Whether you run your own personal training business or work at a fitness facility, the ultimate goal is to build a roster of loyal, engaged clients. The online fitness market is booming, but there are a lot of other fitness businesses and personal trainers vying for the attention of your current and prospective clients.

So, what can you do to break through the noise and stand out?

In this blog, we’ll cover five tried-and-true marketing strategies to help you attract more prospective clients to your personal training business.

1. Leverage social media

Utilising social media is the fastest, cheapest and easiest way for personal trainers to reach their target audiences and potential clients. It also allows fitness businesses to control the narrative by deciding what content to share and when.

Here are five social media marketing tips to keep in mind:

• If you’re just starting out, it’s best to pick just one or two social media platforms to focus on so you can maximise your marketing efforts.
• When it comes to social media marketing, consistency is key. To build an engaged following you need to be in constant communication with your followers.
• Focus on creating and sharing content that’s relevant, of interest, and will resonate with your target audience to keep them coming back to your social media pages for more. Even better—try to identify a niche or a need you can fill.
• The communication on social media goes both ways, and followers don’t just want to be talked to—they want to be listened to. In addition to sharing regular and compelling content on your pages, make sure you interact with your audience as well.

2. Participate in local events

Most places host health fairs or other fitness-related expos several times throughout the year, creating the perfect targeted marketing opportunity for your personal training business. Setting up a booth at these types of events is a great way to introduce potential clients to your personal brand, and face-to-face conversations give you a greater ability to sell yourself and build relationships.

If you bring free swag to hand out, you’ll likely attract even more people to your booth—and it’s a great opportunity to snap some pictures to post to your social media accounts, too.

3. Highlight customer reviews & testimonials

Did you know that 92% of consumers will hesitate to buy a product if there are no reviews left by customers? And 97% of consumers say the customer reviews they read influence their purchasing decisions?

If you haven’t already done so, it’s time to create a testimonial marketing plan. Your online presence is more important today than it’s ever been, and not only do potential clients want to see what others are saying about your personal brand—they expect it. So much so, that 92% of consumers say they’ll hesitate to buy a product if there are no reviews left by customers.

The great news is—72% of customers say they’ll provide reviews and testimonials simply if a local business asks them to! With the right marketing efforts in place, you can easily beef up your online presence by garnering more online reviews and customer testimonials.

4. Incentivise referrals

Countless statistics show that the majority of us are influenced by what others say—for example, 83% of customers say word of mouth recommendations from friends or family members make them more likely to purchase that product or service, and 41% say they trust a recommendation from someone they know more than a social media recommendation.

Given the power of peer persuasion, rewarding your clients for referring friends to your personal training business is a win-win. Not only will this benefit your business by introducing new potential revenue streams, it will also create a more fun and meaningful member experience.

You can structure a refer-a-friend campaign a number of different ways. A few ideas include offering a discount on personal training services, a free session for a certain number of referrals, or giving away free branded swag.

5. Enhance the member experience

Providing a great member experience is critical to creating a positive association with your personal brand, establishing credibility, and building a robust network of personal training clients. The experience you provide—whether positive or negative—will stay with you and impact your long-term success.

Today’s consumers are more empowered than ever, making it that much more important for you to differentiate your personal training business from competitors, and to consistently deliver an exceptional experience that no one else can.

Conclusion

One silver lining of the pandemic is society’s heightened awareness of the importance of exercise to maintaining total body health. This has created a lot of new opportunities, especially in the digital fitness space, meaning the climate is ripe for personal trainers who are able to effectively utilise marketing efforts to connect, engage and build long-lasting relationships with clients.

To learn how we can help streamline your personal training business so you have more time to connect with potential clients, click here to schedule a free personalised product tour.

If you’re a gym owner, you already know how much time and energy it takes just to manage the day-to-day operations. From scheduling staff and fitness classes to overseeing equipment maintenance and inspections, the number of moving parts at any given time can be overwhelming. Without the right organizational tools, clear communication channels, and effective oversight, things can get out of hand pretty quickly and result in costly errors.

Gym management software continues to grow in popularity given its ability to increase efficiency and productivity, reduce the risk of human error, save time and money, and enhance the member experience. On top of that, the low upfront cost structure of a cloud-based software solution makes it a financially attractive option for fitness businesses of all sizes.

In this blog, we’ll cover some key benefits of using gym management software, in addition to how EZFacility’s cloud-based management system can improve your facility’s operations and membership management.

What is gym management software?

Gym management software—also sometimes referred to as membership management software, a facility management system, or a gym software solution—is a platform of tools that will centralize and streamline your facility’s operations. The software makes it easy for gym owners to assign tasks to employees, manage inventory, improve the payments process, and more—all from one secure location.

In a nutshell, gym management software serves as a central hub for gym owners to better manage and oversee their facility, staff, and memberships. 

