When you opened your CrossFit gym, you did so to help people become healthy—not just by providing them with a great workout , but by helping them establish a healthy lifestyle. And creating a healthy lifestyle requires extensive commitment.
So how do you boost your customer loyalty to help your members better reach their goals? With these five strategies.
Understanding the Customer Journey in CrossFit Gym Marketing
The customer journey refers to potential customers’ journey from basic brand awareness to conversion. While that journey, in basic terms, exists across all industries, it looks a bit different for CrossFit gyms.
Attracting new customers is pretty straightforward. They are driven by their own health and fitness goals, and joining a gym is a common first step for people committing to a healthy lifestyle. One simple example is New Year’s. Gyms typically see a huge uptick in members in January as people make healthy resolutions. However, these memberships don’t always last.
The most significant hurdle for the CrossFit customer journey is retaining customers. It may seem easy: CrossFit is a lifestyle, so people must regularly visit the gym. However, people need incentives to continue—which just underlines the importance of continually building engagement and loyalty.
So, the first step to boosting customer loyalty is re-evaluating your marketing strategies and mapping your customers’ journey. Perhaps your CrossFit gym marketing efforts mainly focus on bringing new members on board—and that’s great. But what is the retention rate? How many people renew their membership? How many people regularly attend the gym?
If those numbers are low, consider focusing more on retention efforts and engaging current members with the following five strategies.
2. Providing High-Quality Customer Service
Excellent customer service makes members feel heard and valued. The fitness industry is extremely people-focused, so customer service must be a core part of the business.
Ideally, gym owners should have a dedicated customer service team to manage questions, membership plans, insurance questions, concerns, and overall communication. Even if there are issues—and problems are inevitable—a prompt response from the customer service team can prevent lasting brand damage.
According to PwC’s recent report, efficiency and convenience are what people value most in customer service, followed by friendly and knowledgeable service. In other words, it’s not always the specific problem that drives people away but how the company handles it.
In today’s digital age, CrossFit gym marketing campaigns should include various communication methods to connect with members. Instead of just incorporating a phone number and email address, you should consider adding social media contact info and a text message line.
Text messaging can actually be one of the most efficient means of customer service communication due to its high open rate. If you need to send information about a change in hours, send it via text. Members will be sure to see it—almost immediately—and make any necessary schedule changes.
3. Regularly Updating Equipment and Facilities
CrossFit members should be excited about coming to the gym. But if the gym has outdated or well-used equipment and dated interior design, that excitement can quickly wear off.
Gym equipment doesn’t need to be replaced often—usually every 5-10 years. However, that doesn’t mean you must keep the same equipment for that entire period. If something is looking a little worn, consider repairing or replacing it. And when new-and-improved equipment designs are released, consider investing in those products. Members will quickly realize that your gym is a clean, inviting place with top-of-the-line equipment.
Equipment isn’t the only thing to maintain. Consider the front desk, lockers, and bathrooms. Are they clean and updated? Are they places that you would enjoy using? Even something as simple as repainting and facility can breathe new life into the gym and make it a place members want to be.
4. Offering Reward and Loyalty Programs
Members want things catered to their habits, and that’s what a loyalty program does. It recognizes the customer’s continued support and rewards those habits with perks they want or need.
In fact, PwC’s 2022 report found that most customers want two things when it comes to personalization: discounts on commonly used products (like gym swag or membership plans) and a loyalty program with flexible awards.
Not only can a loyalty program enable customer personalization, but it can also encourage people to continue on their CrossFit journey. For example, a loyalty program could celebrate member milestones—like setting a personal deadlifting record. The rewards can vary, from a coupon for a local restaurant to a 10% discount on the next membership payment.
5. Creating a Strong Community Environment
Members probably understand that CrossFit is a lifestyle, but it’s up to the gym to really make that a reality. One of the best ways to build a welcoming and encouraging CrossFit culture is to make your gym a community, not a working relationship between trainers and members.
By implementing some of the strategies above (like efficient customer service and loyalty programs,), you’re already well on the way to creating a community environment. However, there are still several other ways to strengthen that community vibe.
Consider organizing gym events, like a charity event, healthy food fest, or a workout challenge. These can make CrossFit even more exciting and encourage people to participate more actively.
Other options include community involvement and deepening the gym’s local roots. You can partner with nearby businesses to promote products or offer bundled discounts. Not only does that boost sales, but it also establishes your gym as an advocate for other locally-owned businesses.
6. Harnessing the Power of Social Media
Another way to build a community environment and boost engagement is by creating a strong and supportive social media presence. People spend an average of 2.5 hours on social media, so make sure at least some of that time is spent viewing helpful CrossFit content from your gym.
Incorporating ads is one way to use social media, but the campaigns generally focus on attracting new members. Consider incorporating retention ads that specifically target current members. These might include discounts on merchandise, loyalty program perks, and rewards for bringing in a friend.
Another way to make the most of social media is to consistently post helpful content that members want to see. For example, a CrossFit gym account might post new workout videos, tips for beginners, and helpful articles on maintaining a healthy diet.
Conclusion
With the five strategies above, you can create an effective plan to boost customer engagement and retain customers. Just remember to constantly evaluate your progress and ask your members what they want out of their gym experience. And then incorporate those changes to make the CrossFit gym marketing experience even better.