You’d probably agree with me when I say that all gyms share a similar focus: the consumer.
They build brands that focus on the consumer before they become paying clients, and they build brand experiences that further the gym-client relationship.
Today, we are going to focus on the latter of the two types of branding: client experience. Where the gym brand experience is related to marketing and advertising, the client experience is related to the experiences inside your gym, the service patrons get, the senses that are targeted, and the overall satisfaction that is evoked from working out in your gym versus the one down the street.
These client experiences tell a story to your current and potential clients about how you can make them feel better about themselves or make them feel stronger and healthier.
Here are our top 11 ways to improve the client experience.
11. Use Powerful Decor That Encourages Your Fitness Clients
The addition of powerful and symbolic decor may help push people to go the extra mile.
These can be inspirational quotes about pushing yourself to success, or even powerful images of someone working hard and sweating.
What your client sees during their workout can encourage their stride and lead them to feel a sense of accomplishment.
10. Choose Stimulating Colors for Your Fitness Facility
If you want to choose the best colors for your gym, you have to consider your target market, including age and gender. Certain colors represent different feelings that your members may get, and knowing who uses your gym can help determine what’s best.
Here are a few examples of color options and what they’re known to represent or make people feel:
Red is known as bold and stimulating.
Orange is energetic and pleases the senses.
Yellow is happy and cheerful.
Blue can help slow breathing and reduce blood pressure.
Blue-green is calming.
Purple is great for meditation, as it encourages restfulness.
Green represents renewal and tends to soothe.
The consideration of colors is important when creating your brand, as they can enhance the overall customer experience if properly selected.
9. Train Your Gym Staff On The Language They Use
When you train your staff, you should make sure that they have specific language that strengthens your brand.
Your staff will be who gives your gym a voice. Whether it be a specific greeting they use when a client walks in, or how they say goodbye when they leave, training your team to have similar wording and tone can set your gym’s branding and improve the client’s experience.
ACE Fitness gives some suggestions for language usage here. In one example, they mention that many clubs are replacing the word “schedule” with “menu” to “emphasize a more holistic approach to class selection.”
8. Have Great Customer Service
An excellent gym brand will affect how your customers feel. They should feel that your gym offers the support they need to reach their fitness goals, whether those goals be losing weight, gaining muscle, or just getting healthier.
That's why customer service is so important - it's about giving people what they need and helping them along their journey.
A great customer service experience is about the kind staff that makes your clients feel welcomed and safe in the environment. It’s also about the team going above and beyond to assist your gym-goers with any of their needs.
A well-trained staff is also essential. They should be knowledgeable and able to answer any questions people have while they’re utilizing your facility.
7. Get Reviews For Your Gym
If you want to strengthen your gym branding and improve customer experience, be sure to get plenty of reviews. This tells people the things they might like to know about your gym.
It’s a given that if you have positive reviews, more people will want to use your gym. Future clients may feel more confident in choosing the right gym when they see numerous positive reviews. But it’s not just about getting people in the door - it’s about giving yourself a good reputation.
So how does this relate to your gym branding? The reputation you collect online will trickle into representing your brand. Reviews that repeat the same thing will become who you are. For example, if you have 25 reviews that mention how clean your gym always is - that cleanliness becomes a representation of your gym’s brand, and ultimately improves the customer experience.
6. Cater to Your Gym’s Target Customer
As we previously stated, a core part of improving the customer experience is knowing your target customer. But not just their demographics - their goals are important, too.
A gym has multiple types of clients - including those that are experienced fitness buffs, and those that may be just starting out. The goals of these two types may be completely different, therefore you’ll need to be able to cater to their individual needs.
For example, Planet Fitness has a Lunk Alarm, an actual alarm that goes off when someone drops weights too aggressively, or grunts too loud. Because Planet Fitness sells an all-inclusive client experience, the Lunk Alarm is one example of how they position their gym to target the gym-novice and not the Muscle Beach fanatics that may intimidate the new gym-goer.
Like Planet Fitness, these little additions become a part of your gym’s brand and reputation.
When you understand your target customer and what they want, you’ll have a better idea of how to help them and better their experience.
5. Get Member Feedback From Your Gym-Goers
Part of improving the customer experience is always having feedback.
Nobody has a perfect business and there is always room to improve. Feedback, even just in the form of a quick survey, can help you make business decisions that benefit your customers and make them want to come back.
For example, Perfect Gym recommends several fitness surveys that allow for effective member feedback. One such example is the New Member survey, in which they ask questions about top reasons for joining, what their fitness goals are, where they worked out before, etc. Presumably, the gym would use these surveys to make informed business decisions.
The takeaway? Branding your gym as one that cares about how its members feel can set you apart from others.
4. Keep up on Trends
There's always new technology around gyms that you should be aware of. Whether it’s a high-tech blood pressure monitoring station, a featureful massage chair, or a Bluetooth-enabled treadmill that charges your phone while you run.
And this technology doesn’t stop at the door. Your online presence should also be modernized. For example, offering your trainers the ability to become certified online personal trainers is an on-trend opportunity that benefits both your staff and customers.
Your social media presence is important as well, and can really amplify your trend-worthiness with the things you post.
3. Maintain or Upgrade Your Gym Equipment
Keeping your equipment well-maintained and up to date also affects your branding. Owning a reputation of great equipment can impact your bottom line. And reputation aside, if you don't keep your equipment up to date, it could break and cause injuries that your business is liable for.
When you have outdated machines, it can also make your gym's brand appear old and unwilling to spend money to improve. In fact, eight of the top attractions in your gym are equipment-related.
2. Keep Your Gym Spotless
Another important part of improving the customer experience is to keep your gym tidy. Always being clean can help build your brand towards a pristine reputation.
This means you should be diligent in washing towels and making sure all of the equipment gets good periodic wipe-downs by your staff. Floors should be kept clean and free of debris, and water coolers or drink machines should be sanitized and shined. The bathrooms should also be kept clean and fully stocked.
The way your gym looks will be how customers perceive your brand.
1. Improve Your Gym’s Customer Experience With Entertainment Options
What your gym offers as far as entertainment becomes a strong part of your brand’s reputation. With streaming TV and audio options, you’ll find that your patrons are more satisfied with their visit.
Working out can be strenuous, and having suitable options available to help pass the time and be entertained can make them enjoy coming to your gym.
Atmosphere is a free streaming option that can motivate your clients to work out, no matter if they’re experienced or new to fitness. With over 50 audio-optional channels available, Atmosphere also lets you insert your own targeted messages to maintain your brand as both entertaining and informative.
Best of all - since much of the entertainment requires no audio, your gym-goers will be able to watch the programming and your targeted messages while still listening to their music on their headphones.
Gym Branding and Client Experience Summary
Learning how to start or improve your fitness business is about understanding gym branding for the ultimate customer experience.
Being able to put these tips into action to improve your patron’s perception of your gym will help you to build an excellent reputation.
If you want to learn more about engaging programming designed for the fitness environment, click here to contact CPS Business TV today!
Call 228.300.7007