Case Study :: Gym

:: Scenario ::
The gym had been family owned & operated since opening in 1991 with almost all immediate family involved in the business in some way - from running the classes & swimming lessons, marketing, reception, accounts & even the cleaning. Everyone in the family would pull their weight.

Due to illness the business was put up for sale.

Only the minimum of service & maintenance was done to the premises & equipment with most equipment well over-due for refurbishment or replacement.

The new owner (Paul R) realized the current business was in need of a great deal of attention & saw the opportunity to regenerate & develop it.

Paul had a 3 stage plan for the regeneration of the business :
1) upgrade the premises & equipment to current standards
2) acquire new staff & instructors/trainers
3) create a comprehensive marketing campaign to get new members

:: Adding Value ::
"I know it’s an over-used marketing buzz word, but ‘adding value’ was something we really needed to do to get new members through the door after we had spent a stack of money getting the place to look like new” said Paul.

“After someone joined the gym we wanted to give them 3 things that would help them use the gym & support local business, so our new member pack was a book of discount vouchers for local businesses, a gym towel & their choice of boxing gloves or training shoes.”

:: Getting New Customers In ::
“We know the hardest part of building a business is getting the message out to people & this is where a marketing contact of mine gave us an introduction to Bag People.”

“The gym is very near to a bus route to the City, so we got 2,000 Messenger Bags made from non-woven fabric with our logo & website on them. We put in our gym info, a special new membership offer, our timetables & a gift certificate for a free gym session.”

“Each morning for 6 weeks between 6:00am & 6:45am one of our instructors went to the nearest bus stop - about 200m away - & gave our bags to commuters that looked like that may join our gym.”

:: The Result = 57% response for membership enquiry ::
“In that 6 weeks we gave out 600 bags (it averaged at 20 per weekday). 342 people contacted us & 117 have joined thus far. That’s 57% response for membership enquiry & 19.5% conversion to new members & we’re still getting people come in with their bags”.

:: Details ::
- the gym renovations were due for completion in late October so Paul want to be sure his marketing campaigns were ready to go
- he contacted Bag People in late July to arrange the design & layout
- the designs were completed & pre-approval samples were available on 11th August
- these were approved quickly & production commenced on 13th August
- 2,000 custom-made Messenger Bags were delivered to the gym on 7th October

Contact Bag People for more information.