Increase Revenue for your Fitness & Wellness Small Business

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As an owner of a fitness and wellness studio or gym, healthy revenue is as important as healthy clients. So be sure to give your business a financial health checkup. You want to ensure you’re not missing out on any key revenue opportunities. One way to increase revenue is to find the right gym and fitness management software to keep your gym running efficiently. In addition to great software, there are three ways to help increase revenue including revamping your website so that it is responsive, SEO-friendly and streamlined for sign-ups; expanding your offering so that your studio or gym takes full advantage of its valuable space; and selecting precisely the right price for your offering in your area.

1. Revamping your site

Nowadays, chances are that most of your new customers and clients are first finding your business not through your brick-and-mortar studio or gym, but through your website. The odds are also good that they’re looking at your site on a smartphone, and performing a local search. With these factors in mind, you’ll want to ensure that your website is up to speed with Internet user behaviors and expectations for today. Here are some key areas to focus on:

Responsive design

Take a good look at your site on several tablets and smartphones. Is everything from your logo to your primary call-out to your sign-up button clear, readable and compelling? If not, you may want to hire a designer to ensure that your site is responsive, which means that it automatically adjusts itself to look great on any device.

SEO

SEO today is not just a matter of having relevant keywords and inbound links. Google, in particular, has made it clear that the new approach to SEO is all about great content, fast-loading pages and a user experience that is tablet and smartphone-friendly. If their algorithms find thin content, slow-loading pages or a cluttered experience (on any device) this will damage your site’s ranking.

On-boarding    

How many clicks or taps does it take for a new customer to sign up at your studio or gym? How many fields does the user have to fill out? Two, five, ten, twenty? Does your sign-up page allow users to sign up with their Facebook, Google or Twitter accounts, or do they need to start from scratch? These are the kinds of questions you will want to ask yourself as you consider a redesign of your on-boarding process for new customers. A well-designed, streamlined onboarding process could make all the difference in your sign-up numbers and your bottom line.

2. Expanding your offering

Your studio or gym is, first and foremost, a valuable space for people to achieve their fitness and wellness goals. And if you’re not using that space at every opportunity, then you’re missing out on some real revenue. For example, suppose you’re primarily a Yoga studio and you’re only using the space at certain times of the day when the demand for Yoga sessions is strong and attendance is high. During the off-times, rather than close your studio, you could use that same space for another popular fitness and wellness activity in your area, such as dance or martial arts, with an entirely different peak-demand schedule.

3. Rethinking your pricing

This is a popular time for fitness and wellness studios and gyms. This means more business, but it also means more competition. Your customers can easily perform at-a-glance comparisons of your pricing for memberships, daily sessions and so on with your competitors. So it’s wise for you to do the same, and see how your studio or gym stacks up. Of course, you will always want to consider your location, instructor experience, and other factors when deciding who your true competitors are. But once you have that worked out, you may find that you are pricing yourself out of reach of a much larger customer base.  Alternatively, you may be underpriced and leaving money on the table.  Lowering or raising prices can both be a way to increase revenue.

The vitals

As a fitness and wellness studio or gym, it may be time to give your business a health check-up. First, make sure that your site works perfectly on any device, follows the new approach to SEO, and has a streamlined sign-up process. Second, if you’re not using your valuable studio or gym space at every opportunity, consider expanding your offering. Third, compare your pricing to competitors in your area, and make any adjustments necessary to bring in a steady stream of new customers and clients.

To learn more about how to increase revenue and help your fitness and wellness small business thrive, consider scheduling a demo or cut to the chase and sign up for a 30 Day Free Trial with Fitli.

How Your Website Can Hurt Your Gym or Fitness Center

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Your gym or fitness center’s brand is the image that all potential and active customers have of your business in their mind. It is not just your logo and tag-line. It is everything that sets you apart from the competition. Essentially, it is your fitness business’ complete personality, core values, and how well you meet customer needs and help achieve their goals. Consequently, a strong brand is, more often than not, the difference between success and failure.  One of the best tools to display your brand is your website.

Many gyms and fitness center owners believe an eye-catching website is enough. It is not. In fact, your website could be hurting your fitness business, making it difficult to attract customers and new members. If you have not thought long and hard about your website, how it aligns with your mission and core principles, and how it adds value to your customers, you are better off not even having a site.

Everyone has heard the saying, “You never get a second chance to make a great first impression.” Repeated studies have shown that the majority of consumers are using the internet as part of their shopping process, for both goods and services. It is not just for online shopping. Consumers are going online to research virtually every company that they plan to do business with, and they are starting their research very early in their decision-making process. So, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, consumers are looking at your website and determining whether you are trustworthy and if you can meet their needs. With this in mind, Here are several ways that your website can hurt your gym or fitness center.

Mistakes Harming Your Fitness Website 

1. Does Not Target Your Ideal Member

Take a moment to visualize your ideal gym or fitness center member. Who do you see? Is it an older person trying to lose weight and get back into shape after years of television watching? Is it a young woman who wants to look great for her wedding? Is it a college-aged individual who is using your gym as their second home? Trying to build a website that will appeal to every type of person will only work against you. You want to identify those customers who either share your values or your values compliment theirs.

2. Copy Is Generic and Lifeless

Your employees and trainers are likely very friendly, engaging, and interesting people. Is that reflected on your website? Is your verbiage pompous and arrogant? Is the content filled with a ton of fitness jargon and slang? You are the ultimate face of your brand. Consequently, they should hear your voice when they read your website copy and content. Inauthentic, generic, and poor writing will give your website visitors the wrong idea. Your website should reflect the face of the people who customers will meet when they visit your gym or fitness center.

3. Provides a Poor User Experience

Many gyms and fitness centers have visually stunning websites that ultimately fail due to poor user experience. A good website design will be uncluttered with easy navigation. Visitors should be able to find the information they are looking for within just 2 or 3 clicks. Moreover, your website must adapt to any mobile device. Today, more people are using mobile search than a desktop. If your website is not usable on a potential customer’s chosen device, they will find one that is.

4. Does Not Align Your Core Values with Customers

How do your core values help members achieve their needs, goals, and desires? Take as an example Planet Fitness. There are many within the fitness industry that don’t even consider Planet Fitness as a real fitness center. Yet, it is one of the largest franchises with one of the largest membership bases. This happened because of effective messaging that aligned their values with their target customers.

Do you have questions? What haven’t we covered yet that is important to you? If you would like to talk about how your website can hurt your gym or fitness center, or a related topic, please contact us.