Benefits of choosing EZFacility as your software solution

If you’ve decided a membership management software is right for you, the next step is to choose your service provider. We’re sure you’ll do your research, but to make things just a little bit easier for you, we’ve outlined some of EZFacility’s key features and how they can benefit your business.

1. Automate & Simplify Administrative Tasks

When it comes to business, time equals money—and our software solution can help you save a lot of time. Here are a few ways EZFacility can save you money by streamlining administrative tasks:

• Facility scheduling & management: Centralize the scheduling of physical resources and consolidate all classes, clinics, and rentals into a color-coded schedule. At-a-glance locate available resources and master resource utilization reports to ensure your facility is working to capacity.
  
• Membership management: Create custom membership plans, manage relationships, sell services online, assign plastic or RFID member cards, track payments, and automate text and email reminders to reduce client delinquencies.
  
• POS & inventory management: Need to sell point of sale products from a desktop or mobile device? Or keep an eye on product levels, automate reorder alerts, manage online or in-house coupon codes, and report on product profitability? We have the tools you need.

2. Empower & Engage Clients

We’ve previously talked about the importance of the member experience. Here’s how EZFacility can help you consistently deliver exceptional experiences to keep current members engaged and prospective members interested:  

• Self-service client portal: Allow clients to update payment information, pay outstanding balances, view your calendar, schedule sessions, purchase packages or memberships, register their kids for summer camp or soccer clinics, and more–all online and all on their own.
  
• Marketing tools: Customize and send advanced email marketing campaigns to develop new customer relationships or nurture leads throughout the buying process. With automated email and text message functionality–ensure clients receive the right information at the most opportune time.
  
• Online registrations & rentals: Enjoy online multi-enrollments, guest check-outs, and discount codes—all while providing business owners with real-time feedback of event and rental success. In fact, with our Smartwaiver integration, you’ll ditch the paper trail with digitally signed, tracked and organized custom liability waivers and event forms.
  
• Text message automation: With our EZMessaging feature– schedule single or multiple future campaigns or assist in delinquent billing collections by sending automated reminders. With a 97% read rate within 3-5 minutes and custom shortcode keywords, it has never been easier to connect and start conversations with members.
  
• Branded mobile app: With a branded mobile app clients have access to facility information, business social media accounts, schedules, trainer profiles, push-notifications, promotions, and can even ditch their physical member card by adding it to their mobile wallet. Available in both the Apple and Android app stores.

3. Gauge Success

When you utilize one centralized software solution to manage your gym’s operations, you gain insight into a lot of critical data. Here’s how EZFacility’s membership management software can help gym owners more effectively assess performance and gauge success:

• Extensive report suite: Get an in-depth look under the hood of your business–including financial, point of sale, marketing, payroll, membership and training–just to name a few. Export reports in a variety of file types available, including .csv, .pdf, .xlsx, etc.
  
• QuickBooks Online integration: Easily connect with tools that you already use—like QuickBooks Online. By partnering with an industry leader in the accounting software space—you can save time and stay organized by syncing EZFacility financials directly into the QuickBooks Online platform.
  
• Multi-location support: As you continue to grow and open additional locations –rest assured that EZFacility is by your side. Enjoy the flexibility to share clients and bookings across locations, report on vital business data from a central hub, engage clients with a multi-location branded app, and more. 
  
• Google Analytics integration: Have you ever wondered where in the online buying and registration process clients are dropping off? With our Google Analytics connector– find out just that and more.

Conclusion

For a gym owner to be successful in today’s business climate, it’s imperative to get onboard with the shift to digitization and to invest in a gym management system that can accommodate changing business needs, in addition to the needs of employees and consumers.

To learn more about how EZFacility’s gym management software can optimize your gym’s operations, click here to schedule a free personalized product tour today.

As with any business, before opening a gym you’ll need to do ample research and planning to set yourself up for long-term success. By investing the time to gain a thorough understanding of the fitness industry and the inherent challenges that come with starting a gym and being a new business owner, you’ll be able to put strategic plans in place to help you navigate foreseeable obstacles, mitigate risk, increase profitability, and keep things running smoothly.

Before opening a gym, start by asking yourself the following questions:

• What is my mission?
  
  Your mission will drive everything you do—in fact, it’s why you do what you do. Spend ample time developing your mission statement as you want to make sure it reflects your goals as a business owner and resonates with your target audience.
  
• Who is my target audience?
  
  Defining your target market is crucial as it will drive your marketing strategy and marketing materials. While you may be tempted to try to reach everyone, your gym won’t be a perfect match for them all. Instead, try to narrow things down by using demographic data.
  
• What products and services will I offer?
  
