Health Club Marketing Needs An Overhaul
All too often in the health club industry owners look for the quick fix. True, a $99 membership for a year will get a lot of people to sign up. But as any owner who has done this will attest, there is more headache than happiness in this venture.
Fair Haven, NJ (PRWEB) May 5, 2005 -- All too often in the health club
industry owners look for the quick fix. True, a $99 membership for a year will
get a lot of people to sign up. But as any owner who has done this will attest,
there is more headache than happiness in this venture.
Owners always ask
for the magic marketing pill and as you know, there is no “magic pill”. However,
there is a system, and in order for the system to take flight, owners will need
to make changes in the way they do business. This can all be done without
compromising prices or making ridiculous offers to potential clients.
Tear It Down and Build It Up
Successful business owners understand
that their business is in a continual state of growth and evolution, shedding
old ideas and habits and developing new ones. These new ones take time to
develop and more importantly, the old habits take time to break. But through
practice and repetition, the old habits become weak and the new habits take
form.
Here is an example of breaking habits and taking time to build up
better habits. Health club owners realize their front desk sales procedure is
not cutting it, so they get rid of their old system and install a new one. The
change is met with resistance by the front desk staff. In fact, many owners
report a drop in conversion ratios and are confused by this. What they need to
remember is that they are breaking old sales habits and their people are
uncomfortable. Once they get past being uncomfortable and master new skills, the
closing ratios will increase to higher levels than before.
Get Back To
The Basics
Tiger Woods had just won more tournaments than any golfer within a
one year period, and he was doing it by large margins. Then he realized that his
swing was not good for long term success and this could shorten his career. So
he got a new coach and developed a new swing. For the second time in his career,
Woods revamped his swing, believing he needed to take his driving and iron play
to an even higher level. With his new coach, Hank Haney, particular attention
was paid to distance and direction. "I really like his approach to teaching.
It's certainly different than I've ever had before," Woods says. "When it's all
said and done, you're back to the same fundamentals," Haney says. "It just
changes the order you work on them."
The new swing was very
conventional, but Tiger could not control it. He found fewer fairways and even
fewer greens than he had since he was just a kid. But he kept at it despite the
critics and a long slump. He lost his number one world ranking, he continued to
lose and his accuracy was not looking much better. Then at the end of the 2004
season, there were glimpses of the old Tiger. He was hitting it long and he was
lowering his scores. Now he has regained his number one world ranking and
recently won The Masters.
Do you see what happened here? He knew what he
was doing would make him better, but the period of time where he was breaking
his old habits and perfecting new ones overlapped. It was a step back for him.
But as soon as the new habits became dominant, his success came back and better
than before.
Business mentor Brian Tracey’s book, “Million Dollar Habits”
talks about taking a loss in order to make a big leap in your business and it is
a good read for anyone looking to break through to the next level. Another good
read that explains this business practice is “Re-imagine” by Tom Peters. His
theory is this, “When it comes to getting past a barrier or a plateau that seems
impossible…. Control, Alt, Delete.” What he is saying is, with new knowledge and
more experience, why improve on what you are doing? Just start over and do it
right. Too many people try to build off of what they have, when what they need
to do is apply all of their new knowledge and new habits…. Control, Alt, Delete…
Start over.
These examples relate directly to health club marketing
success. The good news - marketing is scientific, not creative. Successful
owners know the secret: test, track, tweak, then succeed. If you really want a
system that can make a gym better, secure more members and retain more clients,
then you need to break old habits and practice new ones.
Most marketing
and advertising companies focus on one aspect of your gym. One will do your post
cards, another websites, the next might help with closing techniques and still
another will write newspaper ads. Each one of these companies is working with
their own system and using the angle of their own message. Successful owners in
the top 10% of the health and fitness field understand the need for a team to be
working together and knowing what the message is. Done properly, the down time
becomes less and the focus on new habits becomes greater. Using a company that
works with your sales team, front desk, website marketing, advertising, internal
marketing and community programs is an advantage to any owner who really is
hands on with his club.
Just remember, in order to move forward in a big
way in any aspect of life or business, you need to break old habits. “Give it
time” says Brian Long, President of Profit Partners LLC. “Too often we see
owners quit on their plan a few months into it. Change is uncomfortable, but
worth it.” This involves taking a step back, regrouping and forming a stronger
base of new habits. That takes guts. Most people remain stuck because they’re
afraid to take a step backward. It is the only way to go from good to
great.
About Profit Partners LLC
Profit Partners LLC is headquartered
at 492 River Road in Fair Haven, NJ 07704. They are a Marketing and Consulting
firm which was founded in 2001. Since 2003, they have
worked exclusively with health clubs and the fitness industry; becoming an
industry leader. Their successful programs were launched nationally in 2004.
For more information on their services or the other benefits they
provide, visit www.myprofitpartner.com or call 732-419-9001.
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Source : http://www.prweb.com/releases/2005/5/prweb235804.htm