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For an established gym, one of the best forms of lead generation are referrals or word of mouth.
Some word of mouth happens organically where if the topic arises a member will mention your gym in a positive light to friends and family.
The trouble with word of mouth is that its passive and often only leads to a trickle of opportunities.
The key to getting referrals is orchestrating them. If you ask you will receive.
Asking for referrals is easier said than done, a lot of people feel uncomfortable asking their members for referrals.
What if there was an easier way to get more referrals for your gym without having to go through the discomfort of directly asking.
The good news is that new technology tools combined with the right strategy can help unlock a stream of new referral leads for your gym.
Setting up a digital referral program for your gym
The primary goal of your referral program is to get your members to share some content related to your gym to their own social network.
Each of your members has potentially dozens of friends on social media that are in your ideal catchment area.
If they share a post on social media it can lead to a significant amount of exposure to your ideal target market. If you can get dozens of your members sharing your content on their social networks it can lead to a huge amount of additional exposure and lead generation opportunities.
We can set up an online social sharing program using online referral tools such as Invite Box.
The single most important ingredient of a great referral campaign is providing the proper incentive to participate.
This is what tools like Invite Box allow you to do- Incentivise or rewarding social sharing of content.
For this reason, we strongly recommend to first come up with a compelling reward idea.
We will now explore the mechanics of setting up a digital referral program.
Your Instant Rewards Referral Program
- Create a piece of content for sharing
The first step is to create a piece of content for sharing. This needs to be valuable and compelling. A strong headline is a must.
This can be something like an article or downloadable content such as a checklist or a cheat sheet.
The goal should be to convert these referrals into leads by collecting their contact information (email).
- Create your reward
An instant reward referral program rewards your customers immediately as they share your link via their social channels.
This works best if you can offer valuable perks to the users at a low cost to yourself. E.g.: digital content, access to extra features or increased usage limits, and small discounts.
For example, you may create an offer where if your members share your link (an article) via the social channels, they will receive FREE access to a special video training on advanced training and nutrition tips.
Or
You could offer something more tangible like a FREE protein smoothy after their next workout
The key is coming up with compelling offers that don't cost a huge amount but will be attractive to your members.
- Set up your campaign using a referral tool such as InviteBox.
Once you have created your content and campaign you will need to set this up in a referral program- We recommend Invite Box.
This will do the heavy lifting for you by automatically helping the member share your content as well as unlocking the reward for those members that do share your content.
- Inform your members about your referral program
The last step is to tell your members about your referral program.
This can be done via a number of channels such as email, newsletters, and social media.
Here is an example template you can use...
We have a great program for members that allows you to unlock special rewards, bonuses and offers.
Our special reward this month is a FREE protein smoothly after a workout.
If you would like to claim your reward with one single click by sharing our article on health and fitness tips on your social media.
This will automatically unlock the reward voucher that you can claim next time you're in the club.
By following the four steps above and setting up a referral program for your gym you will generate significantly more exposure online which will help bring more new opportunities to grow your membership base.
Setting up this type of program takes some planning and hard work however once set up it is an asset that continually bring you new leads month after month, year after year.
If you would like some help or guidance with setting up a digital referral program please contact us via email [email protected] or call 1 300 181 665.
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