Gym membership ebbs and flows with the seasons, but your business doesn’t have to suffer.
The pandemic changed the business landscape across many industries. These days, people can work out from home. What happens when your gym membership numbers fluctuate with the seasons? If you want to learn how to increase gym memberships, you need a creative marketing strategy. Here are 12 effective strategies to keep your membership strong during slow months and your bottom line consistent all year long.
How to Increase Gym Memberships
It’s New Year’s Eve, and fitness goals are at the top of every resolution list. Your gym is hopping in January, personal trainers are fully booked, and the commitment tends to bring people into your fitness center for the next few months. Then summer happens. The kids are out of school, people go on vacation, and priorities change. The gym business drops off. People start trickling back in when it cools off again, but some of your dropouts won’t be seen in your gym again. There are ways gym owners can win prior customers back and attract new members all year round.
1. Make Gym Memberships Convenient
One of the best ways to increase gym membership retention rates is to offer an alternative to canceling. Give members the option to “pause” their membership payments and restart at any time without hoops, paperwork, or extra charges. Consider offering a limited trial period, special deals, or incentives for pre-paying yearly.
Crunch Fitness offers free trials and annual or monthly memberships, which is another option you can use to recruit new members who may be unsure of their level of commitment.
2. Cater to Your Customers
Pay attention to when the gym is busy and who is using the equipment. You may find teachers in the afternoon, preschool moms in the morning, serious bodybuilders in the morning or evening, and office workers at lunchtime. Learn the patterns, talk to your customers, and offer what they want when they want it. You’ll increase your gym memberships in no time.
3. Open a Juice Bar
Never underestimate the power of a superfood smoothie. By offering delicious, healthy juices, protein drinks, and smoothies, you can bring potential members in the door just for the treats. Offer the best health drinks in town and a comfy place to sit and enjoy them…for active members only.
Not an option with your facility? Consider a partnership with a local establishment—offer discounts or coupons if they join your gym.
4. Add Enticing Services
If you can find the space, partner with a massage business to bring spa services into your gym. Who doesn’t love a massage? Other ideas might be a spinning coach, an instructor-led yoga studio, or a weightlifting coach, depending on your members’ preferences.
Expanding your services opens your business up to an entirely new demographic of potential customers. Like Vasa Fitness Gym offers, a cost-efficient multi-functional gym membership could be a considerable membership recruitment tool for your gym.
5. Appeal to New Markets
Check the demographics in your area, or just look at the people walking by or going in and out of nearby businesses. There could be whole populations of people you’re missing. Create programs and a marketing campaign to appeal to groups. Building gym membership is all about attracting a diverse crowd of engaged members. Offer programs for:
- Seniors: Older people need exercise even more than young people. Create strength training classes, cardio, and flexibility workouts to help seniors stay healthy. Retirees have plenty of time, so pick your slowest time of day and focus on anti-aging.
- Beginners: Gyms can be intimidating for folks who want to lose weight or those new to working out. Implement programs appealing to first-time gym goers—low-impact aerobics, treadmill walking, lightweight, and flexibility training. Encouragement is the most crucial thing your staff can offer to attract gym members.
- Moms with Young Children: Moms are always looking for stimulating activities and ways to stay fit while still delivering plenty of one-on-one time. Fun mommy/toddler workouts would be a unique and welcome offering.
- High School Athletes: If your insurance allows teenagers, set up supervised weightlifting and cardio classes for youngsters who want to stay fit during high school sports off-season(s).
6. Partner with Local Businesses
Corporate wellness programs are popular, and you can cash in on the trend by offering lunch workouts, corporate discounts, and outreach. Offer to send your masseuse or a yoga instructor for morning stretches right in the office. Part of the sales process is networking. Partnering with others outside the fitness industry and creating a referral program will increase membership.
7. Start a Boot Camp
Market a gym promotion for a 6-week high-intensity boot camp for people who want to get in shape or enjoy a fitness challenge. Offer the boot camp as a standalone program that nonmembers can purchase, with a significant discount for members. Find a popular local instructor to lead the camp.
