With the right approach and timing, you can get more gym referrals, increase member engagement, and create a tight community around your offer. You just need to know when to ask!
5 Key Times to Help You Get More Gym Referrals for Your Fitness Business
Referrals are one of the most effective and affordable marketing strategies. But there’s a catch! You can’t continuously ask your members to refer their friends and risk annoying them. Or worse, ask them for a referral right after they sign up for membership. That would send the wrong message that you care more about attracting new members than you do about them.
So, you have to choose the optimal time to ask them.
Here are six ideal times to guarantee you get more gym referrals consistently!
After providing value to your members
Even though we advise against asking for referrals from new members, you shouldn’t wait for their newbie enthusiasm to decline. For example, if they’ve booked personal training sessions consistently for the first month, encourage your staff to mention your referral program to them.
Or, you can ask them if they know anyone who would benefit from your services after you’ve gotten some feedback on their first few weeks.
After your members reach a milestone with your club
People who spend money on your business definitely have something nice to say about your staff and services. So keep track of your most loyal members and make sure to send them customized messages celebrating their 100th visit, membership “anniversaries”, their 50th personal training session, or similar milestones.
They’ve had a reasonable amount of time to get comfortable in your fitness facility and might gladly give you more than one referral.
When members are likely to not be busy
Many gym owners and managers worry that by asking for referrals, they will either lose clients or, worse, harm their reputation. But there’s no better advocate than a happy and loyal member that is eager to help given the chance and time.
So take good advantage of a Sunday workout or times when your members seem less busy and have time to hang around. These are the times when you should advise your staff to start a conversation about referrals.
Another great time could be right after they complete a survey. If they gave really good feedback it means they’re open to helping you get more gym referrals.
When members achieve a personal goal
If you offer services such as diet plans, bodybuilding coaching, and the like, a great way to get more gym referrals is to remind your members after they achieve a personal objective, such as a weight loss goal.
People are eager to share their success with others so ask them if they can think of someone they know who wants to achieve the same goal.
Alternatively, if they decide to post the news on their socials, ask them to tag your business. Although this doesn’t get you a direct referral, it will increase your social reach.
After an event or workshop
Besides the simple strategy of allowing your members to bring guests for free once a month, you can plan some events or workshops to attract new members from your existing clientele.
For instance, on World Yoga Day, you can host yoga classes open to your members and encourage them to bring people interested in taking yoga classes.
Prospects will get a taste of what you offer while also having the opportunity to exercise alongside loved ones, which many people prefer to working out alone.
Bottom Line
To get more gym referrals you need to send the right message to the right members at the right time. You’d want to avoid any mistakes or embarrassing situations, so you have to keep track of all the messaging and incentives you provide to your members.
Nowadays, you can easily streamline a referral program to basically run itself. Learn more about a great gym membership system that automates your gym referral program and more, by clicking here.
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