A smaller personal marketing agency guarantees you get the attention you deserve. In contrast, a bigger agency might mean you get forgotten about in the chaos of hundreds of clients.
As we all know, AI is making a big splash on the scene. However, human connection is always going to pull out first. As humans, we need this connection to feel happy and satisfied, as well as have our innate needs met. So, let’s dig a little deeper. Why should you choose a small, personal agency over a bigger one?
Bigger marketing agencies are forced to streamline their processes and deliverables. This is because they are serving many clients, and if they were to customize their deliverables for each one, this could turn into more work (and less profit for them) than what is worthwhile.
Smaller, more boutique-style agencies, on the other hand, offer more flexibility. They can work with you to determine a unique plan of action that makes sense for your specific fitness or gym business.
Again, you’re probably going to get the regular ol’ cookie-cutter plan that everyone else has with a bigger company. However, when working one-on-one with a smaller agency, you get a customized approach that makes sense for your marketing, location, and goals.
With a bigger agency, you might struggle to get a hold of someone or even get a reply back to your email. It’s easy to get lost in the chaos of many other clients!
Luckily, with a small agency, you get 24-7 attention and greater availability if you ever need a call or a quick question answered. We also all know business is about building relationships, which you’re actually able to do when partnering with a smaller agency. You’ll always talk to the same person and receive a personalized touch!
A small company takes the time to listen to your needs and desires. In turn, you get fresh ideas and not a cookie-cutter approach. Your voice is heard, and real results are gained from this collaborative effort.
IT’S NOT JUST ABOUT THE GRAND OPENING “DAY”… MAKE SURE TO DO THESE 4 THINGS TO HAVE A SUCCESSFUL GRAND OPENING WEEK!
Then, Grand Opening Day marks the big event!
Start with a ribbon cutting by your local Mayor, and make sure to include:
Many of us think we need a huge advertising budget to have a successful grand opening. Yet, this isn’t always the case!
With over 200 grand openings and pre-sales behind me, I discovered that it all comes down to the camaraderie that is built within the club’s staff and member community. If the staff is motivated and excited about the upcoming grand opening, this spills over into member motivation and excitement. This can inspire members to bring along their friends and family, which can further member sales and build that community.
So, with that in mind, here are my top takeaways that I’ve learned over the years:
Have you done these for your grand opening week? Will you?
If you want help with leveraging member sales and retention, get in touch with me today!
Many of us think we need a huge advertising budget to have a successful grand opening. Yet, this isn’t always the case!
With over 200 grand openings and pre-sales behind me, I discovered that it all comes down to the camaraderie that is built within the club’s staff and member community. If the staff is motivated and excited about the upcoming grand opening, this spills over into member motivation and excitement. This can inspire members to bring along their friends and family, which can further member sales and build that community.
Inevitably, my success with grand openings and pre-sales came after making a few mistakes. A few times, I exhausted a large portion of the advertising budget for a big grand opening party too soon and right after the soft opening. I went all out with the glamor of famous athletes, red carpets, and even Cirque du Soleil shows.
Unfortunately, the flashiness of it all didn’t translate over into an outstanding turnout. The number of people who showed up was moderate, with guests primarily interested in the event itself rather than signing up for the fitness club.
But with great pitfalls come great lessons. As I said above, building a community is key to increasing member engagement and increasing referrals. So, with that in mind, here are my takeaways for successful grand openings and events.
Let’s first lay the groundwork. Here are my top takeaways that I’ve learned over the years:
So, let’s get into the nitty-gritty of it all. What should your grand opening week involve?
Grand Opening Day marks the big event!
Start with a ribbon cutting by your local Mayor, and make sure to include:
What are you missing from your grand opening? What will you use from the above tips and lessons?
A balanced life is a healthy and happy life.
I was learned a long time ago to plan my day around my workout. This guarantees scheduled movement during my busy days. In fact, I started this habit over 30 years ago and have continued it ever since. It’s literally programmed in my mind and body to live and work this way.
Working in a fast-paced environment, those of us in the fitness industry are undeniably susceptible to stress (in reality, any business owner is!). Yet, exercise can offer not only a physical health boost but also a way to reduce stress and stay level-headed.
