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We are trying to increase the "value" of our memberships(and help new members offset the "cost" of a membership) by offering two hundred dollars worth of $5, $10, & $20 gift certificates from local merchants when people become a member. We get these FREE from local merchants. It's free advertising that only costs the local merchants when people use them. 90% of the time the new member will spend substantially more (say $20 towards a $50 haircut for a first time salon customer). Has anyone ever done this type of joint venture sucessfully before in a fitness center?

A local fitness club in Madison, WI that I belonged to offered percentage discounts to area merchants (ie..sporting goods stores, shoe stores, spas, etc.) if you showed your membership card. I think they offered the company x amount of free memberships a year for allowing the discount. When I became a member I was not even told about this PERK. I only found out about it when I saw a the PERK Board they had posted, listing all the merchants members could get discounts at. This could defiantly be used to bring people in to join their establishment vs. the competitor. I would suggest someone crunch numbers to make sure that benefits outweigh the cost. I am not a marketing major, but I think this idea supports the marketing concept of creating a niche and benefit to the consumer. "What can our company provide you that others do not." Just my opinion as a consumer....Hope this helps