Increasing gym memberships can feel like an uphill treadmill sprint. With plenty of online and in-person fitness options, how does your gym achieve its membership quota? Besides offering top-of-the-line gym equipment and keeping a knowledgeable fitness staff, there are other tactics you can use to attract a larger membership base.
Every gym is different, so reaching and recruiting members for each gym will take a combination of various strategies. That’s why trying different strategies is essential to find what works best for you. To kickstart your efforts, we’ve created a comprehensive list of effective approaches:
- Research Your Community
- Mix Up Your Fitness Class Schedule
- Build a Wider Community Through Charitable Giving
- Use an Events Calendar
- Simplify Your Sign Ups
- Give Pricing Options and Special Promotions
- Promote Your Strengths
- Create a Referral Program
- Advertise on Social Media
- Leverage Your Staff
- Follow Up on Leads
Invest in scalable strategies that produce long-term growth rather than short-term buzz. Optimal gym membership strategies begin with member onboarding. In fact, 87% of members who experienced a positive onboarding process remained active after six months. Use these tactics to build sustainable membership promotions.
1. Research Your Community
Gym location is a major differentiator among the wider fitness community. In other words, different communities enjoy different types of gyms. So, researching your community is the first step in any efficient gym membership strategy.
It’s also likely that your gym attracts members with similar characteristics. Pinning down these shared member characteristics will enable you to hone your sales strategy. Then you will get a better understanding of your target market. As a starting point, you should seek to answer these questions about your current members:
- What’s their age range?
- What’s their income level?
- What sorts of jobs do they have?
- What does their weekly workout schedule look like?
- What are their hobbies or other interests?
Community income level and age range are significant factors to take into account. They can inform everything from membership costs to fitness class focuses and equipment purchases. Armed with detailed community research, you’ll find the best way to welcome and build your gym community.
2. Mix Up Your Fitness Class Schedule
Using your compiled community research, rearrange your fitness class schedule. You may have found that your members prefer evening classes to morning sessions. You might get a better turnout if you place more evening class options on your schedule.
These fitness class time changes can cause sizable ripple effects. For instance, members may have some fitness-loving friends who have similar schedules. These coworkers, family members, or life-long pals have the potential to skyrocket your gym membership rates.
Review your community research to try out some new fitness class types as well. Maybe your community would benefit from more one-on-one personal training or a new class type that better aligns with their fitness goals. Carefully document feedback before and after each schedule change to determine which ones should be implemented long-term.
3. Build a Wider Community Through Charitable Giving
Charitable giving or corporate social responsibility is an effective way to increase your gym membership rates. Research shows that customers prefer to support businesses that regularly give back to the community.
There are several ways to promote charitable giving within your larger community. And trust us, these ideas aren’t complicated to pull off. Here are a few of our favorites:
- Recycle sneakers in your community. Partner with a sneaker recycling program like Sneakers4Good to keep sneakers out of landfills and earn funds by supporting micro-enterprises in developing countries. Simply collect gently worn, used and new athletic shoes, ship your shoes, and donate your Sneakers4Good check to a nonprofit of your choice.
- Marathons and races. Run with a purpose! Races like 5Ks, 10Ks, and marathons are awesome community events that get current and potential gym members involved. Create a running club at your gym to prepare and donate your 5K registration fee to a charity you support. Running distances can also be adjusted to foster community participation.
- Run a branded merchandise campaign. Highlight your gym swag by donating a portion of your merchandise earnings to charity. Services like Bonfire or Custom Ink are exceptional platforms for fundraising. Consider designing t-shirts highlighting your gym brand while mentioning the cause your gym supports.
The best part is you can combine these fundraising ideas into one! Centralize your charitable giving efforts around a major fitness challenge, like a 5K. Then run a shoe drive fundraiser and merchandise campaign before and during to add to event promotion.
Got some extra sneakers lying around? Recycle them today!
4. Use an Events Calendar
Create and manage community events in an accessible calendar. This calendar can be full of regular social outings to introduce newbies to your gym member community. Community calendars provide a simple way for outsiders to get a feel for your gym community without full commitment.
Choose events that anyone in your community can enjoy. For instance, outdoor events are great opportunities to enjoy nature. A sunny destination race or casual hiking trip can breathe new life into your gym community while still benefiting from exercise. Here are a couple of other community ideas to stack your calendar with
- Overnight camping trips
- Running club
- Tailgate parties
- Rock climbing
- Bowling
- Cooking class
- Book club
Community events increase general familiarity among potential gym members. Your current gym members may also know someone struggling to keep their fitness resolutions. These events can give them a spark of courage to return to the gym.
5. Simplify Your Gym Signups
Make online and in-person signups quick and painless! Severely inefficient signup processes can impact gym membership rates. To avoid this pitfall, keep your gym signups as simple as possible.
Make your membership forms short and direct. Clearly explain all membership benefits and plans, so members can know which program works best for them.
