I have seen it over and over.
In fact, there are companies that specialize in this atrocity. They call themselves marketing companies.
The send you some information, call you and promise they can fill your gym with new members in an incredibly short time. They give you testimonials and success stories. They make a compelling story that they can get you new business.
Here’s what they don’t tell or show you. It’s the picture of what they caused, the mess they created in your business months after they finished your campaign, and left town.
Before we look at the damage they created, we need to take a minute to examine why they run these campaigns, and then leave town quickly. They do it to make money, pure and simple.
They make money on the initial fees they collect from the new members paying for your services. It’s structured so the marketing company collects all the money for your programs and then they pay you the agreed-upon percentage of the money collected. They make sure they get paid first.
Here’s what they do.
They create a flyer or mailer appealing to a certain kind of buyer, one who is looking for a bargain.
A buyer who is also looking for certain new results in their life. The kind of results you, not the marketing company, can provide people.
The campaign is well-orchestrated. There is a series of snail mail pieces, social media support, and telephone follow-up campaigns. There is a deadline for the deeply discounted “bargain.” The sense of urgency is a great motivator and people flock to take advantage of the special offer.
In a few short weeks, the campaign is over, our “marketing people” have left town and you’re left with:
- A lot of new people needing your onboarding programs. This costs you money and time.
- New people who are price-shoppers, first and foremost, which for most quality gyms are the exact opposite of your ideal clients.
- A very angry and upset group of existing members who resent sharing their space with this new crowd.
- Frustrated existing members who do not understand why the new people get discounts and they, after years of loyalty, are paying full-price for the same programs and services.
- Wear and tear on our facility requiring more custodial time keeping the place clean.
- a host of other problems that increase naturally and in direct relationship to the rate of membership growth. Refunds, questions, concerns, conflicts, and problem solving is only the tip of the iceberg. Serving these people requires more staff time, or comes out of your hide.
- The list goes on…
The marketing company has left town and sharpened their sales presentation with stories of the massive success they created for you. The new prospect, a tired and unsuspecting business owner warmly welcomes them, mistakenly thinking, “if I only had a few more members…”
And the cycle continues…
You’re left with a huge mess to straighten out and a financial burden doing so. And you have only a fraction of the cash you would ordinarily get for new members. It’s a perfect negative storm and in many cases, it’s the end of the line for the business and the doors are suddenly closed for good.
This happens so often that some states legally require a gym to post a bond to cover refunds to members when their fitness center suddenly goes out of business.
The take-away is to never, never, never offer discounts as an incentive to get more members and to grow your business.
Stay tuned and tomorrow I’ll share with you how to create a cash surge that will give you new ideal members and the income to serve them. With the 6 Figure Trainer’s Cash Surge plan you will elevate your business the right way. Til tomorrow!
You only get results if you take action on your ideas. Do it now!
