SMS Marketing for Fitness & Personal Training.

The rise of gym culture and self-consciousness has erupted over recent years, causing the UK fitness market to become a very attractive sector. Every year, masses of people join a gym or fitness class, whether that be for health reasons, the social benefits or simply to do it ‘for the gram’. Regardless of the reasoning, the industry is now estimated to be worth over £5 billion, with over 7,000 gym locations across the UK. One easy way to either gain or maintain a share of that value is to incorporate SMS marketing into your marketing strategy if you currently operate in the fitness & personal training sector.

This year is a perfect time to combine fitness & personal training with SMS marketing. David Minton, Director of Leisure DB, states that we are in the golden age of fitness and that between now and 2020, fitness will break all barriers as consumers get “personalisation, localisation and seamless booking and payment options”. All the possibilities just mentioned can be achieved through SMS marketing and it is likely that if you are not yet actively using SMS to communicate with customers then you may be reducing your competitive edge. Let’s talk about when and how you can use SMS marketing in the fitness & personal training sector in order to get the best results.

1 - Promotions or sales

Since customers are already motivated to exercise during January and early summer, there is no need to use these periods to run a promotional campaign or offer discounts. Instead, it is better to target quieter months, when a cheaper service could make all the difference between someone signing up or not. The month(s) in which you provide a promotion can vary and there are no strict guidelines. However, you could always make them relevant by mentioning a major sporting event! In 2019 there is a whole host to choose from such as the 2019 Rugby World Cup, ICC Cricket World Cup or the 2019 FIFA Women’s World Cup, for example. The easiest way to get the word out, of course, is by using SMS marketing to let people know that you are offering reduced rates to new customers.

2 – Utilise summer

The second most popular sign-up period for fitness & personal trainers is right before the summer holidays hit. People are desperate to get a "summer bod" before they travel abroad and will often attempt to achieve this by signing up to a gym membership or seeking a personal trainer. Zenplanner, a fitness businesses software, states that its customer’s member base increases by around 16% in June, second to only January. Therefore, providing another great opportunity to send out a text encouraging customers to sign-up to your services.

3 - New Year’s Resolutions

Arguably the busiest month of the year for the fitness & personal training sector is January. This is all thanks to the tradition of making New Year's Resolutions, which can be credited with ensuring that thousands of people set a target of losing weight. In the U.S. alone, the top New Year's Resolutions for 2019 were to diet or eat healthy (71%), with exercising more coming in second at 65%. Thus, providing companies in the industry with a huge opportunity. All it takes is one or two quick text messages to encourage customers to sign-up! You can even target people who are currently on your existing database but are not active members.

4 - Confirming attendance

Another way in which SMS can be used by the fitness & personal training sector is for confirming customer attendance. This is a particularly useful facility for personal trainers or gym induction appointments since cancellations can result in lost revenue and time. Furthermore, it is also proven to be successful in reducing no-shows, since it reminds customers about classes when they may have genuinely forgotten. A study by the American Congress of Rehabilitation Medicine found that sending an SMS reminder to patients with upcoming appointments reduced the no-show rate from 16% to 11%, highlighting the benefit of the service. Therefore, emphasising how SMS marketing can add value and benefit your company.