What’s the Buzz..?

There’s a buzz going around the industry right now…. and it’s all about TARGETING.  

Or, creating your own niche. And, if done right, this can really work to your advantage.

But to understand it better, lets give it some perspective.

The health and fitness market is expanding fast.  But it’s also becoming deeply fragmented as well as becoming commoditized.  

Who’s Your Competition?

Today you’re not just competing with trainers, clubs and studios… You’re also competing with bootcamps, rec centers, spas, hospitals, corporate wellness, YMCAs, and a host of other fitness venues.  On top of that, you’re also competing against mobile devices with fitness apps that are either cheap or free.  

So, now, more than ever, when they’re thinking about fitness, people have all kinds of different options.

How They Deal With It…

The big box clubs deal with all of this in two ways.  

The first is by attempting to be all things to all people.  They have everything from dance classes to their own versions of CrossFit and a list of other services and amenities that they hope will be sufficient enough to sustain their members.

The other way is to offer a super low-ball price with no amenities, no services and no contracts.  Basically, a room full of equipment.

Those strategies work on sheer volume and are very difficult to sustain.

Targeting is just the opposite.  It’s focused, it’s specialized and it’s premium priced

Here’s an example…  

Meet Margie

One of our fitness partners is a 50-year old studio owner named Margie White who decided to target men and women between the ages of 40 – 65.

She knew her target market was more interested in how they FELT than how they looked in spandex.  They were more interested their range of motion than how many reps they could do.  And, they were definitely interested in having more energy.  

So, Margie was confident she’d not only sell programming, but, also be able to upsell into nutritional services and guidance.

Be You Again!

She reached her target audience with a message that resonated specifically with this age group through a campaign called:  Be You Again.  

She ran ads that featured mature adults along with their old college and high school photos.  The copywriting continued to remind them of how they felt and that, even after all these years, they could feel good again.

She offered an eBook called: How to be You Again in 10 Simple Steps

She’s now the “go-to” studio for that age group and some of them travel up to 30 miles just to train with her.

What About You?

One way to identify a niche market is to take a look at your own skill sets.Maybe your specialty is powerlifting… or marathon training, or speed and agility training.  Of course, if you already have the Weight-Management University-101 system then, weight-management is an obvious target.

And, if you have the skill sets and staffing, you can target different audiences at different times of the year.

Effective targeting with a focused message is exactly how the most successful clubs, studios and trainers attract new clients willing to pay a premium price for the services they want.