  Will your fitness center offer nutrition coaching and personal training services? Will you sell your own supplements or branded apparel? Is there a medical or rehabilitative aspect to your gym? Consider the entire spectrum of products and services you’re able to offer as this is a great way to generate additional revenue streams beyond memberships alone. 
  
• What is the personality of my fitness center?
  
  The personality of your fitness center will shape how you communicate across all boards—from how you communicate with staff, members and potential clients to the tone that’s used on your social media pages and in your marketing materials.
  
  You must decide how you want others to feel about your fitness center. Do you want to be thought of as modern and upbeat, or would you prefer to be considered more traditional?

Next steps

Once you’ve answered the questions above, you’re ready to start working on your business plan and thinking about marketing materials.

• Decide on a name
  
  First impressions matter, so the name you pick for your fitness center is of the utmost importance. You’ll want to consider what potential customers may think when they hear your business name as that can ultimately be the deciding factor between whether or not they visit your gym.
  
  You’ll want to pick a name that’s unique, yet easy to remember. You’ll also want to make sure the domain name for the business is still available online.
  
• Design your logo
  
  A good logo should be clear, recognisable, unique and memorable. Pick colours that complement your mission and philosophy, and a graphic that matches your fitness center’s personality. Ideally your logo should also include your business name so it becomes top-of-mind as soon as others see it.
  
• Create a website
  
  A website is the center of your online presence, and one of the best tools to establish your fitness brand. A website is the home base that connects everything—it’s where you can display your mission, promote your fitness center, provide information about your products and services, link your social media accounts, and build credibility.
  
  When you build your website, it’s important to keep your target audience in mind. Consider what tone, imagery and layout will be most appealing to them. You’ll also want to ensure it’s well-designed, easy to navigate, mobile-responsive, and SEO friendly.
  
• Create your business plan
  
  A business plan is a written document that describes how a company defines objectives, as well as how the business owner plans to achieve those goals in order to build a successful gym. An effective business plan will guide you through the phases of starting, managing and growing your fitness center. Think of your business plan as a blueprint for decision-making based on company goals and objectives and a way to keep your team on the same page and moving in the right direction.
  
  Having a strong business plan will help you better understand the fitness industry and the inherent challenges you can anticipate as a new business owner, learn more about your competitors and how to differentiate yourself, serve as a guide to grow your fitness center, help you reach company goals and milestones, assist in securing funding, and more.

Set your fitness center up for success

Opening a gym and being a new business owner will require you to wear many hats and juggle various responsibilities, many of which can be laborious and time consuming. One of the best ways to build a successful gym is to start with a solid framework and management software system in place to help streamline administrative tasks, improve communication and collaboration, simplify membership management, and more.

To learn if EZFacility is the right software solution for your fitness center, click here to schedule a free personalised product tour today.

High intensity interval training—commonly referred to as HIIT—continues to rise in popularity largely due to its effectiveness, flexibility, accessibility, and short time requirements.

Because time is one of the most valuable and irreplaceable resources we have, and people want to get results in the fastest way possible, HIIT is a great workout solution that allows people to achieve maximal health benefits in minimal time. 

What is High Intensity Interval Training?

HIIT is a broad term to describe a form of exercise that’s defined by its workout format—a short burst of high intensity exercise alternated with a recovery period of rest or low intensity exercise.

The fundamental concept of HIIT is pretty basic—you can do anything for 30 seconds, or even a few minutes, right? And, after having a chance to catch your breath, you can do it again.

HIIT sessions typically last between 10-30 minutes. The specific exercises vary, but can include cycling, sprinting, jumping rope or doing jumping jacks.

Examples of a high intensity interval training:

• Run as fast as you can for one 1 minute, and then walk for two 2 minutes. Repeat the 3-minute cycle five times, for a total of 15 minutes.
• Cycle as quickly as possible against high resistance for 30 seconds, followed by 1- 2 minutes of cycling at a slow pace with low resistance. Complete as many repetitions as you can in 30 minutes.
• Do burpees for 40 seconds, followed by 20 seconds of rest. Do squats for 40 seconds, followed by 20 seconds of rest. Run for 40 seconds, followed by 20 seconds of rest. Do jumping jacks for 40 seconds, followed by 20 seconds of rest. Do lunges for 40 seconds, followed by 20 seconds of rest. Repeat this cycle three more times.

What are the health benefits of High Intensity Interval Training?

The beauty of HIIT is that it’s meant to be quick and time efficient. And despite the short duration, HIIT workouts can actually be a more effective way to burn calories and lose body fat (and in less time) than traditional steady-state exercise.

