A Powerful & Customizable Gym Marketing Strategy (FREE)

A comprehensive gym marketing strategy, covering the entire sales funnel and all digital marketing channels. Designed to you get more traffic and customers for your gym business.
Prepared by: Eduardo Yi
Created on: March 5, 2025
Your Strategy
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Primary Item (H2)

The Sales Funnel

The sales funnel is a visual way to understand the journey your customers take, from first discovering your business to eventually making a purchase. Imagine it like a funnel shape: at the top, many people might learn about your business, but fewer move down to become actual buyers.

Optimizing your entire sales funnel, you're able to increase the number of people who move smoothly from interested browsers to loyal, paying customers.

It helps ensure every part of your business—from your website to your follow-up emails—is designed to guide people toward buying. The clearer this pathway, the easier it is to boost your sales and grow your business.

The marketing plan below includes dozens of marketing ideas and tactics to optimize your entire sales funnel.

Your Target Personas

A target persona is a fictional representation of your ideal customer, created by researching and understanding the behaviors, needs, and preferences of people most likely to buy your products or services.

Think of it as drawing a detailed portrait of your best customer, including details like their age, interests, job, daily habits, and the challenges they face.

By visualizing this customer, you're better able to understand what motivates them, how to communicate effectively, and how to reach them through your marketing efforts.

Rather than trying to appeal to everyone—which can lead to wasted resources and ineffective marketing—you can specifically tailor your messages to resonate deeply with the people most likely to become loyal customers.
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Your Target Persona #1: Fitness Fiona
Age: 30 | Education: Bachelor's in Communications | Occupation: Marketing Coordinator at a Tech Company
"I struggle to find the time to work out with my busy schedule, and I often feel overwhelmed by the options available. I need a fitness solution that fits into my lifestyle without sacrificing my personal or professional obligations."
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Visible Goals
These are the goals your target persona would tell you about.
Attend gym three times a week
Join a group yoga class
Build muscle and improve stamina
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True Goals
These are the real things they want to achieve.
"I want to feel confident in my appearance"
"If I improve my fitness, I will have more energy for work and social life"
"I need to connect with others who are passionate about fitness"
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Purchasing Objections
These are your target persona's doubts about your product.
"I'm worried I won't have time to go to the gym regularly"
"I think the membership fee is high for my current budget"
"I'm not sure if I can keep up with group classes"
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Answer to Objections
These are your product's answers to your target persona's doubts.
With 24/7 access, I can work out whenever it fits my schedule
The membership offers flexibility that saves me money compared to paying per class
The variety of beginner-friendly classes means I can ease into group workouts at my own pace
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Transformation
In your target persona's own words, here's how your product has improved their life.
"Since joining the gym, my life has improved significantly. I now have a set routine that helps me stay energized and focused during the day. I feel stronger and more confident, and I've made new friends who share my fitness interests."
How to use this information: You should think about your target persona every time you're working on any marketing campaign. Your landing pages, blog posts, social posts, ads, videos, email copy, new products, should all be targeted at your target persona.
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Your Target Persona #2: Busy Ben
Age: 35 | Education: Master's in Business Administration | Occupation: Project Manager at a Consulting Firm
"My workdays are exhausting, and I often prioritize my job over my health. I find it hard to commit to a consistent fitness routine that accommodates my fast-paced lifestyle."
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Visible Goals
These are the goals your target persona would tell you about.
Fit in a workout before or after work
Try personal training for tailored workouts
Maintain a healthy lifestyle despite a hectic schedule
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True Goals
These are the real things they want to achieve.
"I want to reduce stress caused by my job"
"If I reach my fitness goals, I will feel more accomplished"
"I need to balance work and health for long-term well-being"
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Purchasing Objections
These are your target persona's doubts about your product.
"I don't have time for lengthy workouts"
"The gym seems too crowded during peak hours"
"I'm concerned about the quality of personal training services offered"
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Answer to Objections
These are your product's answers to your target persona's doubts.
The gym provides short but effective workouts tailored to busy schedules
With 24/7 access, I can train when it's less crowded
Our certified trainers focus on personalized plans that fit all levels, ensuring quality guidance
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Transformation
In your target persona's own words, here's how your product has improved their life.
"After joining the gym, I've learned to prioritize my health alongside my career. My stress levels have decreased, and I have more energy to handle projects at work. Plus, I’ve achieved fitness milestones that felt impossible before."
How to use this information: You should think about your target persona every time you're working on any marketing campaign. Your landing pages, blog posts, social posts, ads, videos, email copy, new products, should all be targeted at your target persona.

