This article was featured in the April 2008 issue of Club Solutions magazine and may be useful to studio owners who are looking for ways to increase your memberships by way of referrals. Our thanks to Club Solutions magazine and editor/art director Amy Brayfiled for allowing us to reprint this informational piece in its entirety. The article was written by KT Remius, Director of Marketing and Advertising at Urban Active.

Your satisfied members can be your biggest marketing asset. Here are some ways to make them feel special and grow your club’s numbers at the same time.

Over 500 emails, 1,000 voicemails and enough mail to keep the United States Post Office in business – thousands of vendors with the next best idea to attract new members to your clubs; each gallantly fighting for an invitation to sit across from you. They have an arsenal of convincing pie-charts, graphs, demographic research, statistic from the leading fitness experts, colorful brochures and event the occasional company-branded water bottle. From the neighborhood association newsletter to Super Bowl commercials, they all are confident that you will see amazing results if only you try their service, advertise in their magazine or give your members their gimmick.

So, what is the magic solution? Which of these marketing avenues will lead you to the jack-pot of ROI? You cannot possibly try them all. Some club operators swear by one medium over the others. Direct mail, radio, TV, billboards, doorhangers, leadboxes, magazines, newspapers – the possibilities are endless, and the pursuit of a magic solution is elusive to say the least. Something may work amazingly month after month and then for no explainable reason stops working. We could talk about the theories, strategies and market trends until the end of time, but the 800-pound gorilla is still in the room – unseen. 
 
As we approach the hot summer months, when memberships are historically low and advertising rates are historically high, it is time for club owners to realize that the biggest membership generator is actually found inside your air conditioned doors… not outside. Your members are your biggest assets, and summer is the best time to cash in on their potential. Existing member referrals remain one of the most successful new membership recruitment tools.
 
There are many ways to maximize and run a referral campaign:

MEMBERS WIN. Offer incentives for members to provide their friends and family members as leads for your sales team. This can be accomplished through various promotional item giveaways. This is the easiest referral program to run because the work is all upfront, with little to no back office support.

GUESTS WIN. This program centers on members registering their friends to receive the gift of fitness. You will be amazed how many of your members would love to be able to give their friends or family members a free 30-day pass to your club. It empowers them as members and allows them to do your outreach for you! This is the most risky form of referral-campaigning because you put the onus on the member, and your sales team anxiously awaits the return.

ONLY ONE WINS. Instead of spending $3,000 on 1,500 water bottles or t-shirts to inspire your members to refer their friends and family, spend $3,000 on a big-ticket item, such as a plasma TV, piece of cardio equipment or trip to the Bahamas. Advertise it to your members as an “Enter to Win” campaign, and give members entries into the drawing every time they refer a potential member to you. These promotions work best run in a 30-day window but can sometimes be stretched to 60 days. Be sure to have a clear date for when the campaign ends and when the drawing is held. Have your drawing for the winner in your club at a set time. This works well combined with a Member Appreciation Party. Ask local community businesses to donate food, give massages, set up giveaway tables, etc. To ensure a synergistic reaction for future campaigns, take a picture of the winner and advertise it for the next several weeks. Next time they see a trip or grand prize, they will come to you with cell phones in hand to give you their leads.

EVERYONE WINS. This is a combination of several campaigns in one. Offer an incentive for members to give you leads, give them something to give their friends (30-day free pass, etc.) and also reward members when one of their leads is flipped into a member. This does take more time in managing and will require back office support; however, if this campaign is executed correctly, everyone wins – including you.

So stop dreading the slow summer months ahead, and start making plans to turn your faithful members into faithful lead-generators. It can mean big numbers to your bottom line over and over again.

- KT Remius, Director of Marketing and Advertising for Urban Active