While the coronavirus pandemic has been devastating to the fitness industry in many ways, one positive outcome is that now, arguably more than ever, people are focused on their health. More and more people are looking for ways to exercise in open-air or outdoor environments, which has made the tennis industry especially attractive. We also know that many people use the New Year as a motivator to kickstart their health and fitness journey, and memberships tend to boom during the early months of the year.
For these reasons (and more!), now is the perfect time for tennis organisations to revisit their marketing strategies and assess what has worked well, what hasn’t, and what can be done to address these three key areas: member growth/attraction, member retention, and profitability.
In this blog we’ll cover five marketing tips to help you grow your tennis club in 2021.
1. Lay the foundation
In order to successfully grow your tennis club, you need to develop a marketing plan with several different marketing strategies included. The first step is to lay the foundation by defining your audience, target market(s) and competitors. Understanding this information is crucial as it will guide your marketing strategies and help you decide what type of language to use, which tools to use in your marketing mix, and the best ways to communicate your message to both current members and potential members.
2. Establish your brand identity
A brand identity is the embodiment of everything your business is and does, and having a strong brand identity is a must if you want your club to stand out from other tennis businesses. Building a brand, much like building your business, is a process. It won’t happen overnight, but with ongoing effort and the right marketing strategies in place, you’ll be able to establish your identity and build long-term relationships with tennis members.
3. Build a dynamic website
Never underestimate the power of a website—it’s the home base that connects everything. Your website is where you can display your mission, showcase pictures of your tennis courts, provide information about your club and its services, link your social media accounts, and demonstrate expertise in your industry.
We live in a digital world, and you should assume the vast majority of potential members will visit your website before they decide whether or not to visit your club. It’s worthwhile to invest the time it takes to ensure your site is well-designed, easy to navigate, and mobile-friendly.
4. Create content that’s compelling
When marketing a tennis club, you need content that’s engaging and tailored to your audience and what they care about—things like educational articles, blogs, newsletters, infographics, webinars or videos. By becoming a credible resource on topics that matter to potential members, you’re more likely to be discovered by the right audience and to grow an engaged subscriber base.
Utilising social media channels is the fastest, cheapest and easiest way to reach your audience, drive traffic to your website, and to establish your brand identity. Social media also allows businesses to control the narrative by deciding what content to share and when. While there’s no magic formula to dictate how often your business should post on social media, consistency is key, so you want to make sure to keep the dialogue going and avoid any prolonged periods of silence.
5. Offer an incentive for referrals
Your tennis members can be your best brand advocates. In fact, word of mouth recommendations from friends or family members make them more likely to purchase that product or service, and trust a recommendation from someone they know more than a social media recommendation.
Providing an incentive for referring friends will not only benefit your business by attracting new potential members and revenue streams, it will create a more fun and meaningful experience for your current tennis members, too. It’s a win-win. You can structure a refer-a-friend campaign a number of different ways, like offering a discount on membership, a cash bonus for a certain number of referrals, or giving away free swag are just a few ideas.
Conclusion
With the New Year just around the corner, now is the perfect time to get your marketing strategies in place to help grow your tennis club in 2021. To learn how our comprehensive software solution can assist with your marketing efforts and ensure your tennis courts are used to their full potential, click here.