Innovation is crucial to business success, but so is something else: willingness to learn from those who have gone before. If you’re a fitness business owner or manager, one particular segment of the population has uniquely applicable experience and insights to share. We’re talking about other fitness business owners and managers.

To that end, we’ve rounded up advice from fitness industry leaders on their most successful marketing techniques. 

1. Segment your customer base.

All businesses have ideal customers. However, not all ideal customers are created equal. Defining your ideal customers, collecting as much data as possible on your customer groups, and dividing them into smaller buckets can help you target to the most people in the most specific ways. The good news? Automation tools make the process easier than ever. Fit Chicks owner Roz Harris told Entrepreneur, “I used marketing automation software to segment my list and trigger autoresponders and email campaigns."

Segmenting your customer base also helps you reach your members at the right moment with the right campaign. “I’m starting a 12-week nurturing campaign to massage old leads and former clients and I expect to see two to five new clients walk in ready to enroll. All because I am able to send the right message to them at the right time,” Harris continues.

Segmenting your target members is just the first step. Acting on the data you’ve collected is what gets results.

2. “Always be on.”

The fitness industry is intensely competitive. If you think your work is done when you clock out for the day, you’re likely missing out on major opportunities to boost your business and your brand. Enjoy Food. Enjoy Life. founder Nicole Rodriguez, RDN, NASM-CPT, told ExerciseJobs, “No website, business card, or grand marketing plan will generate more interest, leads, and dollars than being ‘on’ when you’re off-duty. Be willing to lend your expertise on the gym floor, cultivate relationships with trainers who may have different areas of specialization than yours, appear approachable, and SMILE. That last bit is your most valuable tool. And it doesn’t cost you a dime.”

In addition to prioritizing hiring people with this same mindset, fitness business leaders who model these can-do behaviors will find their staff following suit.

3. Use videos.

Videos continue to have a major moment in marketing. The fitness business is far from immune. In fact, there are many ways to leverage this trend into better engagement with your members and prospective members. 

Advises Fitpreneurs founder and author of The New Encyclopedia of Modern Fitness Business Building Simon Lovell, “Right now is the time to start using the ultra-popular video medium for your business. The key is to be consistent and use video to add value for your audience, as well as master-quality video production. Be sure to use live platforms for workouts, live testimonials, and sharing your life behind the scenes to build trust with clients. You can also embed videos into your blog posts, which you can send to your email list once you’ve built it. Be informative, have fun, and give your audience a specific action at the end of your content.”

4. Share your successes -- and encourage your members to do the same.

Sure, doing a good job comes with personal satisfaction. Is that alone enough to grow your business? Probably not. Informing other people about your results, and encouraging members to do the same, goes a long way. Pilates Instructor and studio owner Gabbi Berkow told ExerciseJobs, “My number one marketing tip comes from Jon Goodman of The Personal Training Development Center. ‘Do a great job and make sure everyone knows about it.’ Make sure you are well educated (always keep learning), and provide sound, effective sessions for your clients so that they see results and achieve their goals. When your clients are really happy with your services, they will want to refer others.”

Providing an incentive, such as a referral discount, increases the chances that your members will advocate on your behalf. In doing so, they become ambassadors of your business and unofficial members of your sales team. 

Speaking of sharing the good things going on at your fitness business, embracing the wearables trend -- and informing members and prospective members of your offerings in this area -- can support member retention and recruitment.  Request a demo today to learn more about what Accuro can do for you.