And there are many ways to encourage this in your working environment!
At the corporate office of Family Fitness Centers (now 24 Hour Fitness), we had a program where you could actually win rewards for exercising. This led many of us to develop regular exercise habits that many of us still perform to this day.
You could also create challenges amongst your staff. Who can do the most push-ups in a month? Who can beat their own personal bests with their lifts?
There are so many benefits to encouraging your staff and co-workers to stay active! I can’t encourage this enough. So, how do you keep your business (and co-workers or staff) physically active? How do you walk the walk and talk the talk?
When I opened Stacy Justin Advertising 15 years ago, I knew it was programmed in me to work 100% to build a new business. I also knew I needed to plan movement and balance into my life. The first week I opened, my friend invited me to my first yoga class. I kind of thought to myself, “I’m not that interested as I get my exercise with weights and cardio. I don’t really need yoga!” But I figured I’d give it a try.
And it wasn’t just any yoga class. This was an intense hot yoga 60-minute class.
I remember the instructor saying, “This is your practice. No judgements.” I immediately felt comfortable and stopped comparing myself to others. And surprisingly, I kept going back (and I’ve improved!). 15 years later, I’m still going to the same 4:30 pm yoga class in addition to strength training and running.
I find yoga offers a peaceful practice where I can clear my mind and detox my body. It adds balance into my life, something that I think many business owners lack.
Yoga also has benefits including:
✔ Providing mental clarity
✔ Producing a state of calm
✔ Decreasing stress
✔ Reducing pain
✔ Improving flexibility and strength
✔ Creating a greater mind-body connection
Since that first yoga class, I’ve been to five different yoga retreats. It’s just become a part of who I am. And for any fitness industry business owner that listens, I’ll go on and on about the benefits of this age-old practice!
So, how do you fit balance into your life? Do you schedule your workouts so that you can get the most out of your business?
A balanced life is a healthy and happy life.
I learned a long time ago to plan my day around my workout. This guarantees scheduled movement during my busy days. In fact, I started this habit over 30 years ago and have continued it ever since. It’s literally programmed in my mind and body to live and work this way.
So, I wanted to take a minute (or two!) to go over why this is a good idea and why every business owner should consider working and living this way.
Research shows how exercise improves cognitive function and performance. More specifically, exercise can improve strategic planning, attention to detail, problem-solving, verbal reasoning, and working memory. It’s also thought to prevent neurodegeneration, including that which can contribute to dementia.
All of this is to say that moving primes the mind to work efficiently and effectively. In turn, you can show up as your best self and truly give your business your all.
I’m a firm believer in leading by example in all areas of my life, especially when it comes to
health. If you’re telling people to live a healthy life, but you’re not in shape yourself, it can create various misalignments. Not only that, but you’re not taking care of yourself in the best way possible, which can lead to a decline in your decision-making and problem-solving processes.
Thus, in this industry, we need to first take care of ourselves and lead by example with proper exercise, nutrition, sleep, and community. We are so lucky to have the resources and knowledge available to us to do so, but also unlucky in the fact that this industry is fast-moving and leaves little time to exercise (Back to my above point here: Plan your day around intentionally movement!).
IHRSA reports have shown how many individuals participated in exercise throughout the pandemic to cope with stress. This comes as no surprise since we know exercise releases endorphins, which help us feel good and help combat stress. Research further shows how regular exercise is associated with increased emotional resilience when it comes to acute stress.
Working in a fast-paced environment, those of us in the fitness industry are undeniably susceptible to stress (in reality, any business owner is!). Yet, exercise can offer not only a physical health boost but also a way to reduce stress and stay level-headed.
And there are many ways to encourage this in your working environment! At the corporate office of Family Fitness Centers (now 24 Hour Fitness), we had a program where you could actually win rewards for exercising. This led many of us to develop regular exercise habits that many of us still perform to this day.
Do you exercise regularly? How do you fit it into your busy day in this ever-changing fitness industry?
