Black Friday Marketing: A How-To Guide for Fitness Studios and Gyms

Last Updated on 8 August, 2024

Black Friday, arguably the biggest spending day of the year, is quickly approaching.

It’s a day when stores, boutiques, and shopping malls are practically bursting with people looking to do two things:

1. Get everything they’re interested in buying for dirt cheap.
2. Brag about their exclusive finds to their friends and family.

Did you know that a majority spend more money during Black Friday than any other holiday? (Aside from arguably Boxing Day.) So now is the time for you to prepare your Black Friday marketing strategy.

As a fitness studio or a gym, you might not yet see how you can capitalize on this massive shopping and spending event. And I can’t say I blame you: Black Friday appears to be a day where people shop for electronics, clothing, shoes, makeup, hair care…and pretty much everything else that isn’t a fitness club or gym membership.

Well, we’re here to tell you that Black Friday is for fitness studios and gyms too! And, we want you to be armed with information that will help you be one of the gyms that sees an influx of customers that come in looking for a deal.

You have to sell the fact that health is the most important thing, and it’s worth more than all the money in the world. Your Black Friday Marketing strategy will make or break your chance to reap the benefits of a holiday that has the potential to be very lucrative for your business. How could it be lucrative for you? It’s all in how you sell your business.

So, let’s get straight into the ways that you can use Black Friday to your advantage:

1. UTILIZE E-COMMERCE 

Use Cyber Monday to your advantage. The event, an extension of Black Friday, is designed for people who aren’t willing or able to brave the crowds that they would undoubtedly be confronted with on Black Friday. On Cyber Monday, online shoppers enjoy many of the same amazing deals that in-store shoppers take advantage of, but from the privacy of their own home.

Did you ever think that some people don’t like entering a gym or fitness studio when there is a big event or deal going on because they don’t want to face the crowds? Accommodate those people too! Offer online registration to your new customers, and sell associated products (such as t-shirts, water bottles, towels, workout gear, and shoes) at a discounted price. Better yet, offer free merch to go with new registrations on Black Friday. People love to get free things, and they love to feel like they’re doing something good for their health. So that combination is exciting for them and good for your business.

2. HAVE A DIGITAL MARKETING STRATEGY

Having an email marketing strategy still works: sending newsletters, eBlasts, and being active will get you results. On top of that, being on social media and using it as a tool to market your sales and deals, is absolutely necessary.

Millennials, one of your potential target market, are digitally social. They grew up on the internet, segued into social media, and they haven’t slowed down since. They’re always on their phones signing up for alerts about deals and promotions.

As for Generation Z’s, you’re not going to reach them unless you have a digital strategy (so get one fast!): you have to have quick, punchy, engaging, and informative emails, and a solid overall digital marketing strategy to get their attention.

Having an email marketing strategy still works: send newsletters, eBlasts, and being active will get you results. And being on social media, and using it as a tool to market your sales and deals, is absolutely necessary.

Don’t count Baby Boomers and Generation X’ers out: a lot of older people have quickly adapted to this digital age, and they need fitness companies like you to get on board too.

3. PROMOTE A DOORBUSTER SALE

For many, Black Friday is about the hunt or the race to be the first one in line at a huge sale. So create that opportunity for them by offering a lucrative deal: perhaps something like granting two months of free membership for the first select number of people who register on Black Friday or Cyber Monday.

One of the biggest mistakes you can make is not marketing effectively. To do things right, you should reach out to your community and let them know that your doorbuster is happening. Market it on your local radio, and in the mall. Heck, if you want to be really cheeky about it, you can even market your doorbuster sale outside of fast-food restaurants and comfort food joints as a way to get the new year resolution customers early.

If you want to be a bit less controversial, you can wait outside of athletic and fitness gear stores and hand out your doorbuster flyers there too. Either way, simply handing out flyers to literally everyone who walks outside of those places might be the thing that gets people into your studio or gym on a doorbuster day.

One of the biggest mistakes you can make as a business owner is not marketing effectively.

The point is to be specific in your marketing: you likely have a target audience, whether it’s the people who are trying to transform their body or people who are maintaining their physique. You have to know who your audience is and tailor your marketing strategy accordingly.

4. HOST A BLACK FRIDAY EVENT

Create a semi-exclusive Black Friday event where the first select amount of people get access to a unique gym experience. Get your best personal trainers and fitness instructors, and have them put on a class or a personal training session for prospective customers, and do it at a time when your loyal clients are in low numbers (so that you don’t ruffle any feathers by being closed and unavailable during business hours).

After the workout, to seal the deal, could also offer discounted membership fees – such as 20% off the regular fee or a waived registration fee, and perhaps throw in some company merch with the offer.

Finally, offer fresh smoothies, fresh green juice, and lean sandwiches. No workout is complete without snacks! If your gym or fitness studio can accommodate this, then that’s great! If not, have a local place bring in drinks and food for your visitors. Or, if you really want to be unique, you could make such an event a kind of field trip where you all walk to a local healthy restaurant and dine together.

5. OFFER A SOUPED-UP REFER-A-FRIEND PROGRAM 

There are many companies that offer a monetary reward or a month of free membership if you bring in new business for them. Join the ranks: some people even love to be active with their friends and their significant others, so why not take this opportunity to get in on that?

To make your refer-a-friend program unique, do this: offer the people who bring in someone to work out with them a special gift along with the month or two of free membership. The gift could be a package of two or three free personal training sessions, a consultation with a nutritionist, or even a gift card at your gym’s retail store (if you have one) or a store that you partner with.

