Give Your Gym a Makeover for January

While Christmas may be the most wonderful time of year, as a gym owner or manager, you know that January is actually your most wonderful time of year.

Come January, an onslaught of perspective members will jog through your doors with renewed intentions, resolutions and resolve.

What will they find when they visit your gym or fitness center? How will it compare to the one across town? Will they join your center or opt for one of your competitors?

If you want to make the best impression possible, here are five areas that need to be in ship-shape by January 1.

Your Team

The team members you station at your front desk are crucial in making a great first impression on visitors.

Make sure those team members are friendly, trained and customer-service oriented. For example:

Train your staff in phone etiquette and how to greet guests.
Prepare a list of the most commonly asked questions and the answers you want your team to give. Role-play with them to test their readiness.
Have a folder or brochure that contains information about your gym's facilities, machines, services, and membership fees.

Your Facility

Remember that prospective members are likely to visit several gyms and fitness centers in your area. Make sure your facility meets or exceeds the standards of your competitors.

For example:

Give the gym a deep clean including the high traffic areas like reception and changing rooms.
Repaint areas if necessary. A coat of paint makes everything look clean, fresh and new.
Make sure your bathrooms and shower areas are spic and span: scrub that grout, clean those mirrors, and make your floors shine.
Make sure every piece of equipment is in working order. It's frustrating enough to have to wait in line for a machine but it's just bad business if a piece of equipment is unavailable for use because it's out of order.

Your Scent

Walk around your gym and do a 'sniff inventory.' If you don't like what you smell, you should do something about it because your competition may be one step ahead of you on this one.

Research has shown that:

Sixteen percent of fitness club members don't wash their workout clothes.
Thirty-three percent exercise without deodorant.
An odor-causing bacteria, 'micrococci', thrives in polyester fabrics favored by many athletes.

What can you do about these unpleasant odors?

Consider using a cold-diffusion scent system that atomizes essential oils, converts them into molecules and disperses them throughout your gym. These systems will not only extinguish those gym smells, but they will also help eliminate air-borne bacteria, viruses and molds, and work to enhance your members' moods.

Your Overhead Music

What kind of music are you playing in your fitness center? Or are you playing anything at all?

The right (and legal) music chosen for your target audience offers a number of benefits including:

Increased workout enjoyment: Music makes workouts more fun and distracts from logging the tedious miles and minutes. In fact, researchers at North Carolina's Elon University found that when runners watch videos or listen to music, they're more likely to run faster and burn more calories than those who aren't.
A motivated staff: Your staff will not only enjoy having overhead music but they will remain more motivated, happy and engaged in their job. Music distracts from mundane tasks and makes for a more pleasant workplace – a great retention tool.
A stronger brand: By choosing music that matches your target demographics, you're creating a new element to your brand that makes it more appealing to your customers. Making music part of your brand experience helps define who you are and helps your fitness club members identify more closely with your brand.

Your New Member Campaign

If you're expecting new members to join, you should be ready for them and treat them like royalty. These ideas will go a long way in making them feel welcome and reducing drop out rates.

Develop an orientation program and schedule new members to attend.
Develop a 'welcome-to-fitness' package and fitness challenges to get new members involved quickly.
Set up an email campaign for new members. These emails should welcome them and give them an overview of the gym. You can also use it to minimize buyers' remorse and reinforce the benefits of their gym membership.
Produce simple 'how to' videos teaching new members how to use the various machines and services you offer. They don't have to be 'million dollar videos' – just clean and well thought-out videos shot with your iPhone. Send them in your email campaign to reinforce member benefits.

We don't have to tell you that the gym and fitness center industry is more competitive than ever today. But by implementing these ideas before January 1, you'll be ready to not only compete for new members and just as important, you're more likely to retain them.