Top of the Funnel

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Your Goal at the Top of the Funnel: Awareness
At this stage of the funnel, your marketing persona isn't aware of your product and isn't even necessarily looking for a product. They just know they have a problem. Your objective at the top of the funnel is for them to be aware of your business by providing value (without trying to get them to buy right away.)
New visitors to website
Total views on Instagram
Unique visitors to blog
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Content Marketing
Content marketing is all about creating the assets you'll promote and optimize on through the different marketing channels (SEO, social media, email marketing, and ads.) At the top of the funnel, you're creating your mass-market content, aimed to attract as many people as possible.
Content ideas:
Blog post: 'Top 5 Time-Saving Workout Routines for Busy Professionals'
Infographic: 'Benefits of Group Classes for Fitness Beginners'
YouTube video: 'How to Fit a Quick Workout into Your Lunch Break'
Podcast episode: 'Balancing Work and Fitness: Tips from Successful Gym-Goers'
Webinar: 'Fitness 101: Finding the Right Gym for Your Lifestyle'
Social media challenge: '30-Day Fitness Motivation Challenge' encouraging participants to share their progress
What to measure:
Page views on blog posts
Engagement rate on social media posts
Number of shares on infographics
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SEO
With SEO, you can get your content to rank on the top of search engines for the keywords that your marketing persona is typing into Google. At the top of the funnel, the keywords you'll target will likely have a higher search volume and will be harder to rank for.
Keyword ideas:
Time-saving workout routines for professionals
Benefits of group fitness classes
Quick workouts for busy schedules
How to stay fit with a hectic job
Beginner-friendly gym workouts
How to achieve work-life balance with fitness
Tips for new gym members
Best workouts for new fitness enthusiasts
Finding time for fitness in your schedule
Fitness tips for busy professionals
What to measure:
Organic traffic to blog posts
Keyword rankings for targeted phrases
Click-through rate from search engine results
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Paid Advertising
When it comes to ads, targeting is probably the most important predictor of a winning campaign (closely followed by ad creatives.) At the top of the funnel, you'll be looking for brand new audiences who have never heard about your company — these are called "Prospecting" campaigns.
Target audience ideas:
[Prospecting] Facebook Ads: Individuals aged 25-40 interested in fitness and health, living within a 10-mile radius of the gym
[Prospecting] YouTube Ads: People watching fitness-related content with a focus on time-efficient workouts
[Remarketing] Google Ads: Visitors to the gym's website who viewed membership options but did not sign up
[Prospecting] Instagram Ads: Fitness enthusiasts who are searching for group classes or personal training solutions
[Remarketing] Facebook Ads: Users who engaged with previous fitness content or videos about the gym
What to measure:
Ad impressions
Click-through rate (CTR)
Cost per click (CPC)
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Social Media
The hardest part about doing social media as a brand/business, is that you should look to not behave like just another business on social media. Your social media content should be native to each channel in tone, format, and style. Because of its mass usage, social media is perfect for top of the funnel content.
Social media campaign ideas:
Weekly themed posts on Instagram showcasing quick workout tips
Live Q&A on Facebook discussing fitness and wellness
Story highlights featuring testimonials from existing gym members
Polls on Instagram about fitness preferences and class interests
Monitoring mentions of the gym brand on Twitter and responding to inquiries
What to measure:
Engagement rate (likes, comments, shares)
Follower growth rate
Traffic from social media to website
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Marketing Experiments
For whatever campaign you launch, there will always be room for improvement. It's a good idea to pick a few experiments ideas and launch split tests designed to improve your most important metrics.
Experiment ideas:
A/B test different headlines for the homepage targeting working professionals
Test CTA button placements on the landing page to increase click-throughs
Experiment with different layouts for blog posts highlighting time-saving workouts
Run a split test on social media ad images to see which resonates with your audience more
Try varying the lengths of content pieces to attract attention from busy individuals
What to measure:
Conversion rate on landing pages
Click-through rates for A/B tested elements
Engagement rates on different types of content

