A paradigm shift Is taking place in how health club operators market their businesses today and it isn’t about print vs digital, clicks vs opens or likes vs shares. What it is about, is Data, and smart marketers know how to access and apply the volume of information collected on each of us, every day. The plethora of it and the availability of it have significantly influenced the way marketers make decisions about who and how to target on behalf of their club clients.
Having the data without knowing how to analyze and quantify it is like having a gym membership and not knowing how to use the equipment or sign up for classes. Machine Learning. Persona-based. Data-driven. Predictive Modeling. These sexy buzz words are tossed about by marketing agencies to sound like they’re ahead of the curve but are completely useless if said agencies don’t have the skill sets to properly collect, code, and apply the data to generate results.
The truth is that data, its collection, analysis, coding, and application is the 21st Century method of making business decisions. Data-driven solutions are present in all aspects of club operations today and it’s becoming more widely talked about in fitness marketing conversations.
Membership-based verticals like fitness calculate preliminary results as new joins, which translate to profit, the ultimate measurement when analyzing marketing performance. Data-driven marketing strategies not only quantify profit, but also project future expectations using algorithms that adjust to campaign results and market changes to ensure the most appropriate prospects are targeted time and again.
In addition to data-driven marketing, clubs are also shifting gears and making good use of these smart marketing tactics when deciding if, when, how, and where to expand facilities, programming and services. Current member surveys, when designed, executed and analyzed properly provide useful information operators and investors need to make sound decisions. Pair that with market research to learn what non-members want, what the market will bear, what the competitive landscape is, to consider the full spectrum of internal and external influencers that guide the process. Data experts can create ideal scenarios out of the information scraped from these intentional engagements to expose the true opportunity for growth.
Over the past several years club operators have embraced technology as an addition to the overall member experience, and not a threat or competitor. Data-driven marketing is the next wave of elevated business practice that needs to be embraced and engaged in, in order to remain relevant in a thriving, highly-competitive, constantly changing industry.
Instinctive Insights is a full-service, data-driven marketing agency. Our sole purpose is to truly help businesses—both big and small—be more successful in acquiring and retaining members. In doing so, we empower our clients to allocate more time and funds toward providing exceptional member experiences. It’s our opinion that marketing isn’t valuable unless it’s about generating real, measurable results. We help our client’s market themselves more intelligently and ensure those efforts are backed by real, tangible results.
