“Fit It Forward” Marketing Strategy – Details
- Riding The Wave
Choosing a gym seems like a logical one, but it’s driven by emotion.
When people decide to lose weight, they’re admitting they’re fat. When they decide to get stronger, they’re admitting they’re weak. When they say their back hurts, or their knees ache, or they can’t walk up a flight of stairs anymore, they’re admitting they’re feeble. Even young, healthy studs making the switch from McFitness are in a highly emotional state: they’re excited. And this is never more true than after the holidays. It’s the real reason people join gyms in January.
You don’t need to offer discounts after the Open; you just need to embrace their emotional drive. With Fit It Forward, that’s exactly our goal.
- Creating A Wave of Emotion
People like your gym. And they like you. But sometimes, they LOVE the gym. When their emotional state is heightened, they’re far more likely to recruit their friends. So when are they most passionate about you?
* after a “bright spot,” like a first pull-up
* after overcoming a social obstacle (finishing their first Open in front of everyone)
* after a longer-term challenge (food challenge, “The Gift,” PR Week.)
Chances are, you’re already giving them these emotional high points. When they’re bursting to tell people about you, why not give them a reason?
In this strategy guide, we’re going to create that emotional high point, and then use our “Fit It Forward” strategy to ride the wave.
- The “Help-First” Handoff
In Handoffs and Hail-Marys, I wrote about a client’s three points of influence: those they live with, those they work with, and those who attend their “third place.” All of those folks should be doing CrossFit. We’re going to invite them using our “Help First” philosophy.
Our message: you feel great about yourself, and rightfully so. If there’s anyone in your life you’d like to share this feeling with, teach them to squat. Start them on the path. We’ll take it from there.
To read our post on the Catalyst site, click here – copy anything you like, or share it verbatim with credit.
- Fit It Forward: The Details
In the week following a “bright spot”–choose either your holiday “gift” party or rowing/nutrition challenge–issue a new type of challenge.
Every day for a week, you’ll post a challenge to help your members add “happy” to their “healthy.” Challenges will get tougher as the week progresses. They can signal their participation by changing their social media status or profile picture to your logo (see the introduction and a sample profile picture here.)
Day 1: Buy coffee for a stranger (read our Day 1 post here.)
Day 2: Sincerely thank 10 people. (read our Day 2 post here.)
Day 3: Share a book. (Read our Day 3 post here.)
Day 4: Find their genius. (Read our Day 4 post here.)
Day 5: Teach a friend to squat. (Read our Day 5 post here.)
Members who teach a friend to squat, and post a picture of their squat on your facebook page win free OnRamp. Here’s our wrap-up post, including pictures of several first-time squatters.
After OnRamp, new members can choose to stick around the gym, or go back to the couch. But your retention strategy will keep enough of them, right?