I’ve been in the trenches of the fitness industry. From focusing on marketing, but also sales and operations, to building executive-level systems, I pride myself on being a leader in marketing for large chains and small studios. Throughout the last three to four decades, I’ve also come to realize the importance and necessity of collaborating with sales and fitness teams to create marketing that truly produces results.
This often means not just including the owners and decision-makers in marketing meetings, but also including key sales team members.
The relationship with the sales team is vital to create the best marketing outcomes since they are the ones who have the relationships with members and potential clients. It’s all about closing that loop and making sure the strategy makes sense in all corners.
If we don’t do this, we might find we have some misalignments between marketing and sales, which not only confuses potential members but also isn’t as effective.
Have you considered this before? How do you encourage a collaborative approach between marketing and sales in your fitness business?
With my many years in fitness marketing, I have a number of great step-by-step tool kits such as pre-sale, grand opening, operations, and sales manuals. I’ve also helped start up other international groups of clubs.
With over three decades in this industry and propelling many fitness giants forward to what they are today, I get the systems needed to create a successful fitness business. There’s no need to reinvent the wheel (Plus, this can be super hard and stressful to do!).
Successful systems have already been created, tried, and proven. We just need to implement them in your fitness business.
If you’re ready to do that, reach out to me today. At Stacy Justin Advertising, we are a marketing agency in the fitness and wellness space that focuses on results-driven marketing strategies that drive member experience and brand relevancy. I offer Free Marketing Consultations, so we can better understand how we can work together and ultimately, reach your business goals.
Getting your marketing and advertising dialed in is essential for any fitness business. You need to have a plan for obtaining new clients—and keeping them. Yet, the thing about the fitness industry is that there are many important considerations when it comes to marketing, like focusing on your local community by sharing member experiences, creating an enticing referral program, and finding and keeping staff who are committed to changing lives.
The good news is that hiring an advertising and marketing expert who knows the intricate workings of the fitness industry can propel your company forward toward where you want to be. It can also avoid the pitfalls that come with doing the “wrong” things and draw on their experience, helping you thwart mistakes they may have already made—and helping you work within the somewhat tight margins within the fitness industry.
You can probably guess where this is all going; Yes, I am encouraging you to hire someone, like our agency, for your fitness business as opposed to a generic marketing agency. And I’ve got a handful of more reasons why!
I literally live and breathe the fitness lifestyle. From staying active in my personal life to working alongside some of the biggest fitness giants, I already know the backend of what’s going on and how to optimize it.
You and your team don’t need to worry about breaking your business down for the marketing consultant or worry about having tons of calls to figure that side of things out, before moving forward with a plan. Simply put (and not to toot my own horn), I have over 35 years of experience in the fitness industry—meaning I don’t just talk the talk, I walk the walk. I have vast experience and knowledge that I can bring to the table.
As I previously mentioned above, I’ve been in the trenches of the fitness industry. From focusing on marketing, but also sales and operations, to building executive-level systems, I pride myself on being a leader in marketing for large chains and small studios. Throughout the last three to four decades, I’ve also come to realize the importance and necessity of collaborating with sales and fitness teams to create marketing that truly produces results.
This often means not just including the owners and decision-makers in marketing meetings, but also including key sales team members. The relationship with the sales team is vital to create the best marketing outcomes since they are the ones who have the relationships with members and potential clients. It’s all about closing that loop and making sure the strategy makes sense in all corners.
Not only do I speak the language, but with my many years in fitness marketing, I have a number of great step-by-step tool kits such as pre-sale, grand opening, operations, and sales manuals. I’ve also helped start up other international groups of clubs, creating structure in marketing, purchasing, equipment ordering, and layout systems.
So, what does this all mean? Well, there’s no need to reinvent the wheel. Successful systems have already been created, tried, and proven. We just need to implement them in your fitness business.
If you’re ready to do that, reach out to me today. At Stacy Justin Advertising, we are a marketing agency in the fitness and wellness space that focuses on results-driven marketing strategies that drive member experience and brand relevancy. I offer Free Marketing Consultations, so we can better understand how we can work together and ultimately, reach your business goals.
