Would you like to know how to increase gym revenue and take profits to the next level? Even if your fitness studio is doing well, who wouldn’t want to generate a little more income? After all, revenue is the fuel of your business so if you don’t have enough then you’ll soon start to struggle.
Profitability is equally important. What’s the point in generating lots of revenue if you aren’t making any profit? It’s the margin on top that allows you to pay better wages, invest in newer equipment, or reward yourself with a nice bonus!
In this article – we explain how to increase gym revenue and fitness club profitability using 25 quick and effective methods.
We’re a specialist fitness marketing agency with 15+ years of industry experience, so we know first-hand what works (and what doesn’t!). We’ve helped gyms, fitness studios, and personal trainers to successfully promote their businesses, so our strategies are tried and tested.
Before we talk tactics, let’s look at the high-level strategies. In simple terms, there are only a few ways to boost revenue or profitability…
- Sign up more members
- Increase pricing
- Sell more add-ons
- Improve member retention
- Decrease operational costs
Now let’s look at some practical sales and marketing ideas for increasing gym revenue quickly…
- Analyze your competition
- Add a concession space
- Restructure your pricing
- Speak with hair salons
- Niche down
- Re-think free trials
- Renovate changing areas
- Try direct mail
- Target local businesses
- Review your sales funnels
- Offer workplace lunch-time sessions
- Identify ideal customer hangouts
- Think community outreach
- Invest in sales training
- Follow-up like a pro
- Sort your website’s SEO
- Offer exclusive products
- Do a media event
- Run multi-site competitions
- Partner with complementary businesses
- Re-engage your email list
- Invest in online ads
- Review your sales copy
- Offer decent referral incentives
- Arm Your Sales Team
Let’s dive into how these can impact your bottom line and improve sales this year…
Learn which fitness marketing strategies produce the best results (so you can focus on what actually works).
Analyze Your Competition
If one of your competitors is performing extremely well, then dissect their offering. Consider every aspect including…
- Membership price
- Commitment duration
- Services included or excluded
- Special conditions (like cancellation period)
Compare it against yours and identify an area where you’re offering is superior. Then make sure everyone knows about it – you might be surprised how often people value flexibility and service over price.
Add a Concession Space
Adding a concession space allows you to charge rent to other complementary businesses like smoothie franchises or beauty salons. You could even create a pop-up space that can be rented out on a short term basis. This is perfect for businesses that want to promote a new product or test a business idea without committing long term. But you still earn a rental income for the duration of their setup.
Restructure Your Pricing
There are several ways that you can restructure your current pricing to increase gym revenue. One of the most effective strategies is to adopt a 3-tier pricing structure. Research shows that the majority of people will choose the middle option, regardless of what the price is.
So, if you currently have a flat-fee membership price, then consider making that your bottom tier and creating higher level options above it. This video explains the concept of anchor pricing in more detail…
Speak With Hair Salons
Do you know how many people a hairdresser speaks to each day? They’re incredibly well-connected and a fantastic source of referrals. You could offer all the hairdressers in your area a 1-week free pass and then 25% off for every referral they provide. This has been proven to increase gym revenue and personal trainer clients too.
Niche Down
If you try to please too many people, you’ll end up pleasing nobody. No one likes a ‘meh’ company that’s the fitness equivalent of beige.
There are many ways to differentiate your offering but the most effective is to get really specific with your offering. This is what boutique fitness clubs like Soul Cycle or community-themed boxes like CrossFit do so well. You’ll attract passionate, die-hard fans who are also more willing to spend money on extras like master classes, gear, and supplements.
You might also like… 5 Ways To Increase Gym Membership Sales Quickly.
Re-Think Free Trials
Anything that’s free has no value, so never position your club trials in this way. Instead, refer to them as ‘7-day memberships worth $50’ as this will reframe how potential customers view them subconsciously. You could even go a step further and offer ‘7-day kick-start programs’ that guide potential members through the induction process whilst helping them form a routine that includes your facility.
Fitness Marketing & Lead Generation Roadmap
Your All-in-One Toolkit to Attract, Engage & Convert More Clients
Renovate Changing Areas
Changing rooms can make or break a sale. Sparkling showers and luxurious changing areas will create a spa-like environment. They can transform the idea of your gym from a chore to an indulgence.
This doesn’t have to be expensive either. Giving the spaces a deep steam clean, changing out some taps, repainting, or adding hair straighteners will all help.
Try Direct Mail
Eh? Are we back in the 80s? But don’t scroll down just yet – we’re not talking about generic junk mail flyers that get chucked straight in the recycling. We’re talking about those occasional things we get in the post that really get us excited. You know that “oh my god it’s not a bill” kind of excitement…
- Handwritten notes
- Unusual shapes
- Textured envelopes
- Boxes tied with ribbon
- Cards with embedded video screens
But most importantly, make an offer so good that they’ll want to get up off the sofa and take action.
Target Local Businesses
Are there any large businesses within a 10-minute radius? You could offer corporate pricing in the form of individual discounts or bulk-purchase packages (e.g. buy ten memberships, get one free). Or you can partner with other local health and wellness businesses to do cross-promotions to their customers.
Review Your Sales Funnels
Is your sales funnel operating in the way it’s supposed to? Where are the holes or blockages? Are there any stages where you’re failing to convert prospective members? Look at every part of your funnel to see if it can be improved. Increasing conversions allows you to boost revenue with the leads you already have.
