Over the years, I?ve talked to hundreds of fitness business owners who have wasted thousands of dollars on fancy marketing pieces, resulting in little to no sales.? Usually upon further investigation, I find that the personal trainer or gym owner was sold by a salesperson who promised success because their direct mailer has a ?circulation of 30,000 people in your zip code, who make $50,000 and up.?
Who are these 30,000 people, and why will they choose to spend their little discretionary income on your gym instead of the other 40 gyms that advertised to them this week?
In most cases, these approaches to marketing are unsuccessful because they are not targeted enough, nor do they target YOUR audience.?
Think about it for a minute?
Would you prescribe the same workout routine or training plan to every person that walks in your door??
Of course not!?You?d probably start with a consult to determine if a client can participate in your program, and then make a custom plan tailored to their needs and wants.? Why? Because your clients are unique.? They have unique reasons for seeking your help, and it?s not always for weight loss or strength gain.? Therefore you can?t take a generic approach to marketing to them.?
If you want to stop wasting time and money on gimmicks to find customers, you have to stand out. ?To stand out, start by choosing a great target market and position your brand to be a preferred option in that market. ??
How to Choose A Target Market for Your Fitness Business
1. Write: Why did I become a fitness professional?
A good starting point is to think about the reasons why you became a fitness professional. Was it to leave the sedentary environment of corporate America? Did a personal trainer change your life? Are you trying to combat the obesity epidemic one person at a time?? Write down as few or as many of the reasons why you got started.?
2. Write: Who do I want to help?
Is there a specific segment of the population that you just love to work with?? It could be the elderly, youth, athletes, celebrities, firefighters, teachers, or CEOs.? Write a list of attributes that you have in common with these groups.? If you?re a former corporate executive-turned-personal trainer, you can relate to the challenges of long work hours, hitting sales forecasts, and spending weeks of your life in airports.? Think about all of the corporate executives who could benefit from your services.
3. Write: What are my unique attributes?
What is unique about you? ?Your hometown, college, sports that you play, your professional associations, gender, etc.? Write down a list of everything that is unique to you.
4.?Narrow your target markets
Now that you know who you want to help, why you want to help them, what commonalities you have, and what attributes you offer, you can start to identify possible target audiences and consumer groups to market to. ?
For example, let?s say that you?re a former college athlete who is now a personal trainer.?Well, you probably know a thing or two about the physical and mental preparation that it takes to play competitive sports at a high level.? Aspiring college athletes and their parents could be a target market for you.?
5. Narrow your target markets even more (become the specialty store) ?
By continuing to narrow your target markets, you will become more specific in who you serve. ?Generally, as you become more specific in who you target, you begin to have fewer competitors. ?This allows you to position your company and brand as one of the preferred options in your target market. ?Think specialty store, instead of general department store. You could buy yoga pants from Wal-Mart and get a couple of selections, or go to LuLulemon and know that all of your yoga needs will be covered. ? ? ?
Let?s take our first example a step further to narrow our market:?
Let?s say you are a former Division I women?s soccer player who is now a personal trainer living in Denver, Colorado.?Instead of training any aspiring athlete, you might have more success marketing to adolescent girls who want to play collegiate soccer, and their parents.? You might also find a target market in former female college soccer players who are looking for a personal trainer in your area.
5. Do your research?
Once you narrow your target markets, do everything you can to understand the competitive landscape and needs and of your audience.? If you?ve chosen a market that you already have extensive knowledge about, the research process should be easier.? From research you can determine if there is a demand for your services and if your target markets are willing to purchase your products or services.? If you have competitors, find out if they are meeting all of the needs of your market and how they differentiate and promote themselves. ??
Your research should include a search that determines where to find your ideal customers. ?Since your business is unique, don?t take a shotgun approach to marketing (marketing to the any and everyone).? Just because a competitor joins the local Chamber of Commerce or is on Twitter, doesn?t mean that YOUR customers can be found there. ?Research your target market thoroughly and determine the type of media your target market frequently pays attention to and build a presence there.?
6. Get in front of your ideal customers
Let?s narrow your markets even more to find ideal customers, using our soccer example:
Let?s say that you are a mother?who played Division I soccer at James Madison University.? You?re currently a personal trainer in Denver, Colorado who offers sports-specific training. ?Your primary target markets are girls ages 15-21 who are aspiring to play competitive soccer, and their parents.?
To maximize your exposure to your target market, you might seek out soccer-specific clubs and organizations, form strategic partnerships with soccer camps and clinics, or join the board of a local youth soccer league.?
You could also find a solid niche in your city?s college alumni chapter to satisfy your secondary target markets (anyone else who could use your training services).? This group may include former college athletes who need a trainer, parents who are interested in losing weight, mothers in search of a strength training program, business professionals interested in corporate fitness and wellness programs, or other individuals who simply prefer to train with a fellow JMU graduate.
So there it is, laid out in front of you.? Some initial steps to help you choose a target market.? Just as identifying a client?s challenges and prescribing the right training program will lead to better results for them, identifying the right target market and choosing the correct approaches to marketing will lead to better results for your business.? ?
It might mean spending a few hours up front in the planning process, but this approach will be more profitable to growing your fitness business down the road.?
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Source: http://recfitconsulting.com/important-marketing-decision/
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