In addition to promoting weight loss, HIIT offers a number of other health benefits, including:

• Improve heart health
  HIIT can improve health by reducing your heart rate, blood pressure and blood sugar levels. One study found that a group who did HIIT sessions three times a week for 20 minutes a day saw the same benefits to their blood pressure as a group who completed endurance training for four days a week and 30 minutes a day—despite spending half as much time exercising than the endurance training group.
• Increase VO2 max
  Your VO2 max—also referred to as maximal aerobic capacity, maximal oxygen uptake or maximal oxygen consumption—is a metric to describe your personal cardiorespiratory and aerobic fitness levels. Your VO2 max is the amount of oxygen your body is able to use during exercise. The greater your VO2 max, the better your body is able to use oxygen to generate energy and power—and the better you’ll be at working out and exercising.
• Boost your metabolism
  A healthy metabolism can help your body rid toxins more effectively, and help you burn calories even after your workout is finished.Some studies have shown that HIIT sessions force your body to use energy from fat as opposed to carbs,promoting more efficient weight loss.
• Improve mental health
  Countless studies have documented the correlation between exercise and improved mental health, and HIIT is no different. In addition to releasing endorphins, improving sleep, and reducing tension, the authors of a 2019 review suggest that HIIT can provide a range of benefits for people with mental illnesses, including reducing the severity of depression.

Conclusion

HIIT workouts are a time efficient way to burn calories, lose body fat, and improve endurance and stamina—but be prepared, they are intense. One of the best things about HIIT is you can do it anywhere, at any time, and without any equipment.

And because it’s such a broad concept, you can modify your HIIT sessions based on your personal time and space constraints. Just follow the format—short bursts of high intensity exercise, followed by a brief recovery period. Repeat the repetitions until you reach your desired length of workout.

For more fitness, sports and facility management insights, click here to check out our other blogs.

As the coronavirus swept across the world last year, the majority of the UK government responded by issuing lockdown and stay-at-home orders to help reduce transmission. While few—if any—industries remained completely unscathed, the fitness industry was hit especially hard.

Faced with sudden forced closures for an unknown period of time, fitness business owners were left scrambling to transition to digital offerings in order to stay afloat, while consumers were left looking for new ways to exercise from home in order to maintain both physical and mental health.

The Silver Lining

One silver lining of the pandemic is that people are significantly more health-conscious since the COVID-19 outbreak began. Activity data showed a meaningful increase in healthy activity since the onset of the pandemic in early March 2020, and that gym closures haven’t held people back from being active—in fact, daily exercise minutes actually increased by 43% according to activity data.

Considering that many people had to figure out new ways to exercise while being under lockdown, it’s no surprise that low-intensity steady-state (LISS) activities—for example, Pilates and yoga—have seen a resurgence in popularity. The transition to digital fitness offerings, paired with consumers’ heightened interest in full body health and wellness routines, has generated a lot of new business opportunities in the fitness landscape.

And while the market is ripe with opportunity—especially for yoga and Pilates business owners—there are a few key things you need to know before opening a Pilates studio.

1. Start with a business plan

Before opening a Pilates studio, you’ll need to have a business plan in place. A business plan is a comprehensive written document that outlines all pertinent company information, goals, and strategies. Business plans will vary by company, but typically include the following sections: 

• Executive Summary
• Business Description
• Industry Background
• Competitive Analysis
• Market Analysis
• Management Summary
• Operations Plan
• Marketing plan
• Financial Plan
• Attachments and milestones

Essentially, an effective business plan should serve as a blueprint for decision-making based on company goals and the target market. And although a great business plan doesn’t guarantee success, opening a Pilates studio with a solid business plan and framework in place will set you up for success by keeping everyone involved with your company on the same page and moving in the right direction together.

2. Find the right space

There are a lot of factors to consider when choosing a location for your Pilates studio business. To help you identify a space that will best suit your needs, consider the following:

• How many classes or sessions will you offer every day?
• How many people will be in each class?
• Will you run sessions simultaneously?
• What kind of equipment do you need?
• Is there adequate parking?
• Do you want your own space, or would you consider leasing space inside an existing facility?

Leasing from an existing facility can be a great way to bring in new clients, but you’ll want to ensure your potential space is removed from noisier activities like basketball and racquetball. A quiet, peaceful environment is required for a successful Pilates experience.

3. Hire the right Pilates instructors

The quality of your Pilates instructors will have a direct impact on the success of your studio, so you’ll want to hire a team of instructors who have a thorough knowledge of Pilates, as well as experience teaching group classes. Because the nuances of Pilates are significant, your Pilates instructors also need to be able to modify exercises to meet the needs of participants.

4. Get the word out

A multi-faceted marketing plan is a must-have when opening a Pilates studio. After setting up your website and social media channels, you’ll also want to consider paid marketing efforts like direct mail, print promotions and online advertising.

