“Communication breakdown, it's always the same, havin' a nervous breakdown, drivin’ me insane.”
Perhaps Led Zeppelin put the feelings of club owners in its classic 1969 song. For years club owners have struggled to communicate with members and prospects. Whether it was to launch a new program, announce a class cancellation or try to hit numbers with an end-of-month closeout.
In the dark ages of Zeppelin — not to mention other not-so-classic bands of the ‘70s, ‘80s and early ‘90s — business owners had only a handful of choices: mail, signs, phone or word of mouth and traditional advertising. Today, though, in our ever-connected world you can add in email, Facebook, Twitter and countless other social networking sites to the mix. So, why is it still so difficult to get the word out to the masses?
Recently, a club that we know had a delayed grand opening and was spot on in getting the message out to its member base by posting signs on its doors, emailing members and prospects, posting on its website, Facebook page (with an impressive 5,000+ likes), and tweeting it out. Yet still quite a few complaints came rolling in from members that came to the club –some of who actually walked in the doors while construction was ongoing, despite large signs. Most of them went along the lines of, “Oh, are you closed? You could have let us know.”
So the age old problem remains that club owners still face an obstacle of communicating their message and brand both to members and prospects.
One of the major obstacles — in addition to spam filters — is the connection clubs are making with their members and prospects. A club could have an astounding 50,000 Facebook fans or a database of twice as many names for email blasts, but it doesn’t matter if those people aren’t paying attention.
If your messaging is a constant barrage of “free” advertisings of one message after another blaring about specials, discounts and sales odds are those members and prospects you are emailing are not opening your emails or checking your Facebook page or still following you on Twitter. The key is to engage them and give them real information and a reason to turn to your club for their fitness needs both in and out of your four walls.
Will you reach everyone? No. Will there still be members who “never saw that sign” even if it is right in front of them when they are telling you that you should hang them? Yes. Will there still be that member that never got an email about the grand opening being delayed (although she does recall one about the opening party)? Absolutely. But with correct messaging throughout the year, you’ll be able to have less of them and more that know what you’re up to and want to be a part of it.
Perhaps Led Zeppelin was talking about club owners in their classic 1969 song, “Communication Breakdown.”
“Communication breakdown, it's always the same, I’m havin' a nervous breakdown, drive me insane,” the lyrics say. Sound familiar?
For years club owners have struggled to communicate with members and prospects. Whether it was to launch a new program, announce a class cancellation or try to hit numbers with an end-of-month closeout.
In the dark ages of Zeppelin — not to mention other not-so-classic bands of the ‘70s, ‘80s and early ‘90s — business owners had only a handful of choices: mail, signs, phone or word of mouth and traditional advertising. Today though, in our ever-connected world you can add in email, Facebook, Twitter and countless other social networking sites to the mix. So, why is it still so difficult to get the word out to the masses?
Recently, a club that we know had a delayed grand opening and was spot-on in getting the message out to its member base. They posted signs on its doors, emailed members and prospects, posted on its website, Facebook page (with an impressive 5,000+ likes), and tweeted about it. Yet still quite a few complaints came rolling in from members that came to the club –some of whom actually walked in the doors while construction was ongoing, despite large signs. Most of them went along the lines of, “Oh, are you closed? You could have let us know.”
So the age-old problem remains that club owners still face an obstacle of communicating their message and brand to both members and prospects.
One of the major obstacles — in addition to spam filters — is the connection clubs are making with their members and prospects. A club could have an astounding 50,000 Facebook fans or a database of twice as many names for email blasts, but it doesn’t matter if those people aren’t paying attention.
If your messaging is a constant barrage of “free” ads, blaring about specials, discounts and sales, you’re more likely to scare your audience away than entice them to pay attention. If that’s your approach, the odds are those members and prospects are not opening your emails or checking your Facebook page or still following you on Twitter. The key is to engage your audience and give them real information and a reason to turn to your club for their fitness needs both in and out of your four walls.
Will you reach everyone? No. Will there still be members who “never saw that sign” even if it is right in front of them when they are telling you that you should hang them? Yes. Will there still be that member that never got an email about the grand opening being delayed (although she does recall one about the opening party)? Absolutely. But with correct messaging throughout the year, you’ll be able to have less of them, and more who know what you’re up to and want to be a part of it.