Have staff available to answer in-person sign-up questions or accessible online for those using mobile signups. Keep requirements to a minimum and consider offering a discounted promotional code for new members.
6. Give Pricing Options and Special Promotions
Looking for a gym that fits your needs can be intimidating without even considering prices. That’s why a one-sized-fits-all membership is not ideal for most gyms or gym members. To maximize revenue, consider bundling, packaging, and providing extra add-ons for members.
Special offers, promotions, and rewards are other efficient strategies to retain memberships. People enjoy being rewarded for their hard work at the gym, so offering a free class or training session can give a motivating nudge.
Other tactics to consider are providing a free trial period for new, first-time member prospects or offering a free first fitness class. Easing potential customers into a gym membership and rewarding full-time members are the two major keys to holistically increasing gym membership rates.
7. Promote Your Gym Strengths
Discover and promote your gym’s competitive edge. Maybe you have an amazing staff, top-of-the-line equipment, or even extra free parking available. If your gym membership is on the pricier side, promoting your competitive strengths provides backing for your higher prices.
Educate and ask your sales team about your gym’s respective advantages. The better they can communicate your gym’s individual value, the higher the chance of gym membership opportunities. Advise team members to avoid being overly pushy in their delivery. Instead, have team members be ready to honestly answer the following related questions:
- Why should I pay for a membership at your gym?
- How do you justify the cost of membership?
- What services or classes are most popular?
Potential gym members will pick up on overly rehearsed answers. Encourage your staff and sales team to voice their gym membership-related opinions.
8. Create a Referral Program for Membership
The best people to market your gym are current members to increase gym membership. Your gym does not employ them, so they provide a transparent perspective to gym member prospects. Plus, they know the ins and outs of your services, so they are likely to highlight the most beneficial ones.
Creating a referral program leverages current member experience to efficiently promote your gym. Incentivize current gym members to refer your gym with rewards like a free month of membership, one-on-one training sessions, free group class entry, or branded gym merchandise.
Other referral program strategies involve offering membership discounts or bundling multiple memberships together. Tailor your membership discounts based on your location. For instance, if your gym is in a highly suburban area, offer a discounted membership to a family. On the other hand, a college-located gym may offer membership discounts to fraternities and sororities.
9. Advertise on Social Media
Build a following by connecting with current and potential gym audiences to promote your gym. In the age of digital advertising, social media is key. Platforms like Facebook, TikTok, Instagram, and Twitter can invite potential members into your gym without them ever leaving their houses.
Utilize different platforms to target different audiences. If your primary audience is younger, consider posting content on platforms like Instagram and TikTok. These platforms are great for showcasing short-term, high-value gym videos.
There are a variety of strategies to test to drive social media engagement. Here are some common topics to consider:
- Before and after gym transformation videos
- Gym tip of the day
- Favorite gym routines
- Equipment basics
- Nutrition tips
- Fitness challenges
- Prizes/ giveaways
You can also use social media streaming services to document fun live events like a mud run fundraiser. Show your gym community’s charity efforts in all their muddy glory online! This type of content makes your gym feel more approachable, fun, and relatable.
10. Leverage Your Gym Staff
Gym staff are your eyes and ears. In other words, they know what’s working and what should be altered in your gym. Encourage regular staff feedback by collecting survey responses often. These surveys do not need to be in-depth or overly complicated. They aim to provide a different perspective on improving your essential gym functions.
Ask the following questions in your staff survey:
- How would you rate the gym equipment on a satisfactory scale?
- What would you rate as our most effective group class?
- What would you rate as our most unsatisfactory program?
- Are there any other areas of improvement that you would like to express?
Additionally, encourage your staff to sell by offering special discounts or implementing a staff referral program. Educate your staff on your gym class schedule, so that they can answer customer questions. Because they may have limited sales experience, consider providing a bonus check or prize points to incentivize them.
11. Follow Up on Fitness Leads
Customers who have expressed interest in a trial period or nearing the end of one are opportunities for potential membership upsells. Use a reliable sign-up management system to track these fitness and follow up with them regularly to boost and increase gym membership.
Consider implementing an email marketing campaign aimed to remind your leads of new gym improvements or special offers available with a full-time membership. Persuade unsure leads with member testimonials and exciting new group fitness classes.
Additional Resources
To standardize your acquisition process, compile all of your strategies into a membership sales playbook. This resource will tell your sales team exactly how to turn fitness leads into satisfied gym members. Discuss each step of your sales process and define measurable goals to track your progress.
By implementing new sales techniques your gym can drastically increase its membership rates without stress. To learn more about how to foster a wider community while giving back, check out these resources:
- 21 Awesome 5K Ideas For All Organizations. Raise some funds while reaching your exercise goals with these 21 awesome 5K ideas.
- How to Start a Run Club: The Ultimate Guide. Reference this guide to start a productive and fun gym community ren club.
- Why (and How) Runners Should Recycle Running Shoes. Learn how to get rid of unused running shoes while making the world a better place.
Interested in recycling your sneakers for good? Learn more here.