If you don’t have a huge budget, don’t worry! There are a lot of inexpensive ways to market your studio, too. A few examples include:

• Utilise your social media channels to reach your target market directly
• Create a blog to establish your brand and share industry expertise
• Use email campaigns to keep in touch

5. Have a management system in place

Opening a Pilates studio will require you to wear many hats and juggle various roles, so you’ll want to have a management system in place to help simplify the day-to-day of running your Pilates studio business. Running any business takes a lot of work, and necessary functions—for example, tracking employee hours, payroll, scheduling, and membership management—require a huge time investment if you’re trying to do it all yourself.

Utilising a yoga studio management software like ours can help you save time and money by reducing operational expenses, automating billings and collections, simplifying member management, and more.

Conclusion

Opening a Pilates studio is an exciting journey that offers many great rewards, but running your own business will also require a lot of planning, responsibility, and ongoing management. From facility scheduling to employee management, point-of-sale, invoicing, online registration and more, EZFacility‘s robust set of tools does all the heavy-lifting so that you can focus on the high-level needs of your business.

Curious to know more? Click here to schedule a free, personalised product demo today!

When it comes to business, nothing speaks louder than results. And in the fitness world, customer reviews and testimonials are a powerful way to showcase results, build trust, demonstrate your ability to deliver an exceptional member experience, and offer social proof that you’re able to help clients achieve their goals. 

In today’s digitally driven world, online reviews and testimonials are a must-have for your marketing mix. In this blog, we’ll focus primarily on customer testimonials—what they are, why they matter, and quick tips to help you collect more.

What is Testimonial Marketing?

Einstein Marketer defines testimonial marketing as “the use of a person’s written statement expressing their experience, gratitude, or dissatisfaction in your product or service.” And while the terms “testimonial” and “review” are often used interchangeably, there are a few key distinctions between the two:

• Customer testimonials offer a more in-depth explanation of the customer’s experience with your product and service, and typically includes an explanation about why the customer chose it, and how it’s impacted their lives.
• Another noticeable difference is where customer testimonials appear. Customer testimonials are typically given to the company directly by the client, whereas customer reviews are typically provided and posted to a third-party site. 
• A third major difference is that because companies ask for customer testimonials directly, they’re usually always positive.

Why Testimonials Matter

Customer reviews, video testimonials, star ratings, and the like are all designed to inspire trust by providing information about other customers’ real experiences. You can almost guarantee potential customers will take to the internet to look for online reviews and customer testimonials about your business before they make any purchase decisions.

Here are a few statistics that may surprise you:

• 97% of consumers say the customer reviews they read influence their purchasing decisions
• 92% of consumers will hesitate to buy a product if there are no reviews left by customers
• 84% of people trust online reviews as much as they trust recommendations from friends
• 75% of people online trust a business after seeing a positive review
• 94% of consumers refuse to support a business because of negative reviews

Methods to Collect Customer Testimonials

Now you know why customer reviews and testimonials matter, but you may not know how to effectively solicit customer feedback. According to BrightLocal’s 2020 Local Consumer Review Survey, 72% of customers will provide reviews and testimonials simply if a local business asks them to. While the best way to ask for customer testimonials will vary by your business and client-base, but here are five strategies to consider:

1. In-person

Sometimes the most effective way to get more customer testimonials is to simply ask your clients directly, face-to-face. Keep in mind that not everyone will be willing or able to provide customer testimonials on the spot, so it’s a smart idea to create a promotional card that clearly explains how, and where, customers can submit reviews and testimonials at a later time that’s convenient for them.

2. Email

Email is often the easiest and fastest way to ask for customer feedback, especially if you utilise a facility management software to streamline the process. If your website already has a landing page with a submission form in place to collect reviews and testimonials, be sure to include that direct link in your email to make it as easy as possible for users to submit customer feedback.

3. Your website

Including a link to your testimonial page on your website can be the gentle reminder some customers need. You’ll want to make sure the link to your testimonial page is visibly displayed, and includes a clear, concise call to action in order to collect more testimonials and reviews on your website.  

4. Social Media

In today’s highly connected world, more businesses are turning to social media to engage with members and build relationships with potential new customers. Highlighting existing customer reviews and testimonials on your social media pages helps establish your brand, builds credibility, and provides the social proof some people will need to see before considering your fitness facility. You can also utilise your social media pages to request customer reviews and testimonials, but you’ll want to space out these requests to avoid coming across too pushy or salesy.

5. Receipts

Including a link to your testimonials page and submission form on purchase receipts ensures all clients know how, and where, they can provide customer feedback. It’s also a good idea to include this information in your other marketing materials—for example, posters, flyers, display signs, and your new member welcome packet, just to name a few. The easier it is to provide customer feedback, the more likely you are to get it.

Conclusion

The best way to get more reviews and testimonials for your fitness facility is to use a combination of the ideas outlined above. The more touch points you create with your customers, the more likely you are to get customer feedback. It will take some time and trial-and-error to determine which strategies are most effective for your business and clients, but securing more online reviews and customer testimonials is vital to promoting and growing your fitness business in today’s increasingly competitive landscape.

