Running a gym comes with its fair share of challenges. From hiring suitable fitness trainers to keeping members engaged, running a successful gym requires a lot of work. But for most gyms, selling gym memberships is undoubtedly the biggest challenge they face.
In this blog post, we'll explore key factors to consider when setting membership prices. We'll also provide ten proven strategies to boost your gym membership sales.
What Should You Consider When Defining Membership Price?
Setting membership prices involves a delicate balance of ensuring competitive prices while maintaining profitability. That said, here are key factors to consider when setting membership prices for your gym:
Cost structure
Identify all your overhead costs, such as rent, equipment maintenance, and utilities, and ensure your pricing covers them and yields a profit.
Target market
Analyze your target audience's income levels, fitness needs, and spending habits to determine how to price your memberships competitively.
Competitor pricing
Research what similar gyms in your vicinity charge. While you don't have to match them, your pricing should be competitive.
10 Effective Gym Membership Sales Strategies
Customers are vital to the success of your gym because, without them, you can't earn gym revenue and grow your bottom line. If you want to attract more gym members, here are ten effective gym promotion ideas:
1. Make Sure You Understand Your Target Audience
It can be challenging to sell gym memberships if you don't know your target audience. Posing yourself the following questions can help you determine who your potential clients are:
- Who is currently using my gym?
- What are the main fitness goals of my potential members?
- What is the area's demographic profile?
- How does my target audience consume information?
For instance, if you discover many of your potential clients are young parents looking to lose weight, you might want to provide cardio services or flexible classes and promote your services via social media. Additionally, you might want to provide on-site childcare.
By knowing your target audience, you can tailor your marketing strategies accordingly, price your memberships effectively, and provide relevant services to cater to your target audience's needs.
2. Personalize Your Sales Pitch
Personalizing your sales pitch can significantly boost your gym membership sales. In fact, one study found that nearly four out of five customers are more inclined to purchase from brands that personalize the customer experience.
That means you can't afford to use a one-size-fits-all approach when selling gym memberships. Instead, take the time to build genuine relationships with potential members by asking them about their specific interests and reasons for joining your gym.
For instance, if potential clients express interest in strength training, you can tailor your tour to this interest, showcasing your gym's weightlifting equipment and powerlifting programs. You can also introduce potential members to fitness trainers specializing in strength training.
By personalizing your sales pitch, you can connect with potential members on a deeper level and boost your chances of converting potential customers into loyal members.
3. Highlight Unique or Distinctive Fitness Offerings
Highlight your gym's unique selling point (USP). Also known as a unique value proposition (UVP), your gym's USP is simply something that distinguishes it from others and sets it apart from competitors. Here are some distinctive fitness offerings you can highlight:
Specialized equipment
Showcase any sophisticated equipment that members might not find elsewhere, such as advanced weightlifting equipment, aqua dumbbells, or underwater bikes.
Niche class offerings
Highlight niche fitness classes you might offer, such as yoga, Zumba, or martial arts.
Virtual or online classes
Highlight perks like on-demand workouts to appeal to busy gym goers who can't always access your on-site gym.
Highlighting these unique aspects of your facility can attract potential members looking for a gym with more than just the essentials, allowing you to stand out from the competition and boost gym membership sales.
4. Focus on Selling a Solution To Achieve Fitness Goals
Most gym goers join the gym to accomplish specific goals such as losing weight, building muscle, or improving endurance. So, instead of just selling gym memberships, focus on selling potential member solutions to help them achieve their fitness goals. You can do this by asking prospecting members about their fitness goals and challenges and offering customized solutions.
For example, if a potential client expresses interest in building muscle but doesn't know what compound exercises to do, you can connect the client with a fitness trainer specializing in strength training. You can also provide the client with a personalized meal plan for muscle gain to enhance the customer experience.
5. Leverage the Right Marketing Channels
Marketing is critical to your gym's success. With an effective marketing strategy, you can increase brand awareness, generate high-quality gym leads, and convert prospects into customers.
While you shouldn't spread yourself too thin by using dozens of marketing materials, particularly if you're short on resources, consider using at least three marketing channels. Why? Well, marketing campaigns using at least three channels have a 287% higher purchase rate than single-channel campaigns, meaning an omnichannel approach can grow your bottom line.
