ad-missions

When I began writing How to Market Your Health Club, The Essential Owner's Guide, I set out to answer the question I hear most often from club owners, which is, "what kinds of offers and promotions work best?" In keeping with many of the other chapters with top ten lists, how to and step-by-step instructions, I figured I'd list what some of our most successful clubs do and keep the list short and practical. After all, how many different ways can you promote joining fees and free time before it all sounds the same?

So I gathered my team for a fantastic jam session and we poured over all of the ideas that our most successful clubs use...when all of a sudden it hit me. Club's don't need tired and hashed-over offers - they need BIG IDEAS. Ideas that would inspire and ignite some passion and creativity into their promotions. For the next 48 hours I emersed myself in the task of uncovering as many unusual, guerilla-style promotions as I could find. After one hundred eleven, I had to stop. I was becoming obsessed, losing sleep, getting punchy and I still had the rest of the book to write.

Forget 1/2 off and 1 month free...these ideas are different. And that's what great marketing is all about.

Why do so many clubs think nothing of spending tens and even hundreds of thousands of dollars on upgrading their facility and equipment yet when it comes to marketing, they won't invest in professional advertising design? It seems moot to point out that all the best equipment in the world won't matter to anyone if they don't know it's there. More to the point, how does anyone figure on motivating people to make healthy lifestyle choices that include a fitness membership without some serious thought and planning towards how to do that, exactly?

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I heard a a fantastic on-hold recording today. I was waiting to be put through to the owner of a club and I have to say for once I was sorry that he took my call. I was so entertained by his telephone advertising that after our conversation, I immediately called back and asked the front desk attendant to put me back on hold. His message contained lots of club information - but it was peppered with fun trivia that had nothing to do with health and fitness - it existed solely to entertain. And how! "If marriage was outlawed, only outlaws would have inlaws." It made me laugh. It made me feel instantly warm about the person I was about to meet on the other end of the phone. I thought to myself, "what a great place that must be to hang out." Seth Godin would call that a purple cow. I call it very, very smart marketing.

I am a 40+ professional woman and I struggle with lifestyle issues.

Like many people of my generation, I grew up knowing the importance of proper nutrition and regular exercise. For many years, I practiced devoutly. I studied personal training, I worked at a health club, I studied fitness management under a great leader and I published a regional health and fitness magazine which gave me incredible insight into consumer lifestyle and purchasing habits. Developing Market My Club was a natural career progression and the culmination of a lifetime of interest and experience.

And therein lies my own personal ad-mission - a paradox, if you will.

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Just yesterday, I spent a fair deal of time speaking with one club owner who has 2 facilites in which he reinvests an average of 1% of his gross into his marketing. I didn't bother to ask what he did...it didn't matter.

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Welcome to Market My Club's weblog, Ad-Missions. As the name implies, we are on an advertising mission to bring you the best in fitness marketing education. We hope you will be entertained and inspired and that you will check back with us often as we regularly post new ideas that will help you achieve the success you aspire to. We welcome your comments, tips and ideas.