Every business is judged by its customer service. For a gym owner, creating an awesome customer experience for members has never been more important because the competition has never been fiercer.
Since there are so many gyms to choose from these days, you must create a truly outstanding experience that your customers will love and spread the word about via their social networks. Here are some of my top ideas to help you do just that.
Double-check your online marketing strategy
It’s not enough to make sure your branding is consistent online these days – you need to be proactive when it comes to social media presence. Make sure that it extends beyond your physical location because after all, most of your customers are probably going to be searching for information online. That’s why it is recommended to hire an agency specialized in branding for gyms and similar types of businesses like hospitality and sports clubs. They will know what strategy to use and how to make it work both for your gym and its customers. It ensures your branding not only sticks but also pops right up when people search for fitness-related keywords.
Increase the variety of services and activities
People are always going to get bored of the same routine so why not expand your services! Some gyms offer personal training, injury recovery, or sports therapy while others have swimming pools, saunas, and beauty treatments. Many gyms also organize events including running clubs, charity days, and themed classes with renowned instructors from other industries for example.
These kinds of events can be a great way to promote your business as well as providing members with some fun. You must keep your members entertained because this isn’t something they can do themselves! They need to know that they’ll be able to find lots of interesting activities at your gym or else they’ll get bored and simply stop working out.
Keep your staff happy
Your employees are the face of your gym. They are the ones who greet members when they arrive, help them get started on their workout, sell them pre-workout supplements and equipment and let them know about all the events that you have lined up for them. The more time your staff spends with these people ensures that they learn more about what they want and what they think. When your staff has a better understanding of your customers, it is easier to help them improve their experiences and meet their goals. To ensure staff satisfaction, consider rewarding them for their efforts and achievements. It’s also important to provide regular, ongoing training so that your staff can learn more about working with members and developing their skills.
Think about your appointment scheduling system
When a member decides to put off their workout in favor of something else, it means that you probably lost a paying customer. To ensure that this doesn’t happen very often, you need to make sure that scheduling an appointment is easy enough for members. Most gym owners out there still rely on pen and paper or spreadsheets when it comes to booking appointments. But with technology being what it is, there are so many better ways to do this.
An appointment scheduling system lets you create an online booking page for members to choose the training time that’s best for them and then get in touch with your staff at their convenience through their phone or email. This ensures quick communication and helps keep track of your appointments without wasting any paper.
Offer a reward system
We all love incentives, so why not offer your members a rewards system of some sort? Whether it’s a points system that they can exchange for discounts on different services or something more conventional like free products and samples – whatever you decide to do just make sure that the incentive is attractive enough that people will be motivated to sign up. There are lots of simple ways that you can approach this.
For example, if you’re offering fitness classes in the morning, why not give everyone who signs up before 6 pm 50% off their first class? Or maybe you could run promotions every month where the person with the most workouts in 30 days gets $100 in vouchers to spend at your cafe? You don’t need to put in too much effort to come up with an incentive scheme that works and the rewards don’t need to be particularly glamorous either – just try and give your members a reason to stay loyal!
Having a gym that provides great customer service is perhaps the most important thing you need to succeed. Once people start coming back because they feel appreciated and happy with the services, it means your business will be able to grow much easier. Combine a couple of these ideas and you’ll find yourself growing bigger without much difficulty at all!