One of the biggest red flags we see is when gyms are relying exclusively on a single source for their leads. It’s a dangerous game that only ends one way, yet those who play that game don’t always recognize the risks.
So, we asked our certified Fitness Business Coaches to share their perspectives on why this is such an important topic:
What if people are relying on a single lead source for marketing? What if that marketing channel dries up? Where else could or should you be investing marketing time to see ROI and how can you quantify that?
Kelly: If you’re relying on a single source for Marketing, my best advice to you is to figure out what other channel you can implement as quickly and easily as possible. Some reliable go-to’s are: Referral Marketing Program, Former Client Reactivation, Former Lead or FEO Reactivation/Reengagement and Networking.
Just like you teach your clients, it’s the habits created and consistently executed over time that are what’s important. I see Fitness Business Owners get busy and drop their Referral Program (side note: don’t do that!) or rely on only passive lead channels like paid traffic because they are short on time. If you have all of your eggs in one basket and it stops working for some reason, the oxygen to your business has been cut off. Don’t get caught in that scenario! Make sure you have a diverse and consistently executed group of lead generating activities.
And the next most important thing is to be sure you’re tracking and measuring the performance of those lead channels. You want to know how many leads you’re getting from each channel, how they are converting, what the leads are costing you, and how much time you’re investing also. The goal is to always have a positive ROI, but you also want to be spending the most time and effort on the channels that are performing the best.
And, if you aren’t measuring, you’re guessing. And your fitness business shouldn’t be a guessing game!
Asa: More often than not when we see business owners come to us that have zoned in on one primary means of marketing it’s either a paid ad campaign or referrals as their only means of lead generation.
Having learned from COVID to always be prepared for the unexpected, the same rule applies to marketing.
You want to be sure you have at least 3 solid marketing channels (ideally in different streams, for instance online, offline, and internal) running simultaneously. This protects your business in case one goes down for an unforeseen reason to be sure that leads continue to generate.
But what do you invest your time in and how do you measure that? Start with analyzing your lead history, where are your clients coming from primarily? Referrals? Website? Zone in on those 3 top performing channels and determine how much time you are investing in those channels, 3 hours/mo, 4 hrs/mo?
When considering ROI there is more to measure than just the financial investment, consider your time, what is an hour of your time valued at? These are all things to consider when building out your ideal marketing strategy.
Pamela: When your business relies on one lead channel or marketing strategy, that’s like relying on only one person to deliver your service. If you only have one coach working for you or if you are the coach, and the coach gets sick – sessions cannot be delivered. Think about marketing in a similar way. When you have a lead channel that performs well, it’s challenging to think about needing to have 1-2 additional sources.
In our Triple A Marketing we teach the value of having at least one internal, one online, and one offline lead channel. Tracking of ROI can look a little different if you’re needing to include time and effort vs just dollars spent but it’s important to have at least three lead channels being executed with consistency and the same follow up cadence used for the leads generated.
If you only have 1 or 2 marketing strategies running right now, consider your strengths and the strengths of your team if you have one working with you. It’s helpful to use the Triple A Tool to get you started on this to determine the best direction to go because you wouldn’t want to commit to public speaking for example if you are terrified of speaking to an audience.
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Similar Coaches’ Corner topics:
- Gym Membership Pricing: Should I raise my rates? How do I set my gym’s prices?
- How Is The Economy Affecting My Fitness Business and How Do I Prepare It?
- What’s Wrong With My Gym’s Leads? How Can I Get My Gym’s Leads to Respond and Convert to Clients?
- What Happens When Gym Owners Let Emotions (Like Fear, Hope) Guide Decisions?
Have something specific you’d like to hear from our Fitness Business Coaches about?
You can submit your Needs Assessment here, and we’ll send you an individualized report, or you can talk directly to a coach by scheduling a Strategy Session.
Our Certified Fitness Business Coaches answer more questions just like these in our Ask a Fitness Business Coach Guide.
