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As an owner of a gym or fitness center, you know that there are times of the year when your membership base expands, and your staff is busier than ever.
You’re also familiar with the lulls, when your strength-training zones, free-weight rooms, yoga areas, or classrooms are empty.
But slow periods don’t mean you and your staff have to sit around doing nothing.
This is the perfect time to break out and brush up on the right marketing toolkits to encourage more frequent visits from current and lapsed members. Stagnant periods are also ideal for developing effective omnichannel fitness campaigns that generate success during peak membership months.
Understanding Your Slow Season Before You Spend
While the slow seasons vary, the average fitness center experiences these peaks and valleys:
- January surge. New members flock to you, driven by the idea of a new start and resolutions.
- February-March drop-offs. Many members lose their enthusiasm and motivation, with fewer new people coming through the door.
- Late March-early May Summer prep. Membership is on the rise again as folks want to develop warmer-weather bods.
- Late Spring through Summer lull. Membership and visits decline as people take up outdoor activities and go on vacations.
- Late Summer through early November pick-up. Membership and visits increase slightly as people return to post-summer routines.
- Mid-November through December drop-off. Visits and new members decline due to holidays, travel plans, parties, and stress.
Again, the above isn’t in stone. If your fitness center is in a hot-weather region, you could see visits and memberships increasing during July and August as folks don’t want to deal with the heat.
Also, if your business is in an area that hosts annual fitness events, like Ironman triathlons or marathons, you could see an uptick in visits as more people come in to train for them.
To get a better handle on your busy versus idle ratios, analyze your historical data. At the same time, take a hard look at previous campaigns to improve membership and visits, and assess their effectiveness (or lack thereof).
What to Scale During Slow Months
The first temptation when creating a fitness industry slow-season marketing campaign might be to launch a broad push to attract new members.
Resist that urge, as those prospects are busy with other things. Instead, focus on keeping current members satisfied with the following.
- Focus on a personal approach. Nurture existing relationships with text check-ins, digital newsletters, outreach messages, and phone calls.
- Boost your social media presence. Posting content on Facebook, TikTok, YouTube, or Instagram can help improve your visibility. Themes can include fitness, safety, and member testimonials.
- Provide “come-back” price cuts. Reach out to absentee members with “welcome back” discounts or free add-ons. Be sure to add direct mail to your arsenal to cut through digital fatigue.
- Issue guest passes. Encourage current members to bring friends or family for free during a limited time.
- Offer seasonal specials. “Summer-preparation” or “holiday readiness” themes can be used to help encourage members to return.
- Connect regularly with members. Offer complimentary goal check-ins to ensure engagement and provide encouraging messages to keep them coming back during busy summers or frantic holidays.
Slow times can also be ideal for testing new messaging and offers while considering different audience segments.
For instance, you could target mothers of younger children who are interested in adopting a healthier routine once the kids return to school. Another idea is to launch winter mobility workshops in the fall for older audiences.
Where to Pause or Pull Back
During slower periods, adjust your gym marketing budget allocation on broad channels such as high-budget display ads, pay-per-click efforts, or paid social media. You’ll experience lower conversion rates with these tactics, as fewer people are interested in joining fitness centers.
Also, cut back on cold leads communications. Cold leads are audience members who might fit your target customer profile but haven’t yet shown any interest in what you offer. These folks are better approached during peak seasons, when interest in joining a gym is much higher.
You’re better off working with warm leads; people who have demonstrated an interest in your center and would like to learn more.
Slow Months Are a Strategic Opportunity
You and your staff don’t have to bemoan the lack of people coming in to see you during slower times. Instead, focus on improving retention by solidifying and growing relationships with your loyal members.
Ready to get started? UpSwell Marketing can help you craft results-generating messaging and channel strategies. Contact us today to learn how our digital marketing, online advertising, and social media strategies can help retain loyal members while targeting prospects.
