Don’t
be a one-man charity system for advertising companies, yellow page ads, and
landlords.
As we head into the
New Year you’ve got to be asking yourself “is there a better way.” After being in the fitness
industry for over 40 years, I’ve seen a lot of things and many that made me
shake my head and wonder what the heck some of you were thinking. And yes,
there is a better way to do many of the things mention in the caption of this
article. So read on.
First let’s discuss
advertising and marketing. But before we get started, please understand that
I’m only giving you a smattering of what you need to know and do. Traditionally
speaking, you should be spending 7-10 % of your gross income to further the
branding and growth of your business and the monies should be spent equally
internally and externally. You’re probably asking yourself what I mean by
internally and externally. Well, internally meaning that you promote from
within, you do things for your members and in return ask them to do something
for you. Promoting externally would be radio, yellow pages. television,
newspaper, and flyer etc. As with both types of programs, you should be
measuring the results, and the return on investment. However, with both types
of programs (internal and external) some of the benefits can’t be measured
because the exposure alone will continues to brand and further promote your
business. As new technology has evolved, many of the traditional method of
advertising no longer seem to work as well as they did in the past. If you look
at your past advertising campaigns, I’m sure you will find that all of them
have had a diminishing return on investment. Remember the old saying “You can’t
expect different results if you keep doing the same thing over and over.”
This
brings me to a point where I would like to share with you a new marketing
medium we have secured rights to; it’s called GFA e-Marketing.
This new technology puts the power of
zip code-targeted email marketing in the hands of every fitness
professional wanting to attract new customers to their business, regardless of
their advertising budget. Our email database is the largest in the nation,
totaling over 250 million emails. It includes 100% opt-in subscribers and is
updated daily. You can now attract more fitness-minded people to your business
for just a fraction of the cost of traditional advertising. How many email
addresses are within a five-mile radius of your location? You might be
surprised, give me a call.
Now let’s move on to yellow pages. This type of advertising is becoming more and more
ineffective as technology improves. Don’t be fooled by the yellow page
companies, forget about the promises made by the yellow page sales
representative (ie. free colors added to your ad, a lager ad for the same price
you were paying last year, and more). Do what the big companies do. But before
I tell you their little secret, I want to explain the two ways consumers use
the yellow page book. # 1. If they know your companies name they will go
directly to the white page listing in the front of the phone book and look up
your name alphabetically. #2. If they don’t know your companies name the
probably will go to the yellow page listing under the “Health and Fitness”
category and start looking for fitness facilities. Which bring me to the little
secret big companies have known and used for years. While many of us have been
caught up paying outrageous prices on a monthly basis for a yellow page display
ads, big companies have been advertising in the same area just that they appear
several pages before the display ads even appear or even looked at. How do they
do it? It’s simple, kill your display and request an in column ad in the
listing area under “Health and Fitness.” Still think the yellow pages deserve a
large share of your monthly advertising budget? Compare the size (thickness) of
this year’s phone book to last year’s . . . and think again.
And … now on to
landlords. The basis and foundation
for a successful business is in the lease. It has always been my opinion that
tenants don’t get what they deserve, they get what they negotiate. When it
comes to your facility rent, landlords always seem to have the upper hand and
that’s generally due to the tenant creating a poor foundation when going into
business. If your looking for a new location, ready to sign a renewal option,
or having problems with the space you lease, now is the perfect time to pay your landlord a visit. Many landlords across
the country are also feeling the pinch and may welcome a discussion about
lowering your rent, offering you a rent
concession,
or possibly renegotiating your lease. Though there are no guarantees, you won’t know unless you ask.
The strategies you learn and
practice now, when the economy is flat, will serve you now and in the future.
Please place your comments in the section below. Your participation is encouraged and appreciated. Thank you.
For more information on this subject, give us a call at 925-672-4800 and we will gladly do our best to answer your questions. You can also visit our website at www.globalfitnessassociation.com/info for more information.
