It would be almost impossible not to know that the health and wellness market is enormous and steadily growing. This includes, most notably, the membership of gyms, which exceeds 62.5 million. Unfortunately, there is no shortage of competition in the gym industry.

To stand out amongst the masses, owners and managers must ensure their gym has something unique that makes them stand out, which can be offered to the public and can’t be found anywhere else. Fortunately, anyone who needs help in this regard can go to Creatitive, but the list that follows will get the thinking started.

Get to Know the Target Market

Before anyone can even get started thinking about promoting their gym, they must know their target market. This is essential. Simply put, without knowing your target market, it would be impossible to appeal to the people who make it up. Where do they live? What are their occupations? Do they have children? What are their goals in joining a gym?

Analyze the Market and Create the Message

After compiling this market information, try to survey your current market base. Suppose there is a significant difference between the demographics that are currently taking advantage of your gym and your target audience. In that case, you will need to create different messages to cater to each.

Once you understand who you need to target, you can begin to personalize marketing efforts to appeal to them. One of the benefits of gym marketing is that there are so many different clientele types, each with a need and desire that can be appealed to.

Get Your Members Involved

The existing gym membership could be a priceless resource in terms of promotions if you know how to use them. Offering incentives such as discounted memberships to those members who refer someone to you are great.

Another avenue of member involvement is to encourage satisfied customers to serve as testimonials for your gym. A reward for helping as a testimonial might include a free personal training session, a free spa day, free nutritional consultation, and more.

Member testimonials are an incredibly effective means of promotion. They can position you as an expert in the industry, a standing that has excellent potential for an owner or manager who wants to promote themselves.

Use Print Effectively

One of the most important benefits of good market research is determining where members of a target market frequent. From this, it is possible to place print advertising where it will be seen. This might include newspaper ads, flyers, and much more.

Another avenue for this type of promotion stores that sell fitness-oriented wares such as workout clothes and similar items. Make sure that all printed materials are tailored to not only your gym but also those places of business where you intend to place those materials.

This might include discount offers, special announcements of babysitting services, weight loss programs, and much more. Another potential target for print advertising is area business. Offering a special deal to all employees of XYZ Corporation carries a lot of appeal.

Be Aware of Your Online Presence

First, have a website where your members and potential members can find out anything they want to know from it with as little effort as possible. Your website should serve as the immediate digital access to your gym. A Facebook post is also good, but if Facebook is used, make sure to stay aware of what people say. If something negative is said, address it immediately.

When it comes to promotional efforts, one size never fits all. Promotional messages must be as tailored to the audience being aimed as possible. The good news is that the appeal methods are almost countless and only limited by your imagination.

By Eddy

Eddy is the editorial columnist in Business Fundas, and oversees partner relationships. He posts articles of partners on various topics related to strategy, marketing, supply chain, technology management, social media, e-business, finance, economics and operations management. The articles posted are copyrighted under a Creative Commons unported license 4.0. To contact him, please direct your emails to [email protected].