8. Host Events
Gyms are inherently social, so host an occasional fun event to bring people in the door. If you have a pool, throw a pool party. Make it an adult-only meet and greet, show a dive-in movie for families, or have a juice-tasting party to let members sample the wares with a live DJ and fun activities.
One thing to consider is hosting events outside regular business hours or adjusting business hours for social events. Some gym patrons want to work out in peace without the added hoopla of an event happening in the background. Be courteous to your members by organizing events that won’t disrupt regular business.
9. Participate in Charity Events
Get together with other local businesses and media stations to raise money for a popular charity. Promote the event on multiple social media platforms to engage your neighbors and foster a sense of community. Some ideas could include:
- Host a fun run or a scavenger hunt.
- Print up useful branded promotional items, like water bottles or cooling towels, to hand them out at a charity race.
- Participate in a charity food-tasting event by offering juices and healthy snacks.
Participating in charity events introduces your business to new locals, and it’s an effective way to engage your employees, grow your client base, and build team spirit.
10. Take it Outside
If your gym is located near a beach or park, hold yoga, running, or walking classes outside. People want to be outside when the weather is nice, and you can up your gym retention by giving them what they want. Don’t forget, being outdoors is good for mental health.
11. Jump on Trends
Is hot yoga still a thing? Maybe, but newer concepts are on the rise. Here are a few hot trends (no pun intended):
- Hybrid Memberships: People are busier than ever, and many can’t find the time to go to the gym. Some gyms are responding with a hybrid approach, where members can come in to work out, access a video course, or join a live Zoom session.
- Short and Sweet: High-intensity Interval Training (HIIT): HIIT works on the scientifically proven premise that a total of one minute of intense exercise within a 10-minute exercise session will significantly improve health, even in people who are overweight or diabetic. Ten minutes is good for outreach sessions, lunch fitness, TV appearances, or Zoom classes. What a great selling point!
- Fun Fitness: Spandex and sweatband Dancercise was popular in the 70s, and since then, it’s been called by different names, and the music has changed, but every new iteration is the same fun, energetic workout. People love it for good reason. Host salsa or Zumba classes, add pole dancing equipment, hang aerial silks, or invest in weighted hula hoops.
12. Build Customer Service
Outstanding service is the backbone of any customer-oriented business, and gyms are no exception. Gym member retention often hinges on how members are treated and the cleanliness of your facility. Use the slow times for ongoing training and idea sessions. Encourage your staff to get to know customers, be helpful and friendly, and keep the place clean. Fostering a friendly environment will help you retain your staff at the same time.
Gym Membership Recruiting and Promotion Within Your Community
Once you’ve identified new target markets and set up programs to appeal to them, you’ll need gym promotions to bring them in the doors. While traditional advertising methods work, there may be more effective methods:
- Local Media Attention: Local news and talk shows are always looking for human interest stories, like a ballroom dance class for seniors or aerial silks for beginners.
- Park Events and Festivals: If your local area has lots of outdoor events where people gather—like arts and crafts shows, farmer’s markets, or festivals—this is a great way to promote your gym business. Rent a space and conduct fun free classes or put on an exhibition in an open-sided tent with some cooling mechanism (fans, cool mist, or even an ice block behind a fan). Hand out cheap, refreshing drinks such as ice water with sliced lemons and limes, and have plenty of flyers on hand. Invite your media contacts to stop by. Better yet? Offer to sponsor these events if it’s within your budget.
- Outreach: Take your show on the road. Offer to host a dance competition or a yoga class at a nearby active senior community once a month. Set up a class/education session at a local mall. Enlist a local doctor to help create a class targeted at diabetics, then offer a small discount to patients. Outreach into the community allows you to connect with locals and, at the same time, build offerings that attract those same locals to your business. You’re investing in your business and community—a win-win.
Building gym membership and attracting new members is an ongoing project. It’s up to you to stay on top of trends, build community relationships, and understand the needs of the population around you. Want to learn more? Visit our Boiler Room Blog for more helpful business resources.
