How To Keep Your Gym Members Despite COVID-19
First, let’s address a question many members ask: Is going to the gym safe now?
As you probably already know the protocols for most gyms have been carefully planned to avoid viral infections. However, we shall review some of these protocols:
Most facilities are limiting the capacity to reduce the concentration of people to avoid potential viral infections or increasing the chances to spread a virus. Also, it’s important that you make sure your gym has good ventilation, as according to experts this is a great way to avoid spreading the virus, simply keep the windows and doors open to let the air flow.
Additionally, fewer people allow social distance to be better maintained, which is key during vigorous activity, where breathing intensifies. Remember that the main route of transmission of viruses are the droplets. So, asking members to keep a 2-meter distance from each other is your safest bet! For this, you can play our FREE COVID-19 safety audio messages (and music) to reinforce all safety measures and make sure your customers feel safe at your training facility.
If prevention measures are applied, a gym does not represent any type of risk at all. But how do you make some customers who might be scared to show up understand this? Or even worse, how do you keep your members locked in if you are forced to close?
Here are some tips that might help you and your gym survive the corona crisis
Make sure to collect information from trusted sources and ignore rumors circulating on social media as there is a lot of false information. Likewise, it’s important to keep your clients informed about your protocols to keep them safe. Communication is key, you can run an email campaign or reach out to your customers to show them that their health is your highest priority.
Also, stay informed about government initiatives to support businesses, you might be needing some extra help and this could be it. Many governments are introducing measures to reduce the financial pressure caused by the outbreak, such as tax exemptions or late payments, lowering interest rates, etc. Make the most out of all the help you can get.
Provide your customers with hand sanitizers and ask them to keep a social distance. Try our FREE Covid-19 safety audio. Additionally, spend time investing and planning your best strategy to ensure your business can withstand times like this.
Providing clients with easy access to content and exercises anywhere and anytime can be also very beneficial, this could be from free workouts in your social media accounts they can follow at home to even allowing them to workout outdoors (if you have access to it). Use this time to reinvent your fitness business and listen to your clients’ suggestions and ideas, they might be very valuable!
Ok, there’s no doubt that the internet has come here to stay, and if you are running a business you must be there and make yourself noticeable! Bring your gym closer to your clients' homes through email marketing or through ads or even organically through social media.
Email marketing cannot be missing from your online marketing strategy. Especially if you are offering discounts and promotions to keep people coming back to your facility, or even attract new customers (like a friend discount). Email marketing is the best way to get closer to your community and to remind them that your gym is waiting for them.
Social networks are also a great and necessary tool, especially in times of crisis. Social media is perfect to publicize your services and promote your business. Take advantage of these platforms. For this, you should learn, at least, the basics to interpret results, measure the engagement, and analyze your results.
The coronavirus pandemic is creating drastic changes, both in society and in the economy. Getting your hands on a solid digital marketing strategy can be the most effective way to get new clients and get back to normality.
To make your online marketing effective, first, you must listen to both your clients and your competition. As a result of active listening, you will be able to identify the needs, the pain points, and new ideas to include on your website or social media plan.
Lucky for you the healthy lifestyle is booming, and people are taking advantage of boring quarantines to train from home, and some of them are eager to get back to the gym, so use that as leverage!
Offer your followers a reason to follow you and a reason to stick around by providing valuable content they need and make them “fall in love” with your brand.
You can post tips for training from home during the crisis of the coronavirus, collective classes in streaming, advice to take care of their diet, and show them your gym, how you are working hard to keep them safe, record Instagram stories showing your face, get them to know you and build trust.
It's important to minimize the damage a quarantine or fear can cause to your business. This time away from work can also be difficult for your clients, you can try to reduce the membership for the next few months. Consider offering a small group training session.
Alternatively, you could promise clients additional classes, training sessions, and workshops, you name it. Show them that you care about them and their health. This will keep your business up and running.
It is clear that a better workout experience leads to higher retention. Hospitality is a great example. The hospitality industry is all about experiences that keep retention high. They think about all the aspects of the customers’ journey, including the smell of the shampoo and the music in the lobby. Have you thought about your music as well? It's quite important.
Marketing is most of the time focused outside the gym, and most of the budget is spent on member acquisition. And I totally understand why, you need to hit the new members' KPIs. But acquisition is just the beginning of the funnel, not the end, and some of the budget should be spent on engagement and retention.
It’s almost January and your gym will be flooded with new members again. You’ll probably experience a flow of different groups with different characters, your music should change to fit the group(s) currently in your gym.
