World Gym of Saratoga faces the same marketing dilemma that most clubs do — trying to bring in new members, while at the same time fostering loyal, satisfied, long-term members. What sets the club apart is its aggressive approach.
In just eight months, World Gym built a membership base of 1,500 through a diverse marketing program that allowed the club to saturate its market with relatively little cash outlay. Promotions included door-hanger passes distributed to select neighborhoods, free trial memberships to Chamber of Commerce members, lead boxes in area businesses, a direct-mail campaign to physicians, lawyers, accountants and other professionals, brochures distributed to the local college, health/fitness presentations to civic groups, a “two-weeks-free” open house, press releases and public service announcements, health and fitness expos, school assembly programs, and appearances on local radio and television fitness segments.
The total cost of the promotions was $5,500, with more than $44,000 being generated in membership sales from the open house alone. According to Bryan Briddell, director of sales and marketing, the key to keeping promotional costs low is being innovative enough to garner free publicity. “It’s surprising how many facilities fail to take advantage of [the news media],” says Briddell, who is also one of the club’s four owners. “It’s simple to capture publicity for your club if your material is interesting and newsworthy … the opportunities for free publicity are limited only by an owner’s creativity and imagination.”
While World Gym is not opposed to “giving away” temporary memberships, Briddell says “discounted memberships” are one promotion you won’t find at the facility. “Philosophically, we’re against discounting memberships because we strongly believe that this marketing ploy cheapens your product and eventually undermines existing member loyalty,” he says.
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