Short on time? Here’s a quick summary:
- The book ‘Traction’ outlines 19 marketing channels to achieve consistent growth for fitness businesses.
- Use a multi-channel approach to diversify client acquisition efforts and boost growth.
- Leverage unconventional PR, SEO, and content marketing to stand out in the market.
- Strategic partnerships and community building foster retention and word-of-mouth referrals.
- Integrate various tactics instead of relying on a single “silver bullet” strategy.
I recently listened to the book ‘Traction’ by Gabriel Weinberg and Justin Mares. It talks about the strategies behind how new and existing businesses can achieve steady and consistent customer growth.
It does a really good job of doing a deep dive into the best sources of new customers.
In the book, the authors outline 19 different marketing channels – 19 places new clients can come from.
So I thought I’d apply these recommendations to fitness businesses, giving a brief summary of each channel, and how it can be of benefit to a fitness business.
Learning from businesses in other industries can be a really smart way to grow – it gives you an ‘outsider’s advantage’. A lot of the strategies here you’ve probably heard of – some you may already be doing as they’re a mainstay of the fitness industry… but I think you might find a few ideas you haven’t yet tried that can really help create a more steady stream of new client and member enquiries.
As much as I’m always looking for some ‘silver bullet’ for marketing, time and time again I come back to the idea that great marketing isn’t about doing one single thing (like Facebook ads or 8 week challenges or referral programs), but about having multiple strategies all working together.
So try adding some of the following strategies into your marketing mix.
Viral Marketing:
This is where you use existing clients and members to help generate new enquiries. Organic word of mouth is great, but a systemised referral program that rewards referrals is better. I like to donate money to a charity on behalf of the referer as a way of saying thanks. You can also run a program where you incentivise and reward the sharing of your social media content, and even the outsourcing of content creation to your clients to build an army of micro influencers.
Public Relations:
We sometimes forget that in the days before user generated social media, there was a different kind of media – traditional media conglomerates. TV, radio newspaper etc. The fact that they’re not currently seen as a major marketing avenue tells us maybe we should visit them. There’s an opportunity here. Effective PR can help build credibility and reach a wide audience. Media releases and pitches to journalists and editors about groundbreaking new programs, or novel client accomplishments can provide exposure to a new network of potential clients for your business.
Unconventional PR:
Everything in marketing is currently so vanilla. I follow a lot of fitness businesses on Instagram, and they’re all carbon copies of each other. So the market is screaming for something different – and this is where unconventional PR comes in. In 2002, to promote the opening of a new Virgin Active gym in Cape Town, Richard Branson bungee-jumped off the top of the building while wearing a tuxedo. What out-of-the-box strategies can you use?
Search Engine Marketing (SEM):
This one is pretty well accepted as an important part of fitness marketing, and for good reason. Paying Google your money to appear at the top of searches is a pretty important part of running a business. The advantage of this is that you’re guaranteed that the people who are seeing your ads are actually in the market for what you provide – the same isn’t always the case with paid social media ads.
Social and Display Ads:
Targeting potential clients by demographics, interests, and behaviours is a powerful strategy if you have a well defined avatar. Social media platforms like Meta are a powerful way to do this. You should be using some sort of highly targeted paid social media advertising in your business.
Offline Ads:
Another forgotten marketing strategy are traditional advertising methods like TV, radio, print, and billboards. These channels can reach a broad audience but are often more expensive than digital ads. But if you’re looking to stand out in a saturated online marketplace, you need to consider offline ads.
Search Engine Optimisation (SEO):
Some people think websites have been replaced by social media. I strongly disagree. A well designed website legitimises your business and provides a level of control that you just can’t get on socials. As a fitness business, you should prioritise keyword research, on-page optimisation, and link-building. The goal is to attract free, targeted traffic from search engines. Optimising your website will help you to rank higher in organic search results.
