Boot Camp Marketing
People enjoy having a body that looks good and that can only come from good nutrition and exercise. Boot camp programs are meant to be enjoyed by all levels of fitness and can help achieve higher levels of fitness. They are not easy and require a lot of focus and hard work but the results will pay for themselves.
The benefits of taking a boot camp class can be motivation for starting a boot camp class. The needs for this venture include a gym or a room where fitness can be achieved, marketing so that the class can reach the population that wants it, equipment for the class, for example, weights or jump ropes but that can be provided by the consumers, as well, and an instructor for the class. Boot camp marketing is important and the key to a successful boot camp class. Make sure there is a plan for marketing and that the plan is feasible and within financial means. Find places that will achieve the goals of getting consumers such as at the gym, local stores, and maybe street fliers.
The reason that many boot camps fail is because they lack good marketing and people are not aware of the program. Just because one has a program does not mean people will come unless they know about it and it has a positive reputation. Once a program is initiated make sure to heavily boot camp market it so consumers can benefit and enjoy the program. Online one can find many tools for boot camp marketing and should use them to better understand marketing. These tools are free and provide the user with methods for boot camp marketing. Make sure to do some research before settling on a site to use or a set of methods to use not everything on the internet can be taken at face value.
The basics of boot camp marketing are rather simple but not so simple that everyone will know them more so simple to understand and apply. It will help one to have their business go to the next level with more consumers. Although it is not a part of boot camp marketing one would think that the trainer is excellent at what they do and can provide results for the consumers. It is important to have satisfied customers that will market the boot camp free by word of mouth and will get consumers this way.
When initiating boot camp marketing methods take a look at personality and see what assets can be used to market the program. What does one have that can benefit the marketing process? One who is outgoing may be open to selling the program by telling others about it while one that is not as outgoing may need to find another way to sell the program that has less on emphasis on people to people interactions. It will be harder to market but not impossible to market if one is not outgoing. One needs computer knowledge such as SEO, PPC, blog, website building, and facebook ads, just to name some of the options out there for boot camp marketing. Remember that this option may be harder but without it there will not be a successful boot camp program. The best boot camps are the ones that market online and in the real world and get methods for how to best market to others.
Now one can look at methods and processes that work best for selling a boot camp. These methods have worked on doubling the amount of money that the boot camp owners make for month and have been quite lucrative for them. Boot camp marketing needs to be done outside of the business and in the business as well so as many people as possible can be aware of the program. What is meant by the above statement is that the most beneficial way to get clients is through methods that utilize past consumers and word of mouth.
Referral generation is when someone who has never taken the class signs up because someone told them that the program helped them. This person then goes on to tell people about the benefits of the program and brings in new customers at the same time.
This helps to continue a cycle where they get in shape and then they bring in more people that need to get in shape. Show gratitude for these people by giving them thank you cards that are preferably handwritten. Also have contests and interact with your clients on Facebook by saying something nice to them, and donate gift cards that can be given to clients’ families or friends.
To keep customers that have already taken the class show gratitude by offering a direct mailer that has a coupon for the class. This can be something like 10 days to lose weight for 10 bucks. They might like a week where they do not have to pay and they get perks like meals they can eat, measurements, and personal assistance. The person can receive offers through the mail, e-mail, cell phone, or any other personalized means. The best results come when all methods of communication are used.
Some people do not have a lot of money but want to market their boot camp to the most people that they can. Boot camp marketing can take creativity and can be not as expensive as one might think. This includes techniques like getting a hold of people that would be interested in the program from local businesses and also using Facebook to market the program by taking pictures and posting them on the consumers’ walls so that their friends, colleagues, and families can learn about and take the class.
The lead boxes go into businesses and generate clients that may be interested. One person put 50 of these boxes around town and got 326 interested people. If half of those people are not interested in the program that still leaves over 150 that can receive e-mails and possibly join the program.
The script to getting lead boxes into the local businesses is easy. It should be something like this: “Hi, my name is John and I’m the owner of Fit Body Boot Camp down the street and I wanted to stop by and introduce myself to you. I have an email list of clients and prospects who I think would be interested in learning more about what you sell. Would you mind if I told my list about your business? Is there a special offer I can make for them? I also wanted to invite you and a friend to come out to my boot camp and try out my 21 day rapid fat loss program for free, and if you’re happy with the fast results you get then maybe you can tell your customers about me or maybe even host one of my “win a free month” raffle boxes.”
This does not always work and some businesses said no. This was ok because he got into the other 50% percent of businesses in that neighborhood and it paid off for him. Remember he got 326 leads from those businesses.
