Being a great personal trainer or running an awesome gym is a good feeling. But you know what’s even better? Building a brand. An identity. Helping your customers connect with your business. This will not only help you grow a happy customer base but it will also make those customers that love you, promote your business within their own networks. You got it, that means more revenue for you in the long-run.
Building a brand is an essential task if you want to survive in today’s business environment. This is becoming increasingly important in a post-pandemic world, where only the most tenacious and adaptive business owners will thrive.
If you have no special knowledge in marketing this can be quite tricky, more so if you do not have the time and energy to invest in brand-building.
Luckily, using the right fitness software can help you a lot with this task.
There are three key elements to successful branding: a consistent look and message, loyal customers and online promotion.
1. Fitness software helps with a consistent look and message
Why consistency is important:
- 45% of a brand’s image can be attributed to what it says and how it says it. Your core message and appearance has a big influence on the perception of your business.
- Color increases brand recognition by up to 80%.
- Customers love and trust brands; if they identify with you they will stick with you, even in bad times. 60% of the people are willing to pay more for their brand, even in a bad economy.[2]
Brands that do it right:
There are tons of companies that pull off a consistent look and message well. Let’s stick with the really obvious ones and see how easily you’ll recognize these brands without me mentioning their names.
- A little swoosh. Just do it. Through proper branding this company has gained such a recognition that the consistent look and message not only deliver the brand but a whole feeling.
- There are many, many more examples out there. Do I need to explain which brand hides behind three stripes or what I mean when I say “I’m loving it”?
- A bite taken out of an apple, a panda bear, the little skyblue birdy … you name it!
The same principles apply to naming your fitness business. Choosing the right name can significantly impact your brand’s recognition and customer recall. For insights on crafting a name that resonates and strengthens your brand identity, explore our guide on How to Choose a Gym Name.
How fitness software can help:
Fitness software can help with the consistency of your branding. Branded apps with your own logo, for example, can help you communicate a consistent look. But not only that, fitness softwares will make sure your colors and your logo are always visible when your client interacts with your business.
If they use community features, they should see a fully branded interface which will have the same effect that Facebook, with its blue color and signature F-logo, has on its users.
Also, branded workout and nutrition plans will help to build a connection between training and your brand. This means that the good feeling of a completed workout will be linked to your brand! So when you choose your fitness software, keep an eye out where your brand is visible. Make sure you can brand as much as possible in terms of apps, community and workout and nutrition plans.
2. Fitness software helps improve client loyalty
Why customer loyalty is important:
- 48% of consumers said that the most critical time to gain their loyalty is when they make their first purchase or begin service.
- U.S. brands are losing approximately $41 billion each year due to poor customer service.
- Acquiring new customer costs 5 times as much as keeping current ones.[3]
- This is extremely important in times of forced closure when you want your clients and members to remain loyal to your brand
Brands that do it right:
- Coca Cola’s strength is to always be able to connect with customers over the years. Creative campaigns and adaptations are vital for this. Coca Cola e.g. comes up with modern advertisements suiting events like the Super Bowl . The brand is constantly keeping an eye on what their customers like.
- Their direct competitor Pepsi also did that. E.g. when Pepsi came up with the Pepsi Perfect to suit their customers nostalgic wishes to get the Pepsi from “Back to the Future” .
- There is almost no brand that has a customer loyalty like Apple. Apple not only uses pretty good marketing strategies but also reliable and trustworthy services and a good customer support. Apple has built something close to a religion and is thus a perfect example of earning trust and loyalty through proper communication.
How fitness software can help:
Building loyalty is all about the right communication and engagement. The more you make your customers feel like they are part of a community, the more they are likely to stay – and refer you. Thus, a community feature within the software can help you with your communication; customers love it if their feedback and questions are taken serious.
Also, excellent customer support helps to avoid problems: with proper communication and explanation you can turn any negative incident to your advantage. Furthermore, branded forums help your customer identify with your brand. Last but not least, fitness software helps you stay available all the time.
When even outside office times your customers know they can come to you with questions, it builds trust and reliability. Of course all this doesn’t work if you do not offer the amazing experience you promise.
But if you offer great service yourself and find a fitness software which 1) offers a great app, tools like progress tracking and individual training plans and 2) helps you build a branded community, great customer support and the possibility to stay available, you will be on the right track to customer loyalty.
3. Fitness software helps you promote your brand online
Why online promotion is important:
- 80% of consumers are more likely to evaluate solutions from the brands they follow on social channels.
- 65% of Internet users see online search as the most trusted source of information about people and companies.
- 85% of consumers use the internet for research before making a purchasing decision.
- Relying on offline methods of marketing is short-term, particularly as we embrace the new normal in a post-pandemic world
Brands that do it right:
- Comcast was one of the first companies to actively react on Twitter and was really successful with it. Instead of more complaints, customers were really happy about the quick and precise customer service on social media. They proved that different social media platforms can be essential for the promotion of a brand.
- Be where your (potential) customers are, even if they don’t expect you. For example , KLM offers constant customer support on Facebook, Oreo is filling social media with amazing content, juice and smoothie brands like Innocent use social media as their main promotional tool. And Netflix is famous for understanding the language and lifestyle of their audience.
How fitness software can help:
First of all, the right fitness software will give you the possibility to do online coaching. This means your brand and your whole business are now online and available anywhere, anytime.
The right fitness software will also help you through social sharing. By letting your members share their workouts on social media, you raise brand awareness with your existing members on the one hand, but much more importantly it means free promotion among your members’ networks. With just one simple share by a member, hundreds of people can be reached – every time they post a workout.
Personal profiles in your community help people stay connected with your brand and also improve your professional appearance to potential clients. The three beforementioned tools, combined with a good customer service, will help you gain happy customers. And these happy customers will give good reviews about you online, which is, again, essential for your branding. So, when choosing your fitness software, make sure it supports your online presence in the right way.
Lesson learnt:
To maintain a good reputation, branding is inevitable. A consistent look and message, loyal customers and a good online promotion are all important for branding. Big firms constantly emphasize the importance of these three points for ongoing success and serve as inspiration for the rest of us.
To help with these three key elements of good branding, fitness software not only supports you in running your business, it helps you to take the next step in terms of raising brand-awareness and increasing your online presence. Branded apps and communities, customer support, online coaching and social sharing are just some of the advantages that a fitness software offers you in terms of branding.
