It’s one thing to be found on Google Maps or a general Google search for “gym in [city name].” However, it’s another thing to allow potential members and clients the ability to go inside your facility before they even arrive. No, this isn’t a magic trick, it’s “Google Street View Virtual Tours” and in this blog we’re going to guide your through the basic “how’s” and “why’s” of creating your own indoor virtual tour for your Google business listings.

*This blog was originally posted on the Sweti Services Blog.

Setting prices for your studio is arguably one of the most important business decisions you’ll make. You’ve built a great space, you’ve hired a killer staff, and now you need to get people in the door. Price your classes or memberships too high, and you’ll scare away potential members. Price them too low, and your business won’t turn a profit.

When it comes to setting prices for your studio, remember that less is more. Keep your membership and purchase options clear, condensed, and competitively priced. How can you make that happen? Let’s break it down:

If you call a restaurant to make reservations, and they don’t answer, what is your immediate reaction? Maybe call back, but in more cases than not, you move on to the next restaurant who will answer your phone call and take your reservation. The same principle goes for the fitness industry.  There is no shortage of nice gyms or studios to attend, so if you or your salespeople miss the phone call, you could very likely be losing that potential revenue to the next business down the street.

No, we (unfortunately) can’t see the future, but we do have the power of reading data, and the data shows that there are signs pointing to when a member is going to cancel.

Cancellations are a struggle for every fitness business owner, especially those with short term agreements who see high turnover. Knowing the signs that lead to cancellations will help you increase retention and decrease the number of members you lose each month.

Ah, the art of attracting new clients or members and retaining the ones you have. With so many different methods of promoting your intro offer, new class, or teacher training it can feel completely overwhelming. Do you Tweet? Do you post to Instagram? Do you Snapchat? On top of that, every company under the sun is trying to capture people’s attention, so it can feel near impossible to make an impression. However, what if there was a neglected marketing method that, when used correctly and as part of a multi-touch marketing campaign, can yield results unlike any of the current “hot” methods?

Independence Day in the United States is right around the corner, but have no fear as there’s still time to plan out some activities and promotions for your gym, studio, or other type of fitness business. In this guide we’ve tried to keep things simple and practical so that you can get whatever you decide to do planned out quickly - even though it’ll seem like you spent a lot of time preparing. Don’t worry, it’ll be our little secret. 😉

Cancelled clients are bound to happen. It’s unfortunate and can sometimes cause quite a headache for gym and studio owners. But what if you could make up for those headaches by getting your cancelled members back? Although not always the case, many people cancel based on reasons that have nothing to do with a negative impact the business had on them. It could simply be they didn’t use their membership enough, it wasn’t the right time financially, they were moving, or other personal reasons.

“Selling should be fun!” How many times have we heard this? And although it’s partially true, it’s not always that way. Some days are slow, others are so busy you can’t keep up, and burnout happens to the best of us. When it comes to selling, each prospect should get the highest level of treatment, which can be hard when you have salespeople who aren’t fully invested every single day. So how do you keep the salespeople in your fitness business fresh, excited, and ready to take on every prospect that comes their way?

It starts with tapping into the true nature of a salesperson. Competition is a driving factor in the way salespeople think, and when you harness that drive and use it to create a more fun, exciting work environment, you inherently see higher sales numbers. When it comes to sales, happy employees = more output = more memberships sold. But how can you really harness the power of a sales person’s natural competitiveness? Start an ongoing, monthly (or whatever works best for you) sales competition! 

According to Yelp, 98% of Yelp users have made a purchase at a business they’ve found on Yelp. That’s a number that can’t be ignored, so we think it’s pretty important to take control of your Yelp page so that you can make updates and add as much relevant information as possible. Even if you’ve already claimed your Yelp page, this blog can give you some tips and advice on how to make the most of it so that the right people are finding you as easily as possible.

Chances are, you already have some photos on your gym, yoga studio, or other fitness business website. However, with all the other million things fitness business owners have to take care of, it’s understandable that something like photos wouldn’t get much attention.

Like a lot of things in life, it’s easy to assume we can DIY the “simple” tasks like taking photos, and while that’s definitely possible with some planning and the right equipment, it can end up costing you more than if you’d just have hired a professional. In the following blog post we’ll give you some tips on DIYing your gym or studio’s photos while also providing some insight on the benefits of hiring a pro.