Dilemma, Dilemma

Okay, so you have the hottest new gym in the community, you’ve scoped out and occupied prime real estate and you have invested in acquiring the best possible fitness equipment. The space is attractive, comfortable, and you have membership options unequaled by any of your competitors. The problem is that you are still looking at a facility that is largely unoccupied. So what happened?

In any business, it truly does not matter if you are the best on the block or not. If nobody knows that you are there, if no one is aware of what you have to offer, then you plan on spending a lot of time alone. Having a good product or service isn’t good enough….you have to engage in some form of marketing if you want to be successful. So when it comes to fitness businesses, there are a few rules of Marketing 101 that you simply must follow.

First rule is “ABM”: Always Be Marketing. Actually, it should be “ABC” always be closing, but since this is a marketing article, we took some creative licensing. Obviously marketing is something you should do to get your business moving, but it should also be an ongoing practice, designed to continue generating the momentum required to move the business forward and keep it going. I don’t care if you just had a record sales month; keep pushing some marketing dollars towards your business.

You should also get yourself listed on Google Places, and be sure to follow correct procedure when you do, using only those keywords that are directly related to your business (Google takes a very dim view of keyword stuffing). Also, make sure that your phone number, address, and website info are all up to date. Google wants consistency and validity. You should also locate and identify any and all local directories and get listed there as well.  The more opportunities your provide for people to find you, the more successful you will be.

Solution, Solution

You can also use industry related directories such as fitnessprodirectorycom, which allows you to add up to 500 articles to your listing with no fee whatsoever. You can also use sites such as fitnessbusinessninja.com to let social media outlets such as Facebook become aware of your business. There are also other marketing sites available for little or no cost, such as theclientgrabber.com which is designed for personal trainers and boot camps, and clientretentionmachine.com that offers tutorials on how to retain current clients while expanding your base.

Finally, never underestimate the power of the press release. People will read something that is presented as an event. They also provide social proof, credibility, google indexing, and high quality links back to your site. If you do not know how to write a press release, learn. Either that or hire somebody who knows how to write such material. There is definitely a correct form and approach to it.

Remember, having the best fitness facility in the community is only the beginning. A successful marketing campaign is crucial to being able to turn it into a success. Now go therefore and conquer the world…..