Offer Workplace Lunch-Time Sessions
How about offering workplace sessions at lunchtime? It’ll encourage people to try who might not have otherwise, in the safety of a familiar work setting and people they know. Once you have them hooked on your relaxing Hatha sessions or stress-busting boxing, they’ll be keen to migrate to your facility for more regular sessions.
Identify Ideal Customer Hangouts
Where does your ideal customer hang out? Get in front of them at their favourite farmer’s market, vegan café, or auto-parts store! Chat to existing businesses in their space to create a mutually beneficial offer. Perhaps you can offer their customers extra value or even give them a slice of the commission.
Think Community Outreach
Think community outreach too – are there local organisations, community centres, churches or similar, that want to promote healthy living? Find ways to partner with them and get your gym in front of new audiences.
Invest In Sales Training
Invest in more training for your sales staff or membership consultants. What’s the point in attracting all these juicy leads if they can’t convert them into members? You may be surprised by just how much difference a half-day training session or online course can make.
Personal Training Sales Success
Learn the exact steps to finding profitable, long-term clients (minus the old-school, sleazy sales tactics).
Follow-up Like A Pro
The likelihood of a prospect joining reduces by 25% every day that goes by. So by day three, they’re 75% less likely to join! This is why it’s so important to follow up quickly but without being pushy. You could call them first, then SMS on day two, and email on day three. Whatever method you choose, the key is to have a follow-up process in place that all of your sales staff follow.
Sort Your Website’s SEO
Search engine optimisation is a long game as the results can take months to generate traffic. However, if you’re serious about the long-term success of your business, then your gym website needs to be Google-friendly. At the very least, it should be following core SEO principles like keyword optimisation.
Offer Exclusive Products
These are the kind that can’t be bought anywhere else in town. This means your target market will make a special trip to purchase. Could you become the exclusive distributor for a branded supplement, fitness clothing line, or educational program? It’ll attract people to your facility from a wider area and boost your secondary spending revenue too.
Do a Media Event
This is the perfect strategy for increasing class revenue. Promote a new fitness program by running a media event for the local (or national) press. Write to, email, or phone journalists and bloggers to offer them the chance to take part in the hottest new fitness regime in town. Then make sure your class is full to add to the buzz!
Run Multi-Site Competitions
If you have more than one gym location, then run a competition between them every 6 weeks. This not only builds team spirit but motivates club staff to outperform each other.
Learn which fitness marketing strategies produce the best results (so you can focus on what actually works).
Partner With Complementary Businesses
Partner with complementary businesses to generate more sales leads. You could work with nutritionists, physiotherapists, or massage practitioners to share clients. Offer members a consultation with your partner as part of their membership. In return, ask those partners to refer clients to you on a 7-day trial basis. These leads are usually good quality and will convert at a higher rate than the average drop-in.
Re-Engage Your Email List
Are you using your email list to its full potential? Knowing how to re-engage old email subscribers can be a powerful way to increase gym revenue. It allows you to tap into an audience who have already expressed an interest in your offering. By sending a few carefully worded emails, you can boost membership sign-ups and secondary spend too. This article explains how.
Invest In Online Ads
Google Adwords allows you to target people in your specific location. You can set up your ads to appear when people search for phrases like ‘gym with pool’ or ‘yoga studio Bristol’. Or you can use Facebook ads to target competitor customers. Those sneaky geniuses know all sorts about your audience, thanks to cookies, likes, and FB groups.
Review Your Sales Copy
Could your sales copy be more persuasive? Review your product descriptions, sales pages, and brochure content to determine whether it can be improved. If you’re unsure how to do this, then check out our how-to guide on writing product descriptions.
Offer Decent Referral Incentives
Don’t just offer free memberships or discounted training. That’s not going to drive people to put real effort into finding you leads. Instead, offer really good incentives in a competition format. For example, give whoever gives you the most referrals in one month a weekend away in a 5* hotel. This may cost $500 but if you get 10 new members out of it then it’s money well spent!
Arm Your Sales Team
Arm your sales team with the tools they need to sell memberships. Provide them with a process for introductions and club tours, along with model answers for addressing common objections like price. Give them a list of ‘tradeables’ that they are permitted to use during price negotiation.
For example, you can empower them to offer potential members a place at a nutrition seminar worth $80, instead of reducing the joining fee. Then run this course once per month so that all new starters can benefit while keeping the course costs down.
How To Increase Gym Revenue 25 Ways
So, now you know exactly how to increase fitness center revenue and boost your gym’s profitability. These strategies will help you increase both volume sales and the value attached. You’ll sell more memberships, personal training sessions, weight loss courses, training programs, or workout supplements.
Whatever method you choose, just be sure to keep the customer experience at the heart of your efforts. This will ensure you deliver a service that’s valuable enough to deserve more revenue and greater profits.
Fitness Marketing & Lead Generation Roadmap
Your All-in-One Toolkit to Attract, Engage & Convert More Clients
Get The Fitness Marketing Roadmap
Your All-in-One Toolkit to Attract, Engage, and Convert More Clients – Tailored Specifically for Fitness Businesses Like Yours!
The Fitness Marketing & Lead Generation Roadmap is a comprehensive resource designed for gyms, personal trainers, and online fitness businesses. It’s packed with video workshops, marketing templates, step-by-step guides, cheat sheets, and more. We cover:
- Fitness Marketing Strategy: Build a solid foundation and plan for success.
- Lead Generation: Attract more clients with effective tactics.
- Social Media: Boost your online presence and engagement.
- Email Marketing: Nurture leads and convert them into loyal customers.
- Advertising & Promotion: Get your message out there efficiently.
- Content Marketing: Create compelling content that resonates with your audience.
