The growth of your fitness business and/or gym doesn't stop at promotion campaigns, well thought-through insta biographies and professionally designed flyers. One of the most cost-effective ways of promoting and marketing your fitness business is through gym testimonials.
Posting members’ testimonials on your fitness website, fitness Instagram account, banners or newsletters is a powerful means of enhancing the credibility of your fitness studio. Also, it’s a fantastic way of making your personal training services more attractive to potential fitness clients.
The question is, how can use these fitness testimonials and reviews to attract new members and grow your fitness business? This guide has the answers. In this article, we will explore more about fitness testimonials, their importance to your fitness business, how to collect personal training testimonials, as well as how to use fitness testimonials.
1. About Fitness Testimonials
Fitness testimonials convey trust and enthusiasm in your fitness business. They are an honest endorsement of your personal training services, straight from your members’ mouths.
They include details about your fitness clients’ overall experience with your training methods as well as how your personal training services have transformed their lives. Potential fitness clients will use your brand’s testimonials to evaluate whether your services are worth investing in.
2. The Importance of Fitness Testimonials
Clients trust other clients. So, if your personal training testimonials are sincere, specific, and relatable, potential fitness clients will feel confident about your services, as opposed to someone without testimonials.
At the same time, if you are in the market for a product or service, there’s a high chance you will choose that product or service with relatable information, as opposed to the one you can’t find any details about. With that said, let’s take a closer look at the importance of fitness testimonials.
2.1 Fitness Testimonials Help to Build Trust
Including fitness testimonials on your fitness website and social media pages will go a long way in earning your visitors’ trust. First, these testimonials are enough proof that you already have personal training clients. And therefore, you have a legitimate fitness business.
Second, testimonials work almost the same as positive reviews. If you have a high number of fitness testimonials, potential fitness clients will assume that you are a reliable and trustworthy fitness business. And chances of joining your gym are high.
2.2 Fitness Testimonials Work Like Referrals
As noted earlier, clients trust other clients when it comes to choosing a service provider. And most people will not trust a business that doesn’t have testimonials. On the other hand, if you already have a couple of testimonials from satisfied clients, they will work like referrals. They will convince potential personal training clients that your fitness business is worth checking out.
2.3 They Can Create an Emotional Connection
Most consumers these days prefer doing business with companies that they have an emotional connection with. So, if you can manage to create an emotional connection between your fitness brand with potential clients, you will have an easier time convincing them to join your gym.
And this is where gym testimonials come in. If your testimonials are sincere and relatable, they will help to create that emotional connection between your visitors and your fitness business.
2.4 They Can Influence Buying Decisions
They Can Highlight the Benefits of Personal Training Services
Besides helping to enhance the credibility and reputation of your business, gym testimonials can also help to explain the benefits of your personal training services.
For instance, a gym testimonial can include information of what the client was looking for when they joined your gym and how your personal training services provided a solution to that need.
To this end, other potential clients or visitors in a similar situation may feel confident to try out your personal training services. And this can help to convert potential consumers to long-term and loyal clients.
3. How to Collect Fitness Testimonials
As you can see, testimonials are vital to your fitness business. The question is, how do you collect these fitness testimonials? Well, here are some effective strategies you can use to collect fitness testimonials from your gym members to grow your fitness business.
3.1 Conduct a Survey
Surveys are a cost-effective method of collecting testimonials. But for them to work, it will be highly advisable to off them together with a decent incentive. Offering a free, seven-day personal training session or free gym pass for a friend or family member will be enough to convince your gym members to complete the survey. But, make sure you keep the survey short and easy to complete.
As for the type of questions, make sure you focus on the area of your fitness business you are looking for feedback on. For instance, if you are looking for testimonials on your effective personal training methods or group fitness classes, make sure your questions focus on that.
3.2 Include a Link in Your Email
Emails are usually the main form of communication between fitness centers and their clients. Hence, they provide another easy yet effective way of collecting testimonials from your gym members.
Furthermore, it’s highly likely that you send these emails regularly, whether you are announcing an online class, an upcoming fitness challenge, or general updates.
When sending out the emails, you can include a link, requesting your gym members to leave a testimonial or review.
3.3 Use Your Social Media Pages
You can also have a testimonial section on our Instagram fitness page or Facebook business page, where you can be saving comments or messages – with your members’ permission.
Such an approach will even go further to boost your fitness brand’s reputation, since people leave these comments or messages by themselves, making the testimonial read authentically.
3.4 On Your Fitness Website
Your personal training clients visit your website frequently. They go there to book sessions, update their payment information, read your blog or watch your training videos.
Therefore, your website provides yet another great platform of collecting testimonials. So, make sure you have a separate page on your personal trainer website, specifically meant for collecting fitness reviews and testimonials.
On this page, you can include a link to complete a form or simply embed the form for gathering the testimonials.
4. How and Where to Use Gym Testimonials
Once you’ve collected fitness testimonials, you can use them in different ways to boost your gym’s credibility and attract more members. But before you use these testimonials, you should first ensure you get consent from your gym members to use them.
While verbal consent can work, it would be best if you can get expressly written permissions. And if someone requests you take the discontinue using their testimonials, you should go ahead and take them down right away.
So, where can you post fitness testimonials? You can post them on your fitness website, YouTube, social media channels, or marketing brochures.
4.1 Fitness Website
On your fitness website, you can post your fitness testimonials close to the top of your home page. You can also include them on a page where you talk about your personal training services and packages.
If you have video testimonials, then it will be highly advisable to upload them onto your gym’s YouTube channel.
Once you’ve uploaded them onto YouTube, you can then embed the video on your fitness website or other online platforms.
4.2 Social Media Platforms
There’s a high chance you already have an Instagram fitness page or a Facebook page for your fitness brand.
Such platforms provide yet another great means of sharing your personal training testimonials.
After posting these testimonials on your social media pages, it’s highly likely your clients will also share them with their followers since they are also proud of their achievements. And this will help to further boost your gym’s reach, visibility and reputation.
4.3 Brochures and Banners
Digital channels are the most obvious platforms for posting fitness testimonials. But, it doesn’t mean they are your only options. You can also post them on physical channels like marketing brochures and banners.
You can also use some of these gym testimonials on your gym’s poster. Simply put, you can use them on almost any platform where you are trying to promote or sell your personal training services.
4.4 In the Gym
You can also post fitness testimonials in your gym. Posting fitness testimonials in your gym comes with two distinct advantages.
First, they will act as inspiration for other gym members that anyone can achieve their fitness goals, as long as they are ready to work hard and pursue their fitness goals. And this can help in membership retention.
Second, posting fitness testimonials in your gym will also work to boost your credibility as a fitness trainer. Whenever a prospective member visits your gym and comes across such testimonials, they may help to convince them that your personal training methods work. Consequently, this may encourage them to sign up for a month or so, just to assess your personal training methods. And if your methods work as the testimonials say, the prospect may become a long-term client.
5. Wrapping It Up
Testimonials are a powerful means of marketing your business and growing your fitness brand. They can help to build credibility as a personal trainer, show your fitness center is s trustworthy, and help to attract new clients. Fitness testimonials will also help to give your gym a competitive edge, especially when so many fitness centers are coming up. So, ensure you collect testimonials at every opportunity you get, as long as they are relevant, sincere and honest.