Content Marketing:
As a fitness business owner – you’re a problem solver. But people don’t know that you’re the best person to solve their problems unless they actually experience it. And the best way for them to experience your problem-solving prowess is through content marketing. Your aim should be to create valuable, relevant content to attract and engage an audience. Blogs, videos, infographics, and downloadable guides all build trust and position you as an industry authority. This won’t give you an immediate influx of clients, but will build long term trust so that when people need a service like yours, you’ll be the logical first choice.
Email Marketing:
A high quality email list is one of the most valuable assets you can have as a fitness business owner. You don’t own your followers like on social media – you don’t even own your social media page. But an email list, that’s not something that can be taken away. Every fortnight, you should be sending a minimalist but highly actionable email to your entire network. And then, a few times a year, you can sprinkle in some more direct marketing emails to encourage the reader to take some sort of action with your business.
Engineering as Marketing:
Engineering as a form of marketing includes things like tools and resources that attract customers and build credibility. For fitness businesses, things like having an app or a training or nutrition calculator can help provide value and draw potential clients into your ecosystem.
Target Market Blogs:
A key principle of marketing is to put your message in front of the attention of your target customer. Wherever their eyeballs are, you need to be there. Find out the blogs your potential clients read and engage with them. This can be through guest posting, sponsored content, or partnerships. It helps build authority and drive traffic from a trusted source. You can use the same strategy with influencers your avatar follows.
Business Development (BD):
This is where you form strategic partnerships to grow your business. You should look to build relationships with businesses who share your demographic, but aren’t competitors. Service based business like Physios and massage therapists, and retail businesses like bike shops can all be good strategic partnerships. You could do a joint venture, some sort of licensing deal, referral bonuses or cross promotion.
Sales:
Sales deserves its very own category and refers to directly selling your service to potential clients. Unfortunately, this is the only strategy used by some businesses, who are missing out on a lot of other potential lead sources. In-person meetings, phone calls, emails or online demos of the experience you provide will help build relationships and convert new clients..
Affiliate Programs:
Similar to business development strategies, partnering with other individuals or businesses can help to promote your product. In an affiliate program, you’re exchanging this promotion for some sort of commission – an extra income stream for the business you’re partnering with. This leverages the partner’s audience and credibility and is a cost-effective way to scale up your client acquisition.
Existing Platforms:
There are a lot of platforms out there that capture a huge amount of the attention of your potential clients. Look where people are spending their time – places like Facebook and Instagram. Using existing platforms involves organically optimising your presence on these platforms or advertising on them.
Trade Shows:
Look at major events your avatars go to. Some may be fitness industry specific, while others may be in parallel industries but attract people who are health conscious. Trade shows are particularly relevant if you’re marketing to other businesses (B2B marketing) and less relevant if you’re focus is business to consumer. Trade shows can also be a great way to build referral networks, affiliate programs and for business development.
Offline Events:
Hosting or sponsoring events is a great way to engage with your audience. Examples include workshops, meetups, or conferences. These events build community and create personal connections with your brand.
Speaking Engagements:
Speaking at conferences, webinars, or other events is a great way to establish expertise. This positions you as a thought leader and can attract new clients and members. It’s an effective way to build credibility and brand awareness.
Community Building:
If you have a brick and mortar business, or even if you’re online, creating and nurturing a community around the service you provide is key. Ultimately, people hang around not because of the service you’re providing, but because of the magnetic effect of the social connections they establish. Strong communities increase both retention and word-of-mouth referrals.
In a marketing landscape where everyone seems to be doing the same thing, we’re competing with each other in a ‘red ocean’. We’re fighting over the same clients, using the same strategies, and there’s blood in the water.
Instead, how about trying a ‘blue ocean’ strategy, where you experiment with some tried and tested marketing strategies that aren’t getting the attention they deserve. If you can implement these lessons from the book ‘Traction’, you might just find you get a consistent boost to enquiries, and a steady stream of new clients and members.
If you enjoyed this, you’ll also enjoy ‘8 crazy fitness business models you haven’t considered’, it’s one of my most popular articles on a similar topic.
