Profitably Marketing in Competitor Territory

The September 20, 2020 Yelp Economic Impact Report states that more than 6,000 fitness facilities are closed, with 43% having been identified as permanent closures.

In recent weeks we’ve targeted competitor Clubs that were either going out of business or on the verge of, therefore leaving active members available to our clients … and the rest of their competition. The fact that ANY business should go under due to the present economic handcuffing many are facing is detestable. The reality is “someone” will take those members. Why not thoughtfully lean into the opportunity?

As data-driven marketers we approach everything through an analytical lens and are strategic in our fact finding and decision making. We’ve established a four-step process that considers the key elements that point to the likelihood of converting new members during a marketing campaign, and deliberately eliminates the rest - reducing wasted spend and improving ROI.

These four primary considerations define new targets and channels to deliver the club’s message.

1. Calculate the distance between prospect households in your market to each competitor club location.
2. Analyze the distance sensitivity of each persona in your market – specific to your members – how far are they willing to go to be your member?
3. Often there are different distance tolerances based on life stage or whether the household is comprised of a family, couple, young professional, senior, etc. The data proves that in most cases it is better not to look at the membership as a whole, but to break it down.
4. Identify prospect households that would find it “as or more convenient” to drive/walk to the club as compared with the competition.
5. Evaluate the goodness-of-fit of prospects to ensure they aren’t just close enough, but solid demographic fits for the brand and value proposition.

This process can be used for individual targeting or mass saturation of neighborhoods, townships, carrier routes, etc. The right option usually becomes clear during the analysis. This approach is valid in Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, Direct Mail, and IP Targeting.

Never has there been a more critical time for smart marketing tactics. Marketing budgets are reduced and now carry a greater burden to prove profitability than in the past. Seek out the pockets of opportunity that exist locally and market with intention using data science.

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