The COVID-19 crisis brought the entire world to a standstill, locking millions of people in their homes. The sudden halt had disrupted the people’s routine, and the majority struggles to be productive. Many people who were fitness freak are missing their gyms where they would spend hours doing Zumba on fast tracks.

The government-mandated lockdown all over the world will go on for an indefinite period. People cannot pause their lives for prolonged periods. And this is why most businesses are making use of digital technology to keep their operations going. Most gym owners have now started to give online classes to allow people to get back to a little bit of normalcy.

A Drop in Gym Attendance

But the mere feature of an online class hasn’t been able to get people attend these vital classes – especially during the time when troubling news and uncertainty across the globe can lead to depression and anxiety – which makes it all the more important for gym entrepreneurs to reach out to different marketing techniques and make people participate in the classes.

The 24/7 lockdown has also disrupted people’s schedule. Now, instead of going to bed at 10pm, people are staying up late, binging watching their favorite shows, and going to bed at the crack of the dawn.

These habits cannot possibly allow people to stick to a schedule. Most people, who are involved in housework, often forget about their class timings and end up missing out on the daily workout. The thin attendance is also quite demotivating for instructors who spend a lot of time preparing the workout.

How Can You Increase Gym Attendance with SMS

SMS marketing is an ideal way to interact with a large customer base. Studies have shown that as compared to emails, SMS messages are widely read – providing businesses the opportunity of being heard. In the section below, we will talk about some easy-to-follow tips that can help you increase gym attendance with SMS marketing. Even though these tips are ideal during the Covid-19 days when millions of people are in quarantine, these techniques will also help you have a significant increase in gym attendance in the post-quarantine times – which, hopefully, we will be observing soon!

1.     Inform People

How will people sign up for gym classes if they have no idea that you’re offering one? The first obvious step, in this regard, would be to send a promotional message to your existing and new clients telling them how they can keep up with their fitness routine during the lockdown period. Attach a link with your message where your customers can have a look at different online packages that you’re offering.

2.     Send in Reminders

This is a great way to ensure gym attendance – both on-site and online. If you are a frequent traveler, you would have noticed that some airlines do send a text message to the passenger a few hours before the boarding time. First, the companies would send an email message, reminding people of their flight. In the same manner, app-based hotel booking sites also send frequent reminders to travelers relating to their upcoming bookings. An email message tends to get lost somewhere in the cluster of emails. On the other hand, a text message has better chances of being read.

The gym administration must utilize the same technique to get people to attend the classes – and once people start taking their classes regularly, there are higher chances that they’d recommend their friends and family to join too – leading to an increase in admissions as well. In the lockdown life, when mornings swiftly merge into evenings, leaving people with no track of time, constant reminders will help fitness freaks to get back in the routine.

3.     Ask for Feedback

How can you keep your clients engaged after the class is over? By asking them to give feedback of the class! This is a great way to engage the clients and make them feel heard. Individual messages will make clients think that their opinion is valued. The feedback from the client will, in turn, help you improve on the areas which need work.

4.     Offer Incentives

People at home will not be too keen to join a class. After all, the excitement of just lying around can be a lot exciting for some. To make them join your classes, you will have to convince them into thinking that their registration is of utmost importance and can lead them to exciting prices or bonuses – for example, a one-time three-month registration could get you the four month for free; or that the gym will donate 25% of your registration fee to organizations that are on the frontline of the fight against COVID-19.

5.     Fitness Advice

A great way to keep your clients engaged is to offer them a texting hotline. This will help them ask specific questions from their trainers regarding their workout. Make sure that your response time is quick and that someone is available to provide answers to their fitness-related questions.

6.     Tips

Texting out a daily workout or nutrition tips will also help increase the client’s engagement. The lockdown can be a bit overwhelming, and people may struggle to say no to the last piece of big cake they continuously see in the fridge. Your daily reminders via texts will help them say no to the sugar-laden dessert more strongly.

The Final Word

Has this global pandemic brought your life to a standstill? Your business doesn’t have to suffer just because your clients – both existing and potential – are in quarantine. Digital technology has helped us connect to people physically far from us. With the coronavirus outbreak, when the health authorities have restricted people from taking part in gatherings of more than 10 people, places like gyms have been closed indefinitely.

Many people who are in self-quarantine are also not visiting the scant open gyms to avoid contracting the virus. All of this has made it essential for gym owners to come up with a novel way to increase their sales without defying the social distancing orders. To learn more about how the Text My Main Number landline texting platform can help improve your communication with employees, feel free to contact us.