by Dan Goodman
Does Your Business Make This Sure-Fire Mistake?
One sure fire way to show the flaws in a business is to get busy extremely fast with no operating systems. Nothing magnifies the flaws of a business quite like getting too busy, too fast.
Let’s use our infamous restaurant example,
A restaurant can have awesome food but if the service is terrible how inclined are you to go back to that same restaurant? The service staff must match the chef’s capability and vice versa!
My point being, you must know the who and have a clear understanding of how you will liaison people into your gym. This will allow you to provide a level of customer service they didn’t know was available in the fitness realm.
Now Let’s Get People in Your Doors
If your marketing budget consists of zero dollars, have no fear, we used to argue about spending $100 at Staples on brochures that had spelling mistakes!
I want you to think about the concept of training.
Every coach comes to train themselves or others with a definitive plan and outline (HOPEFULLY!). There is a means to an end of achieving their specific goals. In my experience, with attendees of the Business of Strength Seminars less than 10% have a definitive marketing outline for the year.
To steal a quote from our CFO Mike Waldron (Financial Fitness Solutions),
“That’s like flying a plane across the country with no radar!”
The problem with no plan is that business owners and managers become totally reactive to selling, or lack thereof. When this happens, sales become haphazard and desperate. You want to create a very simple and effective marketing plan. Before we review our calendar it’s extremely important to have a detailed account of your key performance indicators:
Where are people coming from? When someone calls, emails, or signs up for a trial you MUST ask what brought them to that point of sale. Tracking this information over a long period of time helps to decipher where you need to spend time marketing!
In a calendar year what are your weak points in terms of sales? February is typically a slow month here so we make it a primary focus in terms of initiatives and heightened awareness.
Attrition in the private sector of fitness is 3%-5% per month! Those are excellent numbers too, in many cases it will be closer to 7-10% per month. Don’t forget to factor these numbers into your marketing plan and monthly goals.100 Clients at 3% monthly attrition = 36 clients will be lost in a normal yearly scenario.
Below I have mapped out our sample two-month Marketing Calendar. I suggest you fill in the slots with your own events, offers, emails and social posts.
Sample Marketing Calendar
February 2019 Marquee Events:
1. Adult/Athlete of the Month Feb 1st
2. Athlete FREE Speed Clinic Feb 8th. (Strategic placement for OE)
3. Athlete Open Enrollment Begins February 18th
4. Joint-Venture Hoop Dreams Basketball (All Month)
5. Adult Referral (Feb is for Friends) 10 Clients ($100 Amex/$200 off VHU)
6. Adult Bring a Friend Class February 22nd. ($49 VHU Offer that day only)
Media:
1.Newsletter – Athlete Scorecards Feb. 1st – Big Mike (Open Enrollment)/Video
2. Speed Clinic awareness emails Jan 25th, Feb 1st, and Feb 8th.
3. Open Enrollment Email campaign (February 18th, 25th, March 4th) –
4. Instagram and Facebook Posts 3-5 times per week to educate, inspire, and 5. 5. provide social proof of the realness that is VH!
6. Paid Facebook VHU Lead forms $300 monthly. (This only started happening in
2019!)
March 2019 Marquee Events
1. Adult/Athlete of the Month March 1st
2. Spring Athlete Block Begins March 4th
3. Bergen County Hoops Jamboree March 5th
4. 6-Week Transformation Campaign Series March 11th
5. Deadlift Seminar (Free for all members and friends) March 14th
Media:
Newsletter – Coach/Trainer Paradox March 1st
Dan/Video Facebook Target Ad (6wt) – $300 Full Month Instagram and
Facebook Posts 3-5 times per week to educate, inspire, and
provide social proof of the realness that is VH!
Team VH – Reactivation Campaign – 1 call or personal text. March 14th (Entire
Coaching Staff)
6wt Campaign Series (March 4th, March 11th,March 15th, March 20th, March 23rd March 25th)
Check-In Charity Awareness Email March 31st
Now, I know we said no paid Social Ads. Mind you, this is a real time example of what we have going on in February and March present day. We did ZERO paid social advertising our first 10 years in business, you can do the same!
If you guys have more questions about how to build out a marketing calendar, comment below and we’ll answer of your questions!
Dan Goodman
