Many personal trainers are skipping this critical marketing step – and losing business as a result. Are you going to repeat their mistakes?
The word "research" probably brings to mind men with gray hair and thick glasses who probably haven't had a shower in weeks, spending hours locked in a laboratory - in short, brain-pulping tedium.
Since you're a fitness trainer, you likely chose your career because you’re passionate about health, about action, about client contact – not because you want to spend hours analyzing trends and Googling into oblivion.
But when it comes to developing a marketing plan, fitness market research is your front-row ticket to success. It tells you the most pertinent needs of your clients. It helps you discover the areas your competitors excel in, and exposes their weaknesses. It lets you pinpoint the exact strategies you need to better market your services.
Knowledge is power. Here’s how to gain it:
1. Learn more about your Niche Market
It's smart to keep your options open, but if you aim your marketing towards everyone, you'll spread your efforts too thin to have any benefit. You need to focus on your niche market - the bulls-eye that all your marketing should be aimed at.Whether you’re training senior citizens, pregnant women, college athletes, body builders, or another group entirely, focusing on a specific target allows you to focus your research. This is the only way you can get the specific information you need.
Examine the habits of your niche market
You need to understand the habits and preferences of your particular niche market - though you'll be using methods a little more sophisticated (and less likely to engender jail time) than secretly following them around every day. Unless you know how they live, you won’t know what they require. And unless you know what they need, you won’t know how to pitch the services want.
Determine which marketing methods your prospects respond to
No matter how clever your "foolproof" marketing strategy is, there's always the risk that your message might end up ignored. What if you took out a newspaper ad only to find out that your niche market gets their news from TV and radio? Or sent out a thousand advertising postcards to people who are sick and tired of receiving junk mail?
Survey current clients about how they found you. You can use the responses you get to determine which form of advertising is the most effective. In your print ads, include bonus offers for people who bring the advertisement to their first session with you: the more ads you see in the hands of your new clients, the more effective that marketing avenue is.
If you do your homework, you can identify which marketing methods will give you the most benefit for your investment and which you should avoid using.
2. Analyze Your Rivals
Even if you’ve thoroughly examined your niche market, you still need to stake out your competitors. Finding out who is competing for your clients – and what methods those rivals are employing – will keep you one step ahead of them.Research your biggest rivals
Track down rival professional trainers – especially ones mining a niche similar to yours – and examine their methods. If they have any kind of presence on the Internet, make sure you get one as well. Sign up for your rivals' newsletters and discover what they’re up to. Peek at their promotional offers and snatch ideas from them. Pay attention to the people who dominate the industry, and figure out why they’re so successful.
The best way you can beat your competition at their own game is if you know what game they're playing to begin with.
Find out what you have that no one else does
Look for gaps in the services your rivals provide - if there's something you can provide that they don't, that's opportunity knocking. Offering skills, techniques, or knowledge that’s high in demand but short in supply can put you ahead of the competition. Research little-known strategies that you can pass onto your clients.
Discover your hidden competition
Believe it or not, some of your strongest opposition may come from outside the fitness industry. Anything that can draw business away from you counts as a competitor. Health clubs, YMCAs, recreation centers, and even colleges offering fitness courses can lure potential clients away from your doors and towards their own. Find out which local entities could put a dent in your client base.
While it’s not often practical – or even possible – to directly compete against these businesses and organizations, preemptive research can help you get your clients back. If your potential clients have to choose between taking a weekly fitness class and hiring a personal trainer, find out exactly what that class promises – and then offer something even better.
3. Find Out Ways to Promote Your Business Online
The usefulness of the Internet as a marketing tool is indisputable. Of course, your rivals know this already, so you're up against some stiff opposition: if you don't know what you're doing, your site is going to end up stuck at the bottom in the search results. Maximize your site’s exposure by boosting your Internet savvy.Use Google's AdWords to conduct research
Ever wonder just how many people are searching for personal trainers in your area, or just how much money your rivals spend on ads? With Google AdWords, you can answer these questions and many, many more, using their keyword tools, traffic estimators, cost-per-click statistics and other useful functions. You can use the insight you obtain from AdWords to help plan a winning marketing strategy.
Learn about SEO Techniques
The secret to boosting your search engine rankings is search engine optimization, or SEO. Devote some time to researching SEO, including how to write keyword-rich web content, how to use backlinks to increase your rank, and what “anchor text value” means. You don’t have to become a tech genius, but rest assured that the time you spend studying SEO will pay dividends in the long run.
All it takes is some time, patience and the willingness to do the research. It's not back-breaking work, but it's not easy, either: if you can pull it off, though, you'll have the edge over all your rivals who didn't check the pool for sharks before jumping in headfirst.
NEED MORE FITNESS CLIENTS?
Here are the best Fitness Marketing Tips to take your Personal Training business to the next level.
Recent Comments