Middle of the Funnel

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Your Goal at the Middle of the Funnel: Consideration
At this stage of the funnel, your marketing persona is aware of your product but isn't ready to purchase. They are still doing research and comparing your solution against competitors. This is the time to build trust by giving them more information and provide answers to questions they might have. Your main objective at the middle of the funnel is to turn a stranger into a lead.
Return visitors to website
Number of leads generated
Engagement rate on educational content
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Content Marketing
The content you'll create for the middle of the funnel is typically called a "lead magnet." This is usually a free (or very cheap) piece of content that you'll offer to your marketing persona in exchange for their contact information (e.g. email address or phone number.)
Content ideas:
Webinar: 'Maximizing Your Gym Experience: Finding Classes That Fit Your Schedule'
E-guide: 'Nutritional Insights for Busy Professionals' designed specifically for gym-goers
Blog post: 'How to Keep Your Workouts Consistent When You're Busy'
YouTube video: 'Success Stories: How Regular Gym-Goers Achieved Their Fitness Goals'
Case study: 'Transformations: Real Member Experiences at Our Gym'
Interactive quiz: 'What’s Your Ideal Workout Based on Your Busy Schedule?'
What to measure:
Time spent on educational content
Webinar registration rate
Download rate of e-guide
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SEO
At the middle of the funnel, your marketing persona is likely specifically searching for information about the solutions to their problem (without looking into any specific product, yet.) These keywords are considered to have "higher intent" (aka, more valuable) than the ones at the top of the funnel, but they will have smaller search volumes.
Keyword ideas:
How to stay fit with a busy work schedule
Nutrition tips for busy professionals
Successful gym membership transformations
Finding time for group classes
Effective workout strategies for time-strapped individuals
Benefits of personal training for busy lifestyles
Real-life fitness success stories
Best gym workouts for beginners
Online resources for nutrition counseling
Motivational tips for consistent gym attendance
What to measure:
Organic leads from SEO efforts
Average time on page for informative content
Click-through rate for mid-funnel keyword phrases
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Paid Advertising
At the middle of the funnel, your paid advertising campaigns will zoom into people who are already aware of your brand somehow, but haven't yet become leads. "Remarketing" campaigns are great for this (although, you might also sometimes experiment with prospecting campaigns that try to convert strangers to leads right away.)
Target audience ideas:
[Prospecting] Facebook Ads: Working professionals aged 30-45 who frequently engage with fitness-related content, with a focus on time management
[Remarketing] YouTube Ads: Users who watched gym-related success story videos but did not convert into leads
[Prospecting] Google Ads: Individuals searching for 'beginner-friendly gym classes' and 'personal trainers for busy schedules'
[Remarketing] Facebook Ads: Visitors who downloaded the fitness transformation case study but haven’t signed up for the newsletter
[Prospecting] Instagram Ads: Parents aged 25-40 interested in health and wellness, focusing on quick family workout ideas
What to measure:
Cost per lead
Lead quality score
Ad engagement rate
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Social Media
The social media campaigns at this stage of the funnel are designed to get your marketing persona off of the social media channel and into your own platform (e.g. your website), where you can actually capture their contact information.
Social media campaign ideas:
Weekly interactive posts inviting members to share their gym experiences on Instagram stories
Monthly spotlight posts on successful fitness transformations by gym members
Creating polls regarding class preferences to engage audience and gather insights
Hosting an Instagram live Q&A with a personal trainer about juggling workouts and busy lives
Monitoring comments on social media for questions about memberships and responding promptly
What to measure:
Engagement rate on social posts
Comments and shares on member spotlight features
Audience retention on interactive posts
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Email Marketing
Email marketing is an often overlooked channel that's critical for the middle of the funnel. Email is a very effective way to reach your marketing persona directly. The most common mistake businesses make is underutilizing email in their marketing (you should think beyond just email newsletters.)
Email marketing campaign ideas:
Webinar invitation email campaign for 'Maximizing Your Gym Experience'
Educational newsletter with quick workout and nutrition tips for busy professionals
Follow-up email series highlighting transformation stories of other gym members
Exclusive content email featuring the downloadable e-guide on nutritional insights
Email engagement campaign prompting feedback on fitness interests and challenges
What to measure:
Webinar registration rate
Open rates for newsletters
Click-through rates for exclusive content emails
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Marketing Experiments
For this stage of the funnel, your experiments will be designed to maximize the number of leads you get from your campaigns.
Experiment ideas:
Test different email subject lines to improve open rates for webinar invites
A/B test landing pages for the e-guide to see which design converts more leads
Experiment with the format of success story videos to analyze viewer retention
Run split tests on the timing of reminder emails for events to find optimal engagement times
Try varying call-to-action phrases on the website's resource section to see what resonates best
What to measure:
Conversion rate on landing pages
Engagement rates from A/B tested content emails
Click-through rates for different CTAs

