Smart gym owners know that they need to constantly be promoting, advertising and publicizing if they’re going to grow the business. Not only is it important to engage in marketing during the obviously busy months (e.g. January) but it’s just as important to keep the advertising ball rolling during those slower months (e.g. October).
Fortunately, October contains some remarkable opportunities for health club advertising. The sample health club marketing plan in this article is divided into four categories. While you won’t use all of these ideas, just one or two of them combined will be enough to boost sales.
YES, HALLOWEEN & GYM SALES DO HAVE SOMETHING IN COMMON:
Have you ever thought of Halloween candy as a promotion product you can use to boost sales? Probably not. Funny thing is, it works! This year, advertise that anybody bringing in a piece of Halloween candy can exchange it for a free workout. No limit! Sure, it’s a gimmick, but it does get people’s attention. Then you can ”sell” and enroll everybody who’s using their free candy passes.
Then, on Halloween, take all the candy you’ve received and pass it out to Trick-Or-Treating kiddies. Be sure to print up several hundred coupons and staple one to each piece of candy. It’s an easy and effective way to get your coupons distributed to local homes for free.
Finally, you might want to consider hosting a Halloween party for members. Of course, you’ll also invite non-members because getting new people into the gym is the name of the game, isn’t it? How about offering free registration for everybody who joins the gym on Halloween….and in costume.
If you’d prefer to tie into a larger national event to help you gain some publicity, you should consider Halloween Safety Month and National Trick or Treat for UNICEF Month. The UNICEF event in particular is spectacular in scope and will give you the chance to raise funds for a worthy cause. The easiest tactic is to let the media know that 5 percent (or whatever) of all new membership sales during the month of October will be donated to UNICEF.
HONOR THESE DESERVING PEOPLE AND WATCH FITNESS CENTER SALES SOAR:
If there’s one thing people like to do, it’s pay tribute to folks who deserve some recognition. With that in mind, you may wish to honor any (or all) of the eight health-related groups that are recognized in October: honor dental hygienists because it’s Dental Hygiene Month , pay respect to medical assistants during National Medical Assistants Week , recognize medical librarians throughout National Medical Librarians Month , pay tribute to midwives during National National Midwifery Week , honor clergy and their spouses during National Pastoral Care Week , pay respect to pharmacists and pharmacy techs throughout National Pharmacy Week , recognize physical therapists and their staff throughout National Physical Therapy Month , and finally honor all primary care givers during National Primary Care Week .
The easiest way to do this is to prepare a gift certificate for each person in the group. It may look something like this:
ABC Health Club
In honor of Medical Assistants’ Week we would like to provide you with this gift certificate.
Valid for FREE membership throughout October!
Simply present this certificate at the front desk to get started today!
No obligation, No commitment, No fees of any kind!
It’s just our way of saying “thanks” for all that you do to keep (your town) healthy!
ABC Health Club – 123 Main Street – Anytown, USA – 555.867.5309
What you’re really doing here is giving away a one-month free pass, which is most likely something you do from time to time anyway. The national months just give you an excuse to personalize the free passes and make them special. It’s simple and effective. The best part is that once the recipient begins using their certificate, you have an entire month to sell them on a full membership.
RAISE MONEY FOR YOUR FITNESS CENTER AND ALSO FOR A WORTHY CAUSE:
Fundraisers, when performed for a worthy non-profit cause, are always a good thing. October offers you the chance to participate in three national fundraising activities: The American Heart Walk, the National Make A Difference Day and World Food Day. The key here is to carefully plan an event (yard sale, Heart Walk, canned food drive, etc.) and then notify the media. Yes, you’ve heard that before, but so few gym owners actually do it that it bears repeating. Especially with non-profit fundraising events, if you simply take the time to issue a press release, you will often receive free publicity far exceeding the value of the time you’ve donated to the event.
If you’re asking fitness center members to donate their time for a non-profit event, it can be a nice gesture to give them a small promotion gift or promotion item in return for their efforts. A t-shirt with your gym logo is a good example of this, as is a simple water bottle with your health club logo. Remember that this type of brand promotion product is good for you long-term, since these folks will be wearing and carrying your logo around town for months or years to come.
Be creative when raising funds or goods for one of these charities. For example, you could have your health club members commit to donating one can of food for every pound of fat they lose in October. Call it ”Empty The Cupboard & Lose The Weight” or something similar. Not only will you help a worthy cause, but at the same time you’ll be helping your own cause.
There it is, a sample health club marketing plan for October. Intelligent gym owners will make the most of these ideas and sell more gym memberships this month.