To learn how EZFacility’s comprehensive facility management software can help you connect with members, convert leads into long-lasting relationships, and streamline operations so you can focus on the most important aspects of running your business, click here to schedule a free demo today.

While the fitness landscape is always evolving, there’s no doubt the coronavirus crisis accelerated the adoption of the hybrid model and changed the face of the fitness industry forever. And despite ongoing concerns regarding the coronavirus and how it will continue to impact businesses and society at large, the collective interest in health and fitness remains at an all-time high.

With Q4’21 looming just around the corner, now is the perfect time to review your current marketing plan to gauge the success of this year’s marketing campaigns in order to gain a better understanding of strengths and weaknesses, and to identify areas of improvement that you’d like to focus on next year.

And although the negative financial impact of the pandemic has led many fitness businesses to reconsider their marketing budgets, it’s imperative that you continue marketing your fitness center in order to differentiate yourself from competitors, reach and attract new potential customers, and keep current gym members engaged.  

5 Fitness Marketing Ideas for Your Gym

It can be challenging to figure out where to allocate your marketing budget and resources, especially during uncertain times like these. Below, we’ve provided five fitness marketing ideas to help you optimise your digital presence and effectively reach your target audience.

1. Utilise targeted advertising

As of 2021, the number of people using social media is over 3.96 billion worldwide. With the average consumer now spending an unprecedented amount of time online, utilising targeted advertising is one of the most effective ways to reach your target audience. And, fortunately, there are a number of tools at your disposal to make it easier than ever. In addition to being the world’s most widely used social media platform with an active user count close to 2.8 billion, Facebook also offers a comprehensive targeting solution to ensure you’re getting your content in front of the right users. 

2. Invest in digital content marketing

Outbound marketing is the old way of doing business. With more people turning to their digital devices to interact with fitness brands and to search for exercise videos, at-home workout routines, fitness tips and the like, many fitness businesses are shifting their marketing efforts to focus on digital content creation. Considering content marketing can generate over three times as many leads as outbound marketing—and costs approximately 62% less—it’s pretty clear why investing in content marketing makes sense for fitness businesses.

3. Promote your digital offerings

Digital fitness is in, and it doesn’t look like that will be changing anytime soon. Even as social distancing and other mandates are being lifted, many people have come to prefer the flexibility that at-home workouts provide. To remain competitive in today’s digital landscape, you’ll need to invest in digital content creation (as we touched on in #2) and invest the time required to develop strategic marketing campaigns that highlight your digital offerings. 

4. Update your social media marketing strategy

Social media platforms are always evolving to meet the needs of their users, so it’s important to review your social media marketing plan throughout the year to make sure it’s updated to reflect the current environment and trends. Staying up to date on new social marketing tools and features will help you create more effective, tailored marketing campaigns to engage your target audience.

5. Create a seamless experience

The user experience plays a vital role in the online customer journey, and it directly impacts consumer purchase decisions. Today’s consumers are time-sensitive and expect to be able to locate what they need quickly, easily and without interruption. Any delay, glitch or interruption in your online services can cause potential customers to lose interest quickly, or even develop a negative association with your brand.

Conclusion

Let’s face it—the pandemic has changed the fitness industry as we once knew it. And while you may be tempted to cut back on marketing your fitness center during uncertain times, investing in online marketing is an investment in your future success. In today’s increasingly digital world, fitness businesses need to meet potential customers where they are—online.

To learn how EZFacility’s suite of marketing tools can help you attract new potential customers and nurture leads throughout the buying process to grow your fitness center, click here to schedule a free demo today!

Yoga is an ancient physical and spiritual discipline that originated in India more than 5,000 years ago. And while it’s long been heralded for its many health benefits, the popularity of yoga has increased substantially since the COVID-19 pandemic hit due to its flexible nature and the ability for people to practice yoga anywhere, any time.   

The global yoga market size is predicted to have a compound annual growth rate of 9.6% from 2021 to 2027. Yoga is slated to remain a constant fixture in global fitness trends for years to come, which means there are a lot of opportunities for business owners who are interested in opening a yoga studio.

While opening a yoga studio is an exciting adventure and a great way to continue your passion and help others, it can also feel overwhelming at times, especially at the beginning. There are a lot of things you’ll need to have in order before opening your doors, beginning with a business plan.

In this blog, we’ll talk about what a business plan is, why you need one, as well as which key components to include when you create your own yoga studio business plan template.

What is a business plan?

A business plan is a written document that describes how a business—usually a startup—defines objectives, as well as how the company plans to achieve its goals. An effective business plan will guide you through the phases of starting, managing and growing your business.

