Proximity marketing for gyms

Technology is playing an increasingly important role in marketing strategies, as it offers a wide range of possibilities to attract and retain customers or to strengthen their relationship with brands. 

A good example is proximity marketing, a type of experiential marketing that is very successful in businesses such as gyms.

What is proximity marketing?

Proximity marketing uses new technologies to contact a user based on his location, in order to carry out a specific action (inform him about a new product, and offer him a discount, invite him to visit a new store, etc.).

 This type of marketing is defined by three principles:

• Proximity
• Immediacy
• Personalization 

This is a very effective solution for attracting customers in businesses where location is key, as it acts on people within a specific geographic radius.

Why is it interesting for gyms?

Gyms must attract and retain customers and proximity marketing techniques are very interesting to achieve this.

This is not a new phenomenon: in fact, gyms are proximity businesses in their own right, so offline techniques such as mailbox drop off and flyer distribution have been used for a long time.

However, times change and so do business models, people's needs, and the ways in which brands communicate with their customers.

In this sense, proximity marketing fits what users of a boutique gym like Fit Jeff boutique fitness franchises are looking for: personalized: quality experiences tailored to their schedules and lifestyles.

Advantages of proximity marketing for fitness centers

Now that you know what proximity marketing is, we explain some of its benefits to promote your gym:

Customer acquisition

Proximity marketing techniques allow you to communicate to your potential customers what products or services you offer close to their location.

In addition, their actions generate a positive impact in the short term because they prioritize direct contact and proximity.

Proximity marketing techniques also allow you to establish personalized messages depending on where and who you are targeting. This can help you stand out from your competition and attract new customers to your gym.

On the other hand, and although technology-based proximity marketing actions could be considered a natural evolution of brochure delivery, this is not entirely true: with mobile devices and the Internet it is possible to reach a greater number of people by geographic segmentation.

Customer loyalty

Proximity marketing techniques facilitate a dynamic conversation between the company and the consumer based on their real needs.

Some of Fit Jeff's proximity marketing techniques, such as follow-up and reactivation calls or sending personalized and exclusive offers, will help you to build customer loyalty in your fitness center.

Up selling and cross selling

Up-selling and cross selling serve to increase the sales of a business: the former, consists of offering a customer a product that is similar to another product that a customer has already purchased; in the latter, also called "cross selling", complementary products are offered to the one that the customer has already purchased.

Both strategies are based on knowledge of user habits, and can be reinforced by proximity marketing techniques.

To put them into practice, we can use tools such as geolocation or sending offers to introduce new services, attract or retain customers, activate the memory of users, etc.

At Jeff, we have an ecosystem of day-to-day service businesses that allows us to create cross-selling strategies.  Our different business models - fitness boutique, home laundry, take-away coffee - all address the same target audience who are potential customers for all services. In this way, it is possible that customers of our Mr Jeff Laundry will sign up for the Fit Jeff fitness center in the same neighborhood if they are offered an interesting promotion; or simply for brand recognition.

Proximity marketing techniques that work in Fit Jeff

Fit Jeff's local marketing strategy has been designed so that our partners can adapt it to their area and their needs. Some of the main proximity marketing techniques we use in our gyms are:

Free trial

At Fit Jeff, the first class is completely free of charge and without obligation. It is one of the most effective tools to attract customers in your area and attract them to your gym.

These tests can be offered both online and offline. Some are general, but others are for members to try new classes or invite others to do so.

The idea is for your target audience to visit your facility to try the Fit Jeff experience and for long-time members to get added value for their brand loyalty.

Branding and brand sentiment

Proximity marketing can help you reinforce the image of your Fit Jeff thanks to the use of visual resources on all media (logo, illustrations, corporate colors, etc.), and to specific actions such as the installation of a display at the Jeff point to manage reservations and registrations. 

You can also reinforce the image of your Fit Jeff with online actions based on local audience segmentation (Social media, Google Ads or Social Media Ads) at specific times. 

In the offline environment, the brand feeling can be reinforced by working on the customer's sense of belonging. At Fit Jeff we achieve this by turning our centers into a true community where people get to know each other and share a fun and social experience with each workout. We also organize our Fit Days, days that sometimes take place outside the center through which we offer a different experience and a new opportunity to strengthen bonds.

Digitalization: Phone app

Our app is a fundamental element to promote your Fit Jeff and is an interesting communication channel with your customers.

Thanks to it, each customer is automatically assigned the center closest to the address he has entered in his registration, which he can modify at any time.

From the Jeff App and in a few minutes, your clients can request trial classes, learn about the unlimited services offered by Fit Jeff with a monthly subscription, sign up or cancel classes and access information about their nearest center.

They will also receive reminder notifications for their classes, and, if they wish, they can rate their experience anonymously.   

Geolocation

Mobile geolocation is a technology that uses data obtained from a user's mobile device to identify or describe its location in real time.

Proximity marketing has two major advantages: users can receive personalized advertising based on their location and companies can analyze their behavior to improve the user experience.

Thanks to geolocation, customers will be able to receive and benefit from personalized offers and recommendations on their nearest Fit Jeff.

These are some of the techniques that will lead your boutique gym to success.  If you have not yet started your project to open your Fit Jeff, just contact us.