Bottom of the Funnel

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Your Goal at the Bottom of the Funnel: Purchase
At the bottom of the funnel, your marketing persona already knows your product and is ready to make a purchase decision. They already have all the information they need. Your objective at this stage is to address purchasing objections and convince them to take that last step and become a paying customer.
Conversion rate from lead to customer
Average order value per new member
Monthly churn rate
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Content Marketing
The content you'll create for the bottom of the funnel is purposely design to get your marketing persona to purchase. You don't have to be afraid to be sales-y or about talking about your product directly.
Content ideas:
Video testimonial series featuring current members discussing their fitness journeys and successful transformations since joining the gym
Blog post: 'How to Choose the Right Membership Plan for Your Lifestyle' outlining benefits of monthly vs. annual memberships
Personalized fitness plans offered as downloadable content for those ready to join, showcasing potential workout routines
Online chat support feature demonstrating immediate assistance for last-minute inquiries about memberships or services
Comparison page on the website highlighting the uniqueness of the gym’s offerings versus competitors' services
Seasonal promotions announcement via a blog post detailing limited-time offers for new sign-ups
What to measure:
Conversion rate on video testimonials
Click-through rate on membership comparison page
Download rate for personalized fitness plans
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SEO
At the bottom of the funnel, your marketing persona will be searching Google for information about your product (for example: reviews, pricing, features, etc), which is why you'll be optimizing for a lot of "branded" searches — these are searches that include your brand/product name.
Keyword ideas:
Best gym membership deals in [your location]
Gym success stories near me
Top-rated gyms for busy professionals
Why choose our gym over competitors?
Annual vs. monthly gym memberships pros and cons
Fitness personalization services benefits
Membership options for family fitness
How our personal trainers can help you achieve your goals
User reviews of our gym
Contact us for membership with no time commitment
What to measure:
Lead-to-customer conversion rate from organic search
Ranking improvements for targeted competitive keywords
Click-through rates for high-intent searches
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Paid Advertising
At this stage of the funnel, you'll be running conversion campaigns to get purchases. These will be your highest revenue campaigns, where you will be keeping a close eye on your return on ad spend (ROAS.)
Target audience ideas:
[Remarketing] Facebook Ads: Users who abandoned membership sign-up forms on the website within the last 30 days
[Prospecting] Instagram Ads: Fitness enthusiasts who follow local health-focused accounts or fitness influencers
[Remarketing] Google Ads: Previous visitors searching for gym reviews or membership costs who didn’t convert
[Prospecting] YouTube Ads: Individuals watching workout motivation videos or transformation journeys looking for solutions
[Remarketing] Facebook Ads: Users who engaged with gym-related content but haven't signed up yet, incentivizing with a limited-time offer
What to measure:
Cost per acquisition (CPA)
Return on Ad Spend (ROAS)
Conversion rate from remarketing campaigns
🚀 Help me execute this paid ads strategy
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Social Media
The bottom of the funnel campaigns will usually only make up a small minority of your social media content.
Social media campaign ideas:
Live Q&A sessions on social media where potential members can ask questions directly to trainers or current members about the gym experience
Engaging posts sharing extraordinary member stories focused on achievements reached at the gym, encouraging others to join
Countdown posts leading up to special promotions along with reminders to take action before they're gone
User-generated content campaigns asking current members to share their transformation photos using a specific hashtag
Monitoring and responding to inquiries related to memberships or classes on platforms like Twitter and Instagram promptly
What to measure:
Engagement on promotional posts
Inquiries received via social channels
User-generated content participation rate
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Email Marketing
Email is perfectly tailored to run bottom of the funnel campaigns. After you've provided value to customers via your other email campaigns, you can run sales and promotional campaigns to get conversions.
Email marketing campaign ideas:
Special offer email campaign targeting leads who signed up for newsletters but never joined, providing a discount for new members
Follow-up email series to individuals who downloaded fitness plans with additional tips and inviting them to book a gym tour
Feedback request email from past leads who didn't convert, incorporating incentives for completing a short survey
Testimonials email highlighting members' success stories to encourage registration from leads in the email subscriber list
Monthly reminder emails about membership features, promoting the benefits of personal training and group classes
What to measure:
Open rates for special offer emails
Response rates from feedback requests
Conversion rates from testimonials email campaigns
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Marketing Experiments
Your bottom-of-the-funnel experiments will have the objective of maximizing your profits. That could be by getting more first-time customers or increasing the amount of money you get from each customer on their first purchase.
Experiment ideas:
A/B test various pricing displays on the membership sign-up page to see which maximizes conversions
Experiment with different layouts for fitness transformation testimonials to identify the most engaging format
Run split tests to determine the effectiveness of call-to-action variations for newsletter sign-up popups
Test the timing of follow-up emails sending to leads who engaged with gym content but did not sign up
Analyze checkout process completions to identify drop-off points and optimize user experience effectively
What to measure:
Conversion rate on membership pages
Completion rate of form submissions
Drop-off rates during the sign-up process