This tactic requires little money, and sometimes even no money, another tactic is to use people to market the boot camp with the use of people. Steve Hochman introduced this idea. It is a great idea and so simple to do. First get people from the area that are of an influential nature and let them train at the program for no cost. Next try to get them to refer people that are equally influential and have them be an advertisement for the program. These people will add energy to the new class and will keep the classes full of people. The word is spread and the classes will be full and fun to be a part of, as well. The next step up for the advertisement is to have the members of influence pay for the class but still spread the word. If one is initiating a camp this will help you to succeed and have fun, as well. So let us explain further how this technique works and how it can benefit the boot camp marketing system.
Step one is to telephone and email all the people that one knows and tell them that there is a boot camp that is being initiated. Also explain to them that one needs people that want to be human billboards for the class. They will get in shape and hopefully tell others about the wonderful program and its benefits.
Step two is let the human billboards know that they are getting a significant discount but need to buy six months of the program. Have them pay 50 dollars or less and make sure that they pay before classes start. Consider that the goal is to have about 15 to 30 human billboards in the class. If one gets 20 human billboards that have paid for the program that is 300 dollars per person and about 6,000 dollars in profit which is not too bad.
As it was stated earlier it is important to have many aspects of boot camp marketing used at the same time to benefit the program. Use a program like excel to document the boot camp marketing strategies that are being used so that it is easy to know what works and what does not. Make sure to take time to concentrate on the clients that will be getting a discount before worrying about the clients that will pay full price. Make sure to provide interesting and incredible offers that draw people in through the marketing campaigns. Take time to see what methods work and what do not so that they can be fixed and provide boot camp owners with the results they are looking for through their marketing.
It is important to consider what marketing comes down to in order to be able to provide the best marketing available. First would be the rapport between the clients, new clients, businesses, and the city. Next would be the marketing strategies that help people to come up with new ideas and can be put upon the community in such a way that the program is successful.
This may be a lot of information to take in so let us summarize the key points and what needs to be done to succeed in the boot camp marketing arena. First consider who would benefit from the program and utilize these people to get the word out about how great the class is and also provide them with tactics to get them to stay with the program like discounts. Next go out in the community and get leads so that people who are interested can join the class and get the benefits of the program. Third take the time to communicate with everyone so that people will join the classes. Consider utilizing people of influence to market the class but consider that these people deserve a discount for letting people know about the program via word of mouth. Keep the marketing strategies simple and cost effective. One does not want to go broke before the class starts. Utilize personality to achieve goals. An outgoing person will have no problem talking to businesses in the city and telling them about the program and why they should join while a person who is not outgoing might have an easier time marketing online. Utilize the internet and tools like Facebook, Twitter, Myspace, and any other site that will offer advertising to the consumers or clients. Use basic advertising techniques unless you are versed in marketing or business.
Have people tell their families, friends, and colleagues, so that in turn they can tell others and the marketing cycle can continue. These are simple tactics but can work well for a business that is just starting up. Remember to use other incentives to get people to continue to come to programs and to continue to spread the word. These incentives include gift cards for new clients, money off for returning clients, and can include gift certificates to local businesses, as well. Members will like to see boot camp owners on Facebook or other social networking sites and will love to see pictures of themselves in the program. This also works to get the word out and have people show other people how enjoyable the classes are and that they are benefitting from the program. Price and length of program are up to the boot camp owners. Other incentives to keep members are discussions on nutrition, measurements of body and how that relates to the BMI scale, and personalized assistance with the program for people that may have a difficult time focusing on the program.
Let us move on to discuss advertising that is for the more advanced marketer. These tactics are for people that want a lot of business and they provide results that are striking. They are not ideas that most boot camp owners come up with hence making them advanced in that sense.
A lot of people assume if they are marketing to others they have to pay the big bucks but this just is not true. Just because free does not seem cool does not mean it will not work and get results. Money does not equal more clients joining a program it just means that you are spending more than the other boot camp owners.
The money is often used for print ads, postcards, SEO, websites, and commercials. They hope that the advertising works otherwise they lost a decent amount of funds. Not to worry though most of the time those techniques do work if they are properly used otherwise the funds have gone to waste. Even better is that the best and more advanced techniques work better and cost nothing. Often people are unaware of these techniques. Let us reemphasize that these techniques cost nothing. Proof comes from people that have used advanced techniques and got results. For example one guy owns fitness boot camps and is making a good salary per class. He is not using ads that cost money and is not at the top of search engines but he is doing well for himself. How does he do it?
He starts off by using the local community and common sense to fill his classes to the brim. First is buying into community businesses. This means educating them on why the program is beneficial and giving incentives like gift certificates to the program. If the business likes the idea they may pass out fliers and on the fliers one can have spots for name, phone, and e-mail to get prospective clients. Keeping in mind that no money is lost and that new clients will be joining the program and paying to be members is key. Put away the check book and use Facebook, stores, and other locations and people to get the word out.