The fitness industry is experiencing a monumental change, particularly after the COVID-19 pandemic. People have a strong desire to improve their fitness and have more control over their health. It’s estimated that in 2022, the gym industry will be worth $75.9 billion. While major growth is projected for the industry, competition is stiffer than ever, with new gyms and budget fitness studios appearing out of nowhere. One of the best ways to grow your gym membership is by making sales funnel stages work for you. Furthermore, sales funnels provide a structured approach to help you convert leads into paying customers.
Let’s get down to business and see how you can make this strategy work to your advantage.
Sales funnel stages for gym owners
It’s important to understand the various sales funnel stages and specific tactics you can employ to boost gym sales.
Stage 1How to Achieve ThisBuild awarenessSocial media and promotions
Whitepapers
Blogging
Webinars
Guest posting
VideosStage 2How to Achieve ThisCreate interestChatbots
Marketing campaigns
Email marketing
Capture consumer information from website visitors
Fast-loading landing pages to boost conversion rates and minimize bounce rates (number of people abandoning the website)Stage 3How to Achieve ThisEvaluateMembership pricing pages
Legit testimonials
Live tutorials or demos
Attractive discount rates for new members
Case studies
Focusing on your business’s strengths and USP (unique selling proposition)Stage 4How to Achieve ThisEngageFollow-up emails
Special offers or freebies
Customer success stories
Attractive membership bundlesStage 5How to Achieve ThisPush to purchaseStrategic social media campaigns
Referral programs
Long-term program benefits
Cashback offers
Re-engagement emails
How to create a sales funnel
Creating a sales funnel will help you understand the purpose of your marketing and branding efforts. Here’s how to create a sales funnel:
1. Find your target audience
Understand who your audience is, what they want, and what they expect from a gym business. Get into the nitty-gritty details of what they hope to achieve and how you can turn their fears into strengths. So, build a marketing strategy based on your audience’s pain points through surveys, market statistics, and user data of people in your city.
2. Create a buyer’s persona
Create a final representation of your primary customer. So, have a clear idea of what they want and expect from a membership program.
3. Generate gym sales through traffic
Rely on strong marketing strategies to target customers online through optimized website content, strong social media marketing, and well-positioned ads. In other words, come up with marketing strategies with relatable, honest content and facts.
4. Build engagement
Once you have their attention, direct it towards your website and membership programs. After that, post engaging content, guest posts, and genuine member testimonials in your social media and website.
5. Analyze website visits
The final step is to convert leads into actual customers. Moreover, track their online activity to get a sense of what makes customers jump ship. As a result, this will help you optimize areas that need a major makeover or fine-tuning and encourage online viewers to purchase a membership.
How to increase gym sales the right way
The easiest way to increase gym sales and experience steady, strong growth is by understanding the customers’ needs and improving your day-to-day operations. To clarify, let’s look at a few simple strategies that can instantly boost your gym’s success.
Hire professional fitness trainers and nutritionists
Having a highly trained team at the gym immediately elevates your brand’s image and reputation. If you don’t invest in the right fitness experts from day one, it won’t be easy to win back an unhappy customer. So, focus on hiring certified personal trainers and nutritionists with a positive track record.
Engage your audience on social media
Maintaining a social media handle on popular platforms such as Instagram, Snapchat, TikTok, and Facebook is a tried-and-true way to attract new members and empower existing clients. Hence, post testimonials (before and after stories), workout videos, and fitness-related content, and hold giveaways and contests regularly.
A great way to keep your audience interested is to offer referral rewards, encourage members to share positive reviews, and actively repost stories, posts, or content that members tag you in.
Another great marketing strategy is to repurpose old, engaging content. This could be anything from workout videos to client testimonials. Hence, use it when advertising on Google, Instagram, and Facebook ads to boost gym sales. To sum up, keep it simple, relatable, and honest.
Maintain a user-friendly website
Ignoring your online community can seriously dampen your gym sales and your overall sales funnel. You want to create a strong online presence by giving potential leads a reason to explore your website. Therefore, avoid sales-y content and focus on offering a straightforward, clean, and clutter-free design. Nonetheless, people want to see relatable, honest, and real information.
It helps to offer new members discounts and freebies to nudge them forward. Once they join, retaining them is the next crucial step. Moreover, be involved with new members by discussing the following points in person or on a call. In short, avoid cramming them as questions into your website’s sign-up form:
- Why did they join the gym?
- What do they hope to achieve?
- What stopped them from joining a gym in the past?
- Will personal training encourage them to become more active?
- Do they enjoy other fitness activities besides traditional forms of exercise?
- Do members need help with their diet?
- Are members suffering from any health conditions?
- Would they be more comfortable working out with a group or under the guidance of a personal instructor?
Boost gym sales with anchor pricing
Anchor pricing relies on two mechanics: applicant psychology and marketing tactics. Present three membership packages (example: basic, advanced, and premium) with varying perks. Therefore, highlight how much the customer can save with each package and what they’re getting.
First-time gym-goers are more likely to choose packages with more benefits and freebies, while seasoned gym-goers are usually more drawn towards basic and premium packages. To conclude, seasoned gym enthusiasts either have a strong grip on their fitness regimen or want to accelerate their progress with expert guidance.
Create concrete testimonials in your sales funnel
To encourage potential leads to purchase a package, include video testimonials on the membership page. Additionally, craft videos with real members who discuss how much progress they’ve seen, what their journey looks like, and how they convinced others to join through your referral system (yes, you should have a referral system).
Also, create professional videos of your staff sharing past and present experiences with members and how they’re committed to transforming people’s lives. In conclusion, the best way to drive gym sales is to anchor emotive storytelling to your marketing efforts and sales funnel.
Research your competitors' sales funnel
What’s the point of all that time, money, and energy spent if you offer the same benefits as other gyms and fitness studios? Therefore, improve gym sales by creating a sales funnel with actual data to see how you can position yourself differently in a market saturated with similar businesses.
- Here are some ways you can differentiate your gym:Set-up virtual one-on-one and group fitness programs that can be done at home.
- You can include discounted pickup and drop-off services, or public transport coupons to encourage members to commute to your gym.
- Try to create an online buddy system where members push and inspire each other.
- Sponsor contests and competitions offering discounted membership plans and free gym merchandise as prizes.
- Contact companies with wellness committees and pitch the idea of a health program.
- Conduct or live-stream expert-led fitness sessions such as Zumba, pilates, yoga, etc.
Conclusion
Wondering how to increase gym sales, retain members, and acquire new clients? Hapana can help you ace your business goals through its intuitive, smart, and user-friendly fitness management platform for an effective sales funnel to work. Moreover, it lets you track members, analyze important metrics to improve gym sales, encourage members to sign up, and create a unique user experience that will instantly boost sales. So, say hello to better gym sales, engagement, and user retention with Hapana. Sign up and get started today!