Retention

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Your Goal at the Retention Stage: Increase Lifetime Value
In the retention stage, your marketing persona is already a customer of your product. Your objective is to increase the value you can extract from them directly by generating repeat purchases, upsells, or reducing churn; or indirectly by improving brand image or promoting referrals.
Customer lifetime value (CLV)
Churn rate
Frequency of purchases or visits
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Content Marketing
The objective of the content you'll create at the retention stage is to keep your existing customers happy by providing ongoing value (even after purchasing.)
Content ideas:
Monthly newsletter featuring success stories, fitness tips, and upcoming classes to keep members engaged
Video series sharing advanced workout techniques for different fitness levels, targeted towards existing members
Blog post: 'How to Keep Your Fitness Momentum Going: Tips from Experts' aimed at maintaining workout consistency
Recorded webinars with trainers discussing advanced topics like nutrition or workout modifications for continued growth
Seasonal challenges encouraging existing members to compete for rewards, such as discounted memberships for participating
What to measure:
Open rates for newsletters
Engagement on videos
Participation rates in seasonal challenges
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SEO
At the bottom of the funnel, you'll want to make sure your marketing persona can find all the information she needs to get the most of your product (e.g. knowledge base articles), or to solve any problems that may arise (e.g. support/contact page.)
Keyword ideas:
Best practices for maintaining fitness routines at home
Post-workout recovery tips for gym-goers
Retention strategies for long-term gym memberships
Seasonal fitness guides for existing members
How to stay motivated in your fitness journey after joining a gym
What to measure:
Organic traffic to retention-related content
Rankings for targeted retention keywords
Click-through rate from search results for retention topics
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Paid Advertising
At this stage of the funnel, you might choose to be run campaigns promoting of new features, upgrades, or promotions.
Target audience ideas:
[Remarketing] Facebook Ads: Users who have been members for over 6 months but have not engaged recently, reminding them of new classes and features
[Remarketing] Google Ads: Previous members who canceled their subscription within the last year, offering them an exclusive rejoin incentive
[Prospecting] Instagram Ads: Current fitness enthusiasts promoting events or classes tailored for long-time gym members
[Remarketing] YouTube Ads: Viewers of previous testimonial videos to encourage re-engagement through compelling member journeys
[Remarketing] Facebook Ads: Targeting current members with special offers on upgrades or personal training packages
What to measure:
Engagement rates for retargeting campaigns
Click-through rates for re-engagement ads
Conversion rates for upgrade offers
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Social Media
Retention campaigns on social media revolve around building a sense of community with your existing customers. You'll do a lot of monitoring of brand mentions on social media.
Social media campaign ideas:
Monthly engagement posts encouraging members to share their progress using a specific hashtag related to gym community
Spotlighting member achievements on social media with features that promote community building and retention
Regular Q&A sessions with trainers on platforms like Instagram or Facebook addressing common fitness concerns
Monitoring and responding to user-generated content showcasing transformations within the gym's community
Creating event reminders for member-exclusive initiatives like workshops or seminars
What to measure:
Engagement rate on spotlight posts
Frequency of user-generated content
Response rates to Q&A sessions
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Email Marketing
Retention email campaigns will be a mix of educational emails (onboarding, activation, etc), transactional emails (reports, receipts, reminders, etc), and promotional emails (upgrades, upsells, etc.)
Email marketing campaign ideas:
Monthly membership update email providing details on improvements or new offerings at the gym
Re-engagement email series targeting inactive members with personalized workout tips and class highlights
Loyalty program announcement email inviting current members to enroll for discounts on future memberships or services
‘Tips for Staying Active’ email campaign featuring time-effective workout ideas catering to busy schedules
Final reminder for upcoming seasonal challenge or event with benefits of participation outlined clearly
What to measure:
Open rates for updates and loyalty programs
Click-through rates on workout tips emails
Engagement with re-engagement campaigns
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Marketing Experiments
Your retention experiments will have the objective of maximizing lifetime value of existing customers.
Experiment ideas:
A/B test different lengths of newsletters to find the most engaging format for build-up and retain member interest
Experiment with call-to-action placements in promotional emails to see which drives more clicks for events
Split-test subject lines for re-engagement emails to improve open rates among inactive members
Test different layouts for in-gym signage informing members about retention initiatives or loyalty programs
Run surveys from members on their preferences for communication styles to optimize future outreach efforts
What to measure:
Open rates or click-through rates of A/B tested elements
Engagement rate on sign-up or response forms
Drop-off rates in membership renewal processes

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