Here are three marketing channels worth considering to showcase your gym membership promotions:
Social media marketing
Social media platforms like Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter (oops! X) can help you reach a broader, younger audience. Consider sharing workout tutorials, gym promotions, and fitness tips to encourage engagement. Also, post customer success stories as social proof of your gym's results.
Email marketing
Email marketing can enable you to build stronger relationships with customers by sending them personalized content. Build an email list to send customers targeted content based on their interests.
Print marketing materials
Place or distribute well-designed posters, brochures, or flyers in high-traffic areas like coffee shops, subway stations, or apartments.
By leveraging a mix of digital and traditional marketing channels, you can reach a broader audience, attract new members, and create buzz about your gym in the local community.
6. Consider Offering Free Trial Periods or Classes
What if this fitness facility isn't a good fit for me? What if it doesn't have the amenities I want? What if the fitness trainers don't understand my fitness goals? These are just some questions that might run through your potential members' minds when considering your gym.
Free trials or classes can make potential members less hesitant about enrolling in your gym by letting them experience your gym's facilities, equipment, and trainer's expertise. They can also allow potential members to build relationships with other regular members, which can prove decisive in their decision to join.
So, depending on your flexibility, consider offering free trial memberships of at least seven days or longer to allow prospects to experience your gym's various services. Also, after the trial period elapses, contact potential members via email or phone to inquire about any questions and address any concerns. Doing this not only enhances customer satisfaction but might also boost gym membership sales.
7. Start a Referral Program for Your Members
Nearly nine out of ten customers trust referrals from people they know over other forms of marketing. That's why starting a referral program for your members is one of the most effective gym membership promotion ideas you can implement.
And best of all? Not only is a referral program a cost-effective way to attract more gym members, but it's also a great way to reward your current members. However, you must ensure your referral program has an offer that's so compelling it's virtually impossible to ignore. Bearing that in mind, here are some incentive ideas for your referral program:
- Free branded gym merchandise like water bottles, gym towels, or yoga mats
- Discounted memberships
- Free personal training sessions
8. Ensure You Offer the Latest Equipment and Technology
The fitness industry has come a long way since its inception. If you want to compete favorably with other fitness businesses and keep up with fitness trends, incorporating the latest equipment and tech can make your gym attractive to potential members — especially tech-savvy ones.
Some technologies and equipment you can integrate to enhance the customer experience include:
- Membership apps that allow members to communicate directly with gym staff
- Virtual and live classes to enable members to access workouts anywhere, anytime
- Amenities like saunas and massage rooms to improve customer satisfaction
9. Cross-promote With Local Businesses
Engaging in cross-promotions with other local businesses can be an effective strategy to boost gym membership sales, as doing so can enable you to reach a wider audience and increase brand awareness. Ideally, you'll want to partner with businesses with a similar target audience but not direct competitors, like health food stores, sports apparel shops, or physiotherapy clinics. For instance, you can collaborate with local businesses to provide bundled offers, combining complementary services at a reduced fee.
10. Structure Membership Tiers
Providing flexible membership plans is another great way to boost gym membership sales. Consider offering structured membership tiers like basic, premium, and VIP to cater to various needs and budgets.
For instance, you can offer a basic tier with access to essential gym services for casual gym goers and a premium one for members looking for extra perks like personal training sessions, wellness services, nutrition counseling, specialized classes, and extended gym hours.
How Fitness On Demand Can Help Your Gym Grow
Implementing these ten sales techniques can help you attract more customers and boost your gym revenue. But if you want to elevate your gym sales further, consider leveraging digital solutions.
At Fitness On Demand, we provide cutting-edge virtual fitness and wellness solutions to match every lifestyle and space. Request a demo today to experience how our digital fitness solutions can help your gym grow.
Author
Luke Miska
Luke Miska is a results-driven business management visionary with a stellar record developing operationalizing strategies, experiences and measurable results that engage teams and customers to lead healthier lives. He leverages his passion for customer-centric strategies and aligns goals between customer needs and organizational priorities, catalyzing business success.
