When it comes to profitability and success, building a fitness community is everything. According to Runtastic, 40% of participants quit their fitness course shortly after they begin when they attend it individually, with no group. That rate drops to 6% when an individual exercises with a friend or group!
Essentially, your clients want to be part of a community. They want to be motivated by others and belong to a group that shares their fitness values, beliefs and goals. Not only will building a fitness community cultivate an environment for your clients to succeed, but it will also increase your bottom line. Stick with us for a few minutes and we'll explain exactly why.
First Things First: What is a Fitness Community?
Although there's no "official" definition, a fitness community is a group of supportive individuals focused on exercise. Whether it be yoga, running, rock climbing or cycling, these athletic communities not only create a sense of belonging, they also keep you motivated towards those hard to reach fitness goals.
Fitness community members share their successes and challenges and discuss their various training techniques. They also solicit advice and support from other members of the community. This common element offers members a lot of benefits that are more than just physical. It's also mentally and socially beneficial too.
And the stronger the bond, the longer your members will stick around. Which helps you increase retention and grow your fitness business.
The Power of Word of Mouth
Advertising can be extremely helpful to promote your fitness center. Yet, there is one form of promotion advertising will never beat and that's word of mouth. The best part is that as your community grows, so do word of mouth recommendations. It's free advertising.
According to Paul Rand, author of the book Highly Recommended, as cited in virtuagym, his 2012 study found that 92% of customers reported a positive recommendation is the biggest influence on whether or not they buy a product or service.
Whether you are a small yoga studio or a niche fitness center, word of mouth truly make or break your businesses success. By building a strong fitness community, you're also building qualified referrals. Leave it up to your happy members to promote their favorite boutique fitness studio!
Additional Revenue Opportunities
By building a fitness community, you open the door to potential revenue opportunities outside of your traditional revenue channels.
Here are just a few ideas:
- Hosting fitness events and retreats for community members
- Selling custom merchandise
- Potential partnerships with other community members
- Nutritional classes and certifications
- Corporate partnerships
By building a fitness community your fitness center is able to become an integral part of your members lifestyle, which extends your reach and increases your bottom line.
Expand Your Reach
A strong fitness community is very similar to an online viral video - as your fitness community gains traction, you will start to attract new members who want to see what all the "hype" is about.
As your fitness community grows, you'll begin to attract new members who are looking for a shared experience for their health and fitness culture. Your fitness community members will also want to share their experiences and connect with others. You can leverage social media to connect your members while simultaneously promoting your studio or fitness center.
A fitness tracking platform is a very helpful tool to help build your fitness community. It allows you to track your client's fitness goals and results, write and distribute custom programs, upload before and after images, send PAR-Q's or custom questionnaires, and set goals within your fitness community (i.e. fitness challenges).
Building a strong fitness community provides your members with something to rally around. If done correctly, it can be a powerful marketing strategy. With a strong fitness community at the foundation of your business model, your clients will stay longer, refer more, purchase more and advertise on your behalf. All of which increase your bottom line.
Are you interested in learning how fitness tracking software can help to streamline your organizational processes, boost revenues and build your fitness community? Contact the experts at OneFitStop to learn more. We look forward to hearing from you.
