Nowadays, commercial gym owners are probably aware of the need to advertise their business. After all, you want to profit from it after investing a lot of time, energy, and money into putting up a gym.
If membership is still at the low end, you may want to know as well how to advertise your business so that members will go up exponentially.
Here is a list of reasons and ways to advertise your business so that your gym becomes successful and the talk of the town:
To Gain New Members
Gyms are basically set up in densely populated areas to take advantage of foot traffic, such as in cities. You can do gym marketing by putting a sign in front of your establishment saying “We Are Open for Business” for the benefit of people walking by.
Ideally, you should broadcast the appeal of your gym by posting signs all over the community such as on public bulletin boards. You can also put up a tarpaulin giving details about the services your facility offers to the public.
You can start advertising by printing fliers about your new promotions such as “free one hour for every two hours of workouts” or “free membership for one month for every referral”. Be sure to include a map in the fliers so that people will know where you are located and how they can get to your gym.
Since you have set up your gym business in a specific community, you should seek customers amongst the people who live and work there. The first thing you should do is to win their loyalty. The better services you offer to them, the more loyal they are to your business.
Through these strategies, people will want to walk in and see for themselves what you have to offer.
To Cast a Wider Net
There’s nothing wrong with going online to advertise your gym services. However, be sure that people in your immediate community will be the ones who can see your ad.
You can put up a website where your facilities will be displayed through photos and videos. If you manage to get the attention of people in your community, be sure to encourage them to visit so they can see what you have to offer. If they like what they see, they may spread the word about your gym even to other contacts.
Your online presence indicates a wider audience. So, don’t be surprised if people from various locations start asking questions on the ‘Contact Us’ page of your website.
To Increase Your Branding and Credibility
Word-of-mouth advertising is a good way to market your gym because many times there are testimonials from satisfied customers. Inform your relatives and your close friends first so that they can inform people in their circles about your new gym.
Then, you can try advertising through other means. You can ask people in your circles to display your ads in their offices and giving out fliers to their co-workers and business contacts. If you have a website, you can also ask people to leave a review of your services.
You could emphasize in your marketing materials that it is less costly to get membership in your gym rather than have people buy their own workout and fitness equipment. Don’t forget to keep getting feedback from them about how your gym could improve
To Increase Your Sales
Every business, no matter how big or small, needs to have enough sales every day to survive. That’s the reality of gym marketing. You probably have a lot of expenses as a gym owner such as paying for electricity, water and your employees’ salaries.
So, you need to boost your sales as soon as possible – and the best way to do that is to advertise your facility’s services.
To Keep Up With the Business Trend
Some commercial gym owners are actually entrepreneurs. So, they want to see more walk-in customers hovering in the place to see what the business has to offer.
Gone are the days when a gym simply needed to have weight training equipment to bring in clients. Actually, most people nowadays consider gyms to have more services such as classes in aerobics or zumba to allow overweight people to lose weight.
If you intend to keep up with this business trend, you will need to advertise aggressively so people will take notice and visit your facility.
To Stay Competitive
There are many gyms, nowadays, and in your area you have probably noticed at least one competitor rendering the same service you do. So, advertising your business will help you to win a sizable slice of the market that will sustain your business in the long haul.
After your commercial gym has been operational for some time, you may also want to upgrade the facilities so more people will enjoy the service.
You can add a small snack bar inside and buy better machines for strength and endurance training. Moreover, you can hire certified fitness trainers who will guide the clients in their workouts. These strategies will show people that your gym is really up-to-date and has the services that they actually expect from a commercial gym.
Then, you can resume advertising so that members and walk-ins will know you upgraded.
Final Thoughts
Putting up a gym of your own can be a good idea if you know that many people within your area like to work out. However, don’t rest on your laurels – be proactive and market your gym actively through well-placed advertising.
Since your goal is to recoup your investment, you need to increase your profit. Set aside a budget specifically for marketing the gym to avoid confusion as to whose funds are being used.
The good news is that, with the correct advertising methods, your gym will be able to bring in new members and allow older members to stay. It will also give walk-ins a favorable impression of what your new gym is all about and how it can help them to be fit and strong themselves.