The U.S fitness industry is currently in great shape. According to research conducted by the IHRSA, the fitness industry in the U.S generated approximately $35 billion in 2019. While the revenue may have dropped in 2021 due to the closure of gyms, health clubs, and fitness centers, the industry has already bounced back, based on recent statistics released by IBIS World. And the industry is projected to experience a strong growth rate moving forward.
However, the strong growth rate in the fitness industry is both a good and a bad thing. On one hand, there’s plenty of money to be made in the fitness industry, with more people becoming flocking gyms, health clubs and fitness centers to improve their health and fitness. But on the other hand, it means more competition for players in the industry, since fitness enthusiasts now have more options to choose from. Also, there are more personal trainers, nutrition specialists and product sellers, thus increasing the competition.
Therefore, if you are a nutrition specialist, a personal trainer, or you sell fitness-related products, you need to find a means of standing out in this highly competitive fitness industry. The question is, how do you accomplish that? How do you make your fitness brand stand out in this crowded industry? Well, you’ve come to the right place. In this article, we will share some effective and actionable tips, which will help to make your fitness brand one of the leading in the industry.
1. Offer Something Different
Almost all fitness brands are centered on one thing – helping people to become fit. Therefore, if you follow the same approach that everyone else is using, you will struggle to stand out from the competition. And if your fitness brand fails to stand out, no one will notice you. Consequently, it will be hard to land clients. So, you need to find a means of offering something unique or different.
And you don’t need to reinvent the whole concept of health and fitness. You simply need to go for something simple, and then highlight it in your marketing, outreach and branding. For instance, you may be offering a new type of fitness class that no one else is offering. Or, you may be offering personal training services to an underserved group such as senior citizens. Or you may be offering special discounts, targeted to a certain fitness demographic. Anything that helps your gym stand out from the competition will be an advantage. So, ensure you find that unique angle and emphasize it throughout your branding and marketing.
Using this approach and telling your target audience what sets you apart or what makes your fitness brand unique will go a long way in convincing someone to choose your fitness brand.
2. Research the Competition
As a fitness business owner, you may sometimes feel as if you are facing an uphill task, trying to win clients in the crowded fitness industry. The reality is, the competition is fierce. Fortunately, you also have some advantages against the competition you are facing. And this is where competitive research comes in.
Researching your competition will help you to identify the strategies they are using to land clients. It will also help you to identify their weakness. So, make sure you create time to research all the gyms, health clubs, fitness centers and other fitness businesses you are competing with.
And as you do so, you need to come up with ways of overcoming the strengths they have over your fitness brand. You also need to leverage their weak spots by ensuring your fitness business doesn’t lack in those areas.
For instance, if you own a gym, you may notice that most of your direct competitors are outperforming you because they offer certain discounts. You can also use the same approach and offer even better discounts. You may also notice they are only offering personal training services during certain times of the day. Instead, you can offer your personal training services throughout the day, meaning your gym will always be available, regardless of the time.
By exploiting your competitor’s weak spots and bettering the benefits they offer their customers, your fitness center will stand out from the competition. And without a doubt, you will find it easier to attract clients.
3. Find Your Niche
If you are a personal trainer, it’s highly advisable to find your ideal niche. Simply put, a niche is an area that you specialize in. It can also be a field that your fitness business is targeted towards.
Focusing on a specific niche as opposed to being a jack-of-all-trades will go a long way in helping your gym stand out. It will also help you to stand out as a fitness professional, compared to someone who operates in all fields.
For instance, instead of offering personal training services to all demographics, you can instead choose to focus on post-natal personal training services. Most women deal with weight issues after giving birth. And focusing your personal training services on this particular group will help to establish yourself as an expert in the field.
And once you establish yourself as an expert personal trainer in this niche, you will become the go-to personal trainer for the majority of post-natal women in your area. Furthermore, as a specialist post-natal personal trainer, you will charge more services for your personal training services, leading to more income and more money to grow your fitness brand further.
So, if you are starting out as a personal trainer, ensure you identify a particular niche that you will focus on and stick to it. A good recommendation would be finding a niche that aligns and resonates with your motives.
4. Have a Strong Online Presence
Another effective way of helping your gym stand out from the competition is by establishing a strong online presence. And to achieve this, you will first need a professionally done website.
A website is usually the first thing that potential personal training clients visit to check out different gyms and the services they offer. For instance, if a potential gym client is looking for gyms in a certain area, they will first search on Google the available gyms in the area.
And from the search results, they will then check out the different websites, and choose one that appeals to them. So, if your gym’s website is unprofessionally done, it’s highly likely you will lose out to your competitors if they have professionally done websites. So, if you want to stand out from the competition, your gym will need a professionally done website.
5. Establish a Powerful Social Media Presence
As a health club owner, you may have probably noticed that fitness enthusiasts like showcasing their workout videos or photos on social media platforms like Facebook and Instagram. They do so to track their fitness progress and inspire others. And as a gym owner, you also need to have a powerful social media presence.
Offering workout tips, nutritional tips, and sharing exciting news and trends in the fitness industry is a great means of building your popularity in this field and helping your fitness stand out.
Furthermore, posting the before and after photos of your clients and admiring their hard work will bring an unmatched level of positivity to your gym. Ultimately, this approach will enhance your gym’s popularity and recognition, making it stand out more.
6. Reward Your Clients
Conducting fitness challenges in your gym and then rewarding the winners is a great means of giving back to your clients. It will also go a long way in building loyalty and boosting the conversion rate. And most importantly, it will help your fitness club stand out from the competition.
Besides helping your fitness center to stand out, running fitness challenges regularly will also help to freshen things up in your facility while keeping your members constantly on their toes.
And you have plenty of options to choose from when it comes to fitness challenges and gym competitions. For instance, you can set a monthly weight loss challenge, and then set a great reward for the winner. You can also set up a walking challenge, where the person who covers the biggest mileage or has the most steps will win a reward. For the reward, it can be a free massage session in a premium spa, discounted membership or even a physical award like fitness merchandise.
By giving back to your clients, it shows that you’ve invested in their health and wellbeing. It also shows you are a personal trainer who deeply cares about helping people achieve their health and fitness goals. And what better way to stand out from the rest?
7. Be Readily Accessible
If you are a fitness coach, you should always be easily accessible, both by your current clients and by potential fitness clients. Being readily accessible means that people can easily get in touch with you, without having to wait hours or days. Unfortunately, most fitness coaches tend to overlook this aspect.
So, make sure you provide both a gym phone number and a personal number. When you’ve provided both numbers, you will never miss a call, whether it’s coming from one of your clients or a potential client. Also, you can encourage people to contact you on social media platforms. You can also go a step further and set up a live chat feature on your website, making it fast and easy to get back to you for queries.
Being a fitness coach who is readily accessible and responds promptly to queries will definitely play an important role in helping you to stand out from the crowd.
8. Wrapping It Up
By now, you already have all the tips and strategies that you need to stand out in competitive fitness industry. And as you can see, it’s not as hard or costly as it may appear. You simply need to make a few changes here and there. And eventually, you will establish yourself as the go-to fitness specialist that fitness clients choose.