Think of your business plan as the compass that will guide your yoga studio and keep everyone moving in the right direction. Your business plan is the place to put all of your thoughts and plans in one place, so it’s important to take your time to ensure you cover all elements and aspects of your business.

Why do I need a business plan?

The best way to set yourself up for future success is to start with a solid framework. Although business plans are especially helpful for new businesses, every company should have one.

Here are five benefits of having a strong business plan:

1. It will help you better understand your competition
2. It will help you better understand your target market
3. It will serve as a guide to grow your business
4. It will help you reach milestones
5. It can help you secure funding

What should your business plan include?

Below is an overview of key areas to include when you create your yoga studio business plan template:

1. Cover page:

A small but fundamental component of your yoga studio business plan template is the cover page, which should include the name of your company as well as contact information.

2. Table of Contents:

The table of contents is where you’ll provide an outline of what readers can expect to find in your business plan. It also helps readers quickly skim or skip to the areas of greatest interest.

3. Executive Summary:

The executive summary is where you will provide a synopsis of your business plan in a concise, detailed and interesting way. This section should be no longer than one page, and should answer key questions such as:

• What are your business goals and how will you achieve them?
• Who is your target market?
• What are your financial projections?
• How is your yoga studio different from competitors?

4. Industry Background:

In this section, you’ll provide past and current information about the size, trends and critical features of the industry. This section should answer questions such as:

• What is the industry?
• What is the industry outlook?
• Who are the competitors?
• What are the barriers to entry?

5. Competitive Analysis:

Your competitive analysis should provide key information about your major competitors, as well as an assessment of your competitors’ strengths and weaknesses.

6. Market Analysis:

Learning about your target market and their needs, preferences and demographic data is an integral part of any business plan. By identifying and understanding your current or potential customers, you’ll learn how—and where—to reach and connect with them. This section should also demonstrate that there is a real need or demand in the market that your new business aims to fulfill. 

7. Sales and Marketing:

In the sales and marketing section of your business plan, you’ll explain how you plan to allocate marketing resources to most effectively reach new customers and convert them into lifelong members. Be sure to include specific marketing strategies and explain how they align with business goals and objectives.  

8. Cost Projections and Funding:

1.     The financial section is the crux of any good business plan. It should provide current and future projections of your studio’s financial performance and show how much money you need to generate in order to be profitable and poised for continued growth.

Conclusion

When opening a yoga studio, having a well-researched and comprehensive business plan in place is vital to the success of your company. Your business plan will be your guidebook to growing your yoga studio and will also serve as a benchmark to measure success year-after-year.    

To learn how our yoga management software can help you achieve peace of mind by streamlining operations and maximising efficiency, click here to schedule a personalised product tour today.

Fitness enthusiasts are heading back to the gym as COVID-19 restrictions ease, but that doesn’t mean they’re ready to give up online fitness classes and home workouts. If there’s one lesson the collective fitness industry learned in 2020, it’s that the demand for online fitness options isn’t going anyway any time soon.

To stay afloat during the pandemic amid forced business closures, gyms and fitness studios had to quickly adapt and transition to digital offerings. And although most restrictions have been lifted and people are able to return to in-person workouts, that doesn’t mean everybody is ready—or necessarily wants to.

Because the pandemic continues to create new challenges and restrictions on society, a hybrid fitness model puts gym owners in a more secure position to navigate the current climate, as well as future obstacles that may arise.

What is a Hybrid Gym?

Hybrid is the new buzzword that’s made its way into almost every industry—and especially within the fitness industry. With a hybrid gym model, your digital offerings are meant to complement your brick and mortar operations. A hybrid gym offers the best of both worlds, and includes a combination of in-person and online workout options. For example, your gym may offer in-person exercise classes that are also live streamed or available on-demand for members who want to continue with home workouts.

Benefits of a Hybrid Model

The hybrid model has become the new norm in the fitness industry—and it doesn’t look like that’s going to be changing.

Considering the lingering uncertainty around the coronavirus and its future impact on businesses—and society at large—the hybrid gym model makes a lot of sense. Here are three reasons you should consider a hybrid gym model in 2021:

1. Help Reduce the Spread

Providing online fitness options helps reduce the spread of the coronavirus by giving people the ability to workout from home, thereby reducing foot traffic at your physical location. One of the main concerns with the coronavirus all along has been how quickly and easily it seems to spread in confined spaces. Although most gyms and fitness studios have implemented new health and safety protocols, there’s no denying the reality that the more people you have in a confined space, the higher the risk of transmission.

2. Reach More People

With a traditional gym model, your membership base is heavily driven by your location. And because you can’t just change your physical location (easily), the hybrid model gives gyms a greater ability to reach more people and attract new business without being limited by physical proximity. Because a hybrid model includes online workout options, you’re able to extend your reach and provide services to people who don’t live near your facility, ones who are unable to attend live classes (for various reasons), as well as people who simply prefer home workouts. You can also adjust your pricing and gym membership options to include a digital-only subscription service.

