followers unnecessarily, vanity metrics will not help you with visibility.
Use that money to do sponsored motivational posts where you invite to join your gym listing the benefits.
Our tip #5 is : Use social networks properly, they are a very powerful tool when used in the right way.
Conclusion
The pandemic crisis seems to have passed, what you need now is to take things into your own hands and start creating a real digital communication plan to scrupulously follow and to attract new and old customers.
We are sure that by following our advice you will be able to have excellent results.
