How to Strategically Plan in Uncertain Times

By KK Hart, guest blogger and certified business coach and consultant

 

I completely understand fit friends… It is much easier said than done to plan and prepare for anything and everything to avoid risks and obstacles that may cause your business any (more) setbacks.

It’s completely understandable that you’re still feeling the effects of the lockdown and pandemic, one way or another. Your health and wellbeing is not the only thing currently at risk. For instance, businesses in the fitness, beauty, and wellness industries, have drastically needed to change their business model so their businesses can survive during these times of uncertainty.

You may not be able to see into the future, but it doesn’t mean you can’t prepare for it! Ensure your business can withstand any further hardships by embracing the uncertainty rather than ignoring and abhorring it. This can reveal real opportunities for your business to grow. So far, nobody really knows when this “new normal” will transition to something more stable, so why not take this disruption in society as an opportunity to transform it into something you can utilize in your business for growth!

The good news is you can be as creative and innovative as you want! Constructing a new, strategic plan of action can aid in how you approach the future and the uncertainties that come with it. In this blog, we will create your strategic roadmap as you plan for your business’s future!

Step #1: Plan for the uncertainty factors

Factors that cause uncertainty include economic conditions, physical illness, and shifts in consumer behavior, to name a few. The following are a few simple steps to strategize for each:

• Economic conditions: With economic conditions, you need to create a plan to help you predict when the industry will be at its highest or lowest points. Manage your money by analyzing and evaluating your profit/loss statements. In turn, this can help you implement new strategies so you bounce back from the current situation.
• Physical illness: Next, you need to consider how physical illness (COVID-19, the flu, etc.) may affect your business. You need everyone feeling comfortable and safe. Let your clients and staff know about your disinfecting instructions, social-distancing rules, handwashing guidelines, and other sanitation and hygiene protocols.
• Shifts in consumer behavior: In addition, shifts in consumer demand can certainly influence both how your business operates and its long-term success. Are you catering to new clients’ needs and not just your regulars? Is client safety being taken into consideration? Do you have the right marketing strategies in place (email, social media, etc.) to grow and engage with your community?

Step #2: Tune into how you feel and stay present

As a decision maker, you may be feeling burnt out, stressed, and extremely overwhelmed by the lockdown and everything that’s going on in the world. It all can be a bit much and just remember that it’s OK and feeling this way is normal. Be aware of how you feel right now!

As a business owner, it is especially hard during these times to run a successful business since many gyms have forced to close or pivoted to an online business model. Many unanswered questions may add to your stress and anxiety, including:

• How will you pay the bills?
• Will your business be able to continue?
• Can you still generate revenue?

These are all important questions to help you plan for the future!

How do you prepare for uncertainty?

• Stay present or in ‘the now’ as you prepare for multiple outcomes
• Review the current state of your business on a regular basis
• Continue to build relationships with clients, staff, partners, and more to create a long-term community.

Remember, staying in ‘the now’ allows you to become familiar with what is happening with the state of the economy at the moment. As you tune in to current events, you can make informed decisions about your business. Economic forecasts can also shed light on your industry so you can plan accordingly. This allows you to plan for multiple outcomes rather than just one, and if plan A is not possible, you regroup and focus on plan B, plan C, and so on!

Step #3: Keep the lines of communication open

It is important to be transparent and keep the lines of communication with your staff members and clients. You will also need to constantly review and evaluate how you communicate with your community.

• Communicate any updates to your community about the status of your business, your health and safety protocols, or new promotions or virtual classes at your business.
• Digital strategies and automation allow you to take your communication to another level. Create custom templates and automatically send email, text messages, and push notifications to keep base with staff members, engage with clients, and grow your business.
  • Announce a class and target clients who have previously purchased a specific service in the past to increase class attendance.
  • Re-engage whenever a client hasn’t visited your business in a while or notify them when their membership is about to expire to boost your retention numbers.

Communication is key to build lasting relationships with staff members and clients! With WellnessLiving’s automated communication tools, you can keep staff and clients in the loop, win back clients who have left your business, or track campaigns with an advanced reporting system. All of this will help make your fitness boutique a success!

Step #4: Focus on your marketing plan

In addition, you need to implement the basics of an effective fitness business marketing plan. Before you can decide or truly invest in anything, the building blocks of a business marketing plan can serve as a roadmap you need for an effective strategy to get more clients. What should your strategy include?

• Research and development to help you better understand your target audience. This marketing stage is all about research. You find out everything about your audience, including their age, where they live, problems they want to overcome, goals they want to achieve, and more.
• Competitive analysis so you gain a clear perspective on your competitors. After doing the R & D stage, you need to know what you are offering and ask yourself, why would consumers come to your business over the others? This is where you distinguish yourself and make your business unique to stand out from the crowd.
• Clear goal setting so your marketing has the right vision and direction.
• You also need to set aside funds for your marketing budget.
• Don’t forget to ask yourself, how will you reach your target audience? For instance, is your audience on social media or did they prefer reading your blog or emails?

Next, consider how your online presence factors into your marketing strategy!

• Your user-friendly website: Attract new clients with an effective landing page, a clear call-to-action, informative FAQs pages, and a lead capture widget for more conversions.
• Social media: Engage with clients on the most popular social media channels, including Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and LinkedIn. Share client success stories, blogs and expert tips, important updates on your business, and more.
• Referral programs: Running referral programs encourages loyal customers to tell others about your business. When current clients refer new clients, a referral program lets them earn rewards, such as discounted memberships, free gym classes, and more.

And, don’t forget: continue to make adjustments and evaluate your marketing plan throughout the pandemic.

Step #5: Remember your self-care plan matters, too!

A topic that is being openly discussed more and more is self-care and its importance in your journey. As a business owner, you often think about others and how you can cater to your clients or staff members first. However, remember that taking care of yourself is vital for running a successful business! Although things may seem uncertain and “out of whack” now, you should definitely schedule some “you time” to reflect, refresh, and rejuvenate. Developing a routine both in and out of the business is essential because then you can create good habits.

Some people may think that taking a vacation is the only way to clear your head. That’s not true! Simply taking some time for yourself or talking to someone (like a business coach/advisor) who can help you navigate the uncertainty and answer your questions, can be extremely refreshing and allow for clear thoughts and new ideas to flow.

Nobody and no business is perfect. It’s imperative to realize that there are endless possibilities to improve from where you are right now. It’s one of my favorite parts of being a business coach and consultant! I get to provide more than just hope and mindset shifts, but real-life results through proven best practices and execution with tools that boost the key performance indicators of your business. Nothing is better!

Plan for anything in these uncertain times

It’s helpful to utilize strategies to plan for possible uncertainties—from planning for factors you can’t control (economic conditions, illnesses, and shifts in consumer behavior), staying present, being transparent with communication, targeting new clients with the right marketing, and continuing to focus on your own self-care.

However, remember, you may not know everything about the future, and that’s totally OK! The last thing that your business, staff, and community needs is for you to get burned out or overwhelmed with worry to the point where you can’t focus on the future and things that are actually within your control. Your future can be as bright as you make it—now and always!

WellnessLiving’s all-in-one software can also be part of your strategy! From our automated marketing suite, scheduling features, and advanced reporting tools, we have every tool you need to help your business thrive. How else can WellnessLiving help grow your business? Book a free, no-commitment demo to learn more today!

Book a call with KK Hart TODAY! 

You have nothing to lose and so much to gain… satisfaction guaranteed!