Boost Membership at Your Gym with an Open House

If you own a gym then I’m guessing one of your biggest concerns is maintaining a steady flow of clients. When you find yourself in a client rut, what can you due to spur new memberships? One way is to host an open house for your community and give prospects a commitment-free option to test out your facility. 

Here’s how you can boost membership at your gym with an open house: 

Make the event free

This mostly goes without saying for an open house, but don’t charge members of the community for your event. The point is to break down any barriers to entry for your community, and money may be one of those barriers. Think of it as an investment now to increase sales at your gym later. If you can get prospects in the door and then engage them in the services you offer, they’ll be more likely to come back after the event.

Market your event locally

Keep your marketing efforts hyper-localized, since the point of the event it to draw new, hopefully long-term clients to your gym. Advertise through social media and community blogs. Ask nearby local businesses with community bulletin boards (Starbucks, for example) if you can post a flyer. If you pay for online advertising, ensure you’re using best practices for local SEO. 

Have all your staff present

An open house event is as much about showcasing your staff as it is about showcasing your facility. Your staff should be there to answer questions about the services you offer, ease concerns about coming in as a new client, and offer a welcoming community. 

Host a few workout sessions

Your schedule shouldn’t be as packed as is on a normal day, but you should offer a few (free!) classes that people can try out. That way they’ll not only experience the services you offer, but they’ll get a sense of the staff members who teach them. If they can picture themselves in the community you offer, they’re more likely to sign up for something later. 

Incentivize people to stay at the event longer

The nature of an open house is that people will be coming in and out, but you can entice people to stay longer by offering a raffle that the winner needs to be present for in order to claim. The prize might be a free membership, one-on-one training session, or a retail item. 

Open houses aren’t something you need to host often. Make it a special, annual event to engage with your larger community and make personal connections with prospective clients.