3. Diversified Income Streams

When the pandemic first hit and businesses were forced to close their doors unexpectedly, and for an unknown period of time, many gyms and fitness studios were left without a sustainable source of income and scrambling to find ways to generate additional money. By adopting a hybrid model and providing online fitness options, you’re putting yourself in a more secure financial position, both now and in the future.

Conclusion

The fitness industry is still treading uncharted waters, and the pandemic will continue to impact the ways consumers engage with gyms and fitness studios. One thing we do know is that the demand for online fitness options continues to rise, so it’s a good time to consider adopting a hybrid gym model.

Your reputation is the most important aspect of your business—it affects everything from how many people follow you on social media to your company’s bottom-line. For gyms and fitness-related businesses, a positive reputation can help attract new members, entice a better selection of prospective employees, create more business opportunities, improve your search engine rankings, and more. Conversely, a negative reputation can lead to loss of sales, membership churn, high employee turnover, and other costly consequences.

When a consumer is considering making a purchase decision, they want to make the best choice—and they base their decision on which product or service appears to be superior. Nearly 90% of consumers worldwide make an effort to read reviews before buying products, and 86% of customers rely on word of mouth recommendations and online reviews. These statistics illustrate the importance of your online reputation and digital footprint, as well the impact of positive reviews, to grow and maintain your gym reputation.

Read on to learn more about why gym reviews matter, where you can collect them, and what you can do to get more online reviews. 

Why Gym Reviews Matter

Online reviews give consumers the power to tell their side of the customer journey—whether positive or negative—for millions of eyes to see. And, chances are, the first thing perspective members will do is research your gym and read online reviews before making any purchase decisions.

Here are just a few statistics to illustrate the power of online reviews:

• Customer reviews can increase conversions by 270%.
• 91% of people ages 18-34 say they trust online reviews as much as personal recommendations.
• 93% of consumers say that reading online reviews has influenced their purchase decisions.
• 75% of people online trust a business after seeing a positive review.
• 94% of consumers refuse to patronise a business because of negative reviews.

Given the impact of online reviews, it’s necessary to actively monitor them as a part of your reputation management strategy, and to garner as many positive reviews for your business as possible. 

Where to Collect Online Reviews

While a number of different review platforms exist, below are three key ones you’ll want to focus on when building your online reputation:

Your Website

We live in a digital world, and you should assume the vast majority of gym goers will visit your website before they decide whether or not to visit your facility. Your website is the center of your digital presence, and it’s one of the most powerful marketing tools in your repertoire.

Your website is the home base that connects everything—it’s where you can display your mission, provide information about your products and services, link social media accounts, highlight positive gym reviews, and more. You can set up a system that allows users to leave online reviews directly on your site, or you can copy reviews from other platforms.

Google Reviews

Google has a whopping 92% market share, making it the most widely used search engine in the world. Google is the first place most people go to do online searches, so managing your Google presence is an absolute must to grow and maintain your gym’s reputation. The first step is to claim your business listing using Google My Business (GMB), which then gives you the ability to update information regularly in order to control how your gym appears in search results.

Google reviews are directly linked to your GMB page, meaning that a user can search for your business on Google, locate your GMB page, and read Google reviews to get a better feel for your brand based on what other people are saying about you.

Facebook

Facebook is the most popular social media platform and has over 2.80 billion monthly active users. If that’s not enough to impress you, consider this: Facebook also has 1.84 billion users that are visiting the social networking site on a daily basis. Facebook users are able to leave reviews on any Facebook business page, which will often appear on the Google search page as well.

How to Get More Online Reviews

Below are three simple ways you can get more online reviews:

1. Post Instructions & Information Everywhere

One of the easiest ways to get more gym reviews is to make sure you have the information clearly outlined and visibly posted all around your facility. Consider creating a mix of posters, flyers, and cards that include instructions on how—and where—your members can leave online reviews. It’s also a good idea to include this information in your member welcome packets.

2. Include Review Requests in Your Emails

Emails are most likely the main way you communicate with your members, so it’s a great opportunity to request gym reviews. Consider adding a review request link near your email signature, and make sure you choose a font and text size that makes it stand out.       

3. Keep it Simple

If you’re trying to get more reviews on your website, keep the process quick and simple. Asking too many questions or requiring too much information will drive people away, so you want to make the review process as easy as possible. Consider giving users the option to select a simple star rating, or to also include feedback in the comments section.

Conclusion

Gym reviews are one of the most cost-effective ways to market your business, build a positive reputation, and make your company look more favorable to potential customers. Online reviews also heavily influence purchasing decisions and lead conversion, so it’s important to constantly monitor and respond to your gym reviews to keep your reputation favorable and your business growing.