Last week I was on vacation in beautiful Seaside, OR. If you've never been there, I highly recommend it! Besides the annual Seaside volleyball tournament and the pristine beach, there are a million things to do there. Seriously, out of all my summer trips it has been the Seaside vacations that have been the best.
Again this year I visited the Seaside Candyman store. It's a well-known shop in downtown Seaside that features 170 flavors of locally made salt water taffy. They sell it by the BUCKET, and there is often a line of customers just waiting to pay.
So what's the big deal? After all, there are probably about a dozen stores in Seaside that sell salt water taffy! Why is the Seaside Candyman store so popular and successful?
I'll tell you why, and I GUARANTEE you that I'm right on this! The Seaside Candyman store blows their competition out of the water because of good old fashioned MARKETING. Seriously, that's it.
They don't sell an exclusive product, they don't have the lowest price, and they certainly don't have the best location. But they do have a couple marketing "gimmicks" (for lack of a better word) that pay off for them BIG TIME.
First, the Seaside Candyman store pays a guy to stand on the street corner and give out free pieces of salt water taffy. While he's doing that, he sings the 'Candyman' song. Seriously. Everyone gets a coupon good for 10% off a taffy purchase, too. A singing candyman! Who would have thunk it? It's original and it gets noticed!
Second, the Seaside Candyman store has a huge wooden 'roulette' wheel on the wall inside their store. Yeah, it's HUGE. Anyone can spin the wheel and if they're lucky they can win a small bag of popcorn or a 1/4 pound of salt water taffy. It's GENIUS! People are often lined up ten deep just to take their turn at spinning the wheel. Mom takes a picture of the kiddies spinning the wheel. It instantly identifies the store and provides an atmosphere of fun and excitement!
All of that got me thinking about health club marketing and how so many gym owners feel like they're beating their heads against the wall trying to get people into their fitness center.
As gym owners, are we making it too complicated?
Is it really as simple as a singing candyman and a roulette wheel?
How about doing something similar? You might think about putting a huge roulette wheel on the wall of your health club. Seriously. Invite prospects to spin the wheel and see if they've won prizes ranging from a 1-week free pass to a free sample pack of tanning lotion. The prizes don't have to be big. People just like free stuff.
We've heard about the Liberty Fitness location that put an employee in a Statue of Liberty costume and stood them outside waving at cars. I don't know if they're still doing that, but I can promise you that a Statue of Liberty waving at you from the side of the road is going to get noticed!
So what ideas do you have for fitness center marketing? Please leave a comment so we can all learn from your experience!
If you're interested in some really innovative health club marketing techniques, then you might want to pick up a copy of our Gym Sales Manual. Just click here for details.
Oh, yeah, and if you're really hungry for some fantastic salt water taffy then you should check out the Seaside Candyman website.
Tuesday, August 19, 2008
Friday, August 1, 2008
Is Exercise Etc Obsolete Or Is It Another False Alarm?
Is exercise etc obsolete or is it another false alarm?
As health club owners, we pay VERY CLOSE attention whenever somebody claims that weight loss nutrition and exercise professionals are no longer needed because another scientist has invented what we call exercise on demand or exercise in a pill.
As exercise professionals, we know that exercise on demand is an absolute JOKE and a falsehood!
But it doesn't matter what we think, does it?
What matters is what the CUSTOMER thinks, and our customers are the average overweight people in weight loss groups and overeaters anonymous meetings.
In their endless quest for weight loss resources that work, our customers (and potential customers) have tried everything from weight loss surgeries to diets for weight loss success.
As WE all know, the only true to path to achieving true physical fitness is through regular exercise and a sensible diet.
However, scientists have dealt us a low blow today by announcing that a new drug may give the new benefits of exercise. Make no mistake about it, this proclomation by just a few scientists will cost you money and members!
The article released by the Associated Press (AP) on 8-1-08 began by stating that "Here's a couch potato's dream: What if a drug could help you gain some of the benefits of exercise without working up a sweat?"
Unfortunately, people will hear what they want to hear and will assume that a cure-all weight loss drug has been invented. They will assume that they don't have to exerise anymore.
Nothing could be further from the truth!
In this press release, scientists talk about Resveratrol research and AICAR research results. However, Resveratrol news is far from conclusive and so is the AICAR news released today.
First of all, the results from both drugs have been obtained from testing on mice. The AP story states that "Just how well those results might translate to people is an open question".
The second issue with the Resveratrol health benefits and the AICAR health benefits is that results are greatly enhanced with exercise. Again, the AP states that mice who exercised while taking the drug realized much greater benefits than mice who received the drug alone (without exercise).