You don’t even have to do anything too complicated to promote your participation in a refer-a-friend offer: send out an eBlast to your patrons, talk to them at the front desk, and leave flyers near the front of the gym, in the locker rooms, and even on your gym’s bulletin board and website.

You won’t lose money: most customers will bring in one or two new members for you, and that means, at the cost of two months or so, you get a loyal customer who will stay longer and new customers on top of that. It’s a winning scenario if you ask me.

6. OFFER A ‘BUY NOW AND PAY LATER’ PROMOTION 

Buy now and pay later gym promotions are a little bit controversial for some gym owners because they might feel like it’s letting customers use their services for free. But it’s not: there are benefits for everyone involved, especially when you only offer them during certain times of the year.

You have to remember that gym patrons come from all walks of life: some are rich, some are middle class, and some are trying to get back on their feet. Despite what place in life people come from, they all want the same things. The crux is in the fact that not everyone can afford certain things when they want or need them. Don’t hold back: some people genuinely want to be a part of what you offer at your gym or your fitness studio, but they’re still trying to make it. Perhaps they’re trying to save money before they join a gym or they’re trying to get back on their feet first.

You have to remember gym patrons come from all walks of life, but they all have the same goals.

So, for the benefit of new potential patrons, who might need a little more financial assistance, you could try a buy now and pay later option. Go ahead and let new clients sign up without a deposit, and use your services for up to, say, six months in exchange for an eighteen month or two-year gym membership. Over time, you will get more of a commitment from them, and they will appreciate your flexibility. Imagine one of your new clients working out at your gym or studio and seeing amazing results within those six months. Don’t you think they’d be thrilled? I do! And it’s likely that they’ll stick with you after the contract expires.

7. AN ALL-IN-ONE SOLUTION 

So, how can WellnessLiving help you promote your business on Black Friday and beyond?

Let me explain…

WellnessLiving’s all-in-one management software solution has a lot of features that would benefit you on Black Friday, for Christmas, during the New Year push, and through the slow period that follows. Here’s just some of what we offer:

• Online store capabilities: with us, you can sell fitness products, services, promotions, and much more.

If you want to (and you should!) put items or services on sale for Black Friday and any of the upcoming holidays, that’s possible. Looking to promote special Black Friday deals? It’s can be done with WellnessLiving! Your existing customers will appreciate the sales, and new customers will love any promotions that you offer on your website too.

• We also offer a native marketing tool that is sleek, easy-to-use and brings about results (meaning more people will come in and sign up)

You’ve got to market your fitness studio or gym and the sales and promotion you have going on, especially on big spending days like Black Friday. Our marketing tool will help you sell your business every day of the year.

• Boost your online reputation with web and social media reviews. Customers are given rewards in exchange for leaving reviews for your gym or fitness studio.

When it comes to marketing your sales and promotions, and your business, promotion is key. And there are few things more powerful for buyers than reviews left by their peers and the general public.

You want old and new customers to leave reviews for you because that makes all the difference when it comes to who is going to take advantage of your Black Friday promotions and your gym in general.

Black Friday is a big day for a lot of business owners, but an even bigger day came when our business owners made the decision to partner with WellnessLiving. If you want to take that next step in your business, and you’re wondering what our software and our service is like, then consider the words of just a few of our happy customers:

Roger and Lakiesha Williams of Sweat Fitness Studio made the switch. Their customers love the functionality, the built-in rewards system, and leaderboard, and they love to share their feedback on social media:

“My customers love the loyalty reward points program, we reward students for doing certain actions like, writing reviews and sharing them on facebook & twitter, booking and attendance activity, taking advantage of promotions, and so much more. Every time they log in to their accounts they see a real-time leaderboard with their score, and once they accumulate enough points, they can redeem those points for prizes! For something similar to this, I had to pay additional fees to a third-party partner that integrated with the software I was using, not anymore!”

Another one of our valued customers, Jennifer Looney of The Fitness Studio, joined us and could not be happier:

“I quickly saw that the system was easy to use and intuitive.  She also demonstrated that it included almost all the functionality of my current system plus the “add-ons” that I paid extra for [at MindBody]. While excited about the capabilities of the new system, honestly, I was still scared to transition from my “known” system with all its flaws. On-Boarding set all my fears aside. It has been over 6 months since I cut the cord from MindBody and I couldn’t be happier with the WellnessLiving business management system. I love the ease of managing schedules, adding clients, enrolling clients in classes and maintaining client information. Problem reports are addressed as a priority. Requests for enhancements are taken seriously and documented so that I can see the progress. My staff required very little training because of the ease of use and visual nature of the system.”

‘My clients also find the system as well as the app intuitive and easy to use.  Booking classes are quick and straightforward and they can manage their own account data. They love the integrated rewards program. Since converting to WellnessLiving I have cut costs, reduced the time spent maintaining the backend system, improved customer experience and increased the number of walk-in clients to classes. I am happy to be a WellnessLiving Partner and highly recommend the WellnessLiving Business Management Solution and the team.”

THE SOLUTION IS CLEAR 

To be successful in business you have to take advantage of the opportunities that are presented to you.

Black Friday marketing doesn’t have to be daunting: it’s best suited for any company that has something to sell and that includes you, the fitness studio or gym owner. Of course, even though you’re not offering a leather skirt, a discounted LG 4K T.V., or a fridge that tells you what’s in it and when it’s time to go shopping, you are offering health. And health, again, is the most important thing of all.