The third problem that exercise professionals should have with this press release is that scientists don't even know how they achived their front-page results. Ron Evans, an author of the study, said that "Honestly, I just don't know how that happens. Whether it would happen in a person, I don't know. I think it's a small miracle that it happened at all".
The fourth argument against the so-called no-exercise drug AICAR is simple consumer safety. Keep in mind that this diet power drug has not been tested on humans, and an author of the study doesn't know how it worked in mice. In the same AP article, study author Ron Evans stated that ".....it [AICAR] would have to be taken for a long time.....so its safety in people would have to be assured". By the way, if this diet power drug has to be taken for a long time, just what do you think the cost will be to the consumer? It certainly won't be inexpensive!
Finally, the fifth argument against Resveratrol and AICAR is that even in mice AICAR mimics only aerobic exercise. The no-exercise AICAR thus ignores and cannot replicate anaerobic exercise, commonly known as resistance training. Since this blog is directed towards exercise professionals, we won't take the time here to go into the benefits of anaerobic training. However, this fact obviously limites the Resveratrol health benefits as well as the AICAR claims.
Perhaps Laurie Goodyear of the Joslin Diabetes Center in Boston said it best when she stated that "For the majority of people, it would be better to do exercise than to take a pill".
The Resveratrol study and the AICAR study are dangerous to gym owners because they may give the public yet another reason to avoid exercise.
So, the moral of the story is that fitness centers need to be informed! When a health club member or potential member asks you about the new miracle method for losing weight without exercise, will you be ready with an answer?
The success of your gym may depend on it!
As health club owners, we pay VERY CLOSE attention whenever somebody claims that weight loss nutrition and exercise professionals are no longer needed because another scientist has invented what we call exercise on demand or exercise in a pill.
As exercise professionals, we know that exercise on demand is an absolute JOKE and a falsehood!
But it doesn't matter what we think, does it?
What matters is what the CUSTOMER thinks, and our customers are the average overweight people in weight loss groups and overeaters anonymous meetings.
In their endless quest for weight loss resources that work, our customers (and potential customers) have tried everything from weight loss surgeries to diets for weight loss success.
As WE all know, the only true to path to achieving true physical fitness is through regular exercise and a sensible diet.
However, scientists have dealt us a low blow today by announcing that a new drug may give the new benefits of exercise. Make no mistake about it, this proclomation by just a few scientists will cost you money and members!
The article released by the Associated Press (AP) on 8-1-08 began by stating that "Here's a couch potato's dream: What if a drug could help you gain some of the benefits of exercise without working up a sweat?"
Unfortunately, people will hear what they want to hear and will assume that a cure-all weight loss drug has been invented. They will assume that they don't have to exerise anymore.
Nothing could be further from the truth!
In this press release, scientists talk about Resveratrol research and AICAR research results. However, Resveratrol news is far from conclusive and so is the AICAR news released today.
First of all, the results from both drugs have been obtained from testing on mice. The AP story states that "Just how well those results might translate to people is an open question".
The second issue with the Resveratrol health benefits and the AICAR health benefits is that results are greatly enhanced with exercise. Again, the AP states that mice who exercised while taking the drug realized much greater benefits than mice who received the drug alone (without exercise).
The third problem that exercise professionals should have with this press release is that scientists don't even know how they achived their front-page results. Ron Evans, an author of the study, said that "Honestly, I just don't know how that happens. Whether it would happen in a person, I don't know. I think it's a small miracle that it happened at all".
The fourth argument against the so-called no-exercise drug AICAR is simple consumer safety. Keep in mind that this diet power drug has not been tested on humans, and an author of the study doesn't know how it worked in mice. In the same AP article, study author Ron Evans stated that ".....it [AICAR] would have to be taken for a long time.....so its safety in people would have to be assured". By the way, if this diet power drug has to be taken for a long time, just what do you think the cost will be to the consumer? It certainly won't be inexpensive!
Finally, the fifth argument against Resveratrol and AICAR is that even in mice AICAR mimics only aerobic exercise. The no-exercise AICAR thus ignores and cannot replicate anaerobic exercise, commonly known as resistance training. Since this blog is directed towards exercise professionals, we won't take the time here to go into the benefits of anaerobic training. However, this fact obviously limites the Resveratrol health benefits as well as the AICAR claims.
Perhaps Laurie Goodyear of the Joslin Diabetes Center in Boston said it best when she stated that "For the majority of people, it would be better to do exercise than to take a pill".
The Resveratrol study and the AICAR study are dangerous to gym owners because they may give the public yet another reason to avoid exercise.
So, the moral of the story is that fitness centers need to be informed! When a health club member or potential member asks you about the new miracle method for losing weight without exercise, will you be ready with an answer?
The success of your gym may depend on it!
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