While Coronavirus has forced us into a lockdown. gyms and fitness centers are taking a huge hit. Millions of gym owners and fitness trainers are apprehensive about the ongoing and upcoming times. However, this is exactly when they should be busy rolling out a solid COVID-19 business recovery plan.
To help gym owners, fitness experts, and wellness brands put up a fight against Coronavirus pandemic (and future threats as well), our team of marketing & growth experts have evolved a business recovery plan. If you want to recover from the losses incurred during the lockdown, you better start tweaking your marketing & growth as per our recommendations!
Scan through 30 COVID-19 recovery tips, ideas, and hacks for bounce back quickly.
#1 Understand the impact of pandemic
The first and the most important thing to do is understanding the impact of COVID-19 pandemic on your fitness business and industry as a whole. Businesses that depended on store footfalls and personal interaction have been hit the hardest due to the lockdown and recovery duration will be very long unless proactive steps are taken.
Measuring the impact of COVID-19 on your fitness business, focus region, and industry will get you an idea of how long it might take to recover and how hard you need to push to bounce back.
#2 Forecast expenses for at least 12 weeks
While most countries have started with lockdowns of a few weeks, it is quite possible that the travel and business restrictions will be curtailed for a longer duration. Therefore, gym owners and fitness brands should undertake expense forecasting to calculate what they require to stay in business. Keep rent, power & water bills, staff salary, and loan installment into account!
Also, take into account the cash reserve as well to see how much you have in hand to make your gym or fitness center sail through the COVID-19 times.
#3 Boost your liquidity for coming months
Calculated the amount you need for the next couple of months to keep your fitness business alive? It’s time to figure out what you have in the bank, savings, and liquid assets. If you are falling short, contact your partners and stakeholders to pitch in. Speak with the property owner to waive off or postpone rent payment till the lockdown ends.
This Coronavirus business recovery tactic will help you keep your fitness business alive during uncertain times.
#4 Use social media to engage
The next gym business recovery plan tip is to make an impact through social media! Since most of us are locked in our homes and use our smartphones at every opportunity, social platforms have become one of the most effective ways to reach your existing as well as potential customers.
To make your gym business recovery plan successful, use social media often to engage with your followers. Keep them posted with positive news, health updates, and DIY fitness content. Use your social media to build stronger business connections.
#5 Go for paid campaigns
COVID-19 has set the ball rolling for uncertain times and your customers need you more than ever. To quickly reach out to them, plan a paid campaign through popular social channels like Instagram and Facebook. A video message to show solidarity, share home-fitness content, and lift up gloomy spirits can work wonders.
Relevant & uplifting messaging at the time of COVID-19 will give you strong brand recall and generate business mileage after the lockdown ends. This must be part of your gym business recovery action plan!
#6 Sell memberships
As long as the lockdown lasts, your gym, yoga, or fitness center will not attract customers. However, you have to make sure that your business retains its lost glory as soon as the government eases restrictions. Hence, it makes perfect sense to sell 3-month, 6-month, and 1-year memberships.
Making memberships part of your gym growth plan will support your business in two ways!
- Your customer base will not delete on reopening
- Membership sales will add more liquidity to your business.
#7 Create awareness through digital media
Every business has access to customer data like phone numbers and emails. This is the time to use the same and create awareness. Create awareness related to coronavirus and share preventive measures that can be adopted to fight the virus during the lockdown. Also, highlight the steps you have been taking to make your gym or fitness center safer.
Make it a priority of your business recovery plan checklist to make people aware of the importance of personal hygiene and sanitation. This will communicate to your customers that you have increased focus on making the fitness center safer for them.
#8 Run fitness classes online
A lot of your customers will be gaining weight while sitting at home. That’s why your Coronavirus recovery plan must capitalize on video content to keep them in shape. Depending on your fitness expertise, start uploading video content on Youtube.
From Zumba classes to lightweight training, anything can be learned & practiced from simple online videos. All you need to do is create fitness routines people can do without any equipment. We guarantee that your customers will love you for this!
Learn how to create simple yet engaging Youtube videos
#9 Keep the bond alive
In the times of COVID-19, your customer and business relationships matter the most. Stay in contact with your long-time customers and business partners including equipment providers, supplement dealers, and maintenance professionals. Either through telephonic conversations, video calling, or social media, stay in touch with people who contributed to your gym and fitness business, directly or indirectly.
Reason? Once the situation gets under control, you will be served on priority if you have a good relationship with your service providers. Customers will also be more trusting of your measures. As simple as that!
#10 Hire content creators & marketers
Going digital to stay connected and create value will require expertise in content creation, marketing, advertising, and digital communication. If you aren’t well versed in all the mentioned, it makes sense to consult an affordable digital marketing agency! An experienced team will be able to support you with everything you need to retain customers and generate mileage.
Email at hello@upreports.com to discuss your business’ COVID-19 situation & request a tailored action plan!
#11 Introduce couple packages & gift cards
As we mentioned above, home quarantine is going to give us all a lot of extra weight. That’s why it makes sense to introduce attractive couple packages and gift cards to get an immediate boost after the lockdown ends. You will also be needing marketing material to market the special packages. So, take the time to create that too! Here’s a yoga school doing this perfectly.
#12 Optimize your premises
Even after COVID-19 officially ends, people are going to be extra cautious about picking their gym or fitness center. That’s why you must optimize your premises according to new hygiene standards. Put up artwork to emphasize the importance of sanitation and personal hygiene. Make provision of sanitizers at multiple places and make sure that gym equipment is sanitized multiple times every day.
#13 Email your customers about changes
You have done a lot of hard work to make your fitness center Coronavirus-ready. Now, it is time to communicate the changes to your customers. Draft an email highlighting the changes you have been doing and how it is going to make your gym a safe place to stay fit. This has to be part of your COVID-19 business recovery plan!
#14 Run a referral program
Referral programs have been generating business mileage for many decades now and they will help you with Coronavirus recovery too! Ask your existing customers to refer their friends for gym subscriptions and give them incentives in return. Membership upgrades and free monthly passes can be used to encourage current customers to refer more!
#15 Engaging corporate clients
Corporates have suffered a lot during the COVID-19 lockdown. That’s why it makes sense to engage them through marketing, advertising, and discounting. Creating special packages for team workout sessions and on-site training can greatly help in getting those initial customers and fill the gym once again.
#16 Invest in local SEO
Most gym, yoga, and fitness businesses operate in a small region and hence local visibility is crucial for them. If you haven’t invested in building your local presence on Google yet, it is time to do that. Dedicate time or resources to generate business mileage from local SEO.
Not familiar with the concept of local SEO. Watch this video!
#17 Host fitness webinars
This COVID-19 business recovery idea can be really helpful for techy fitness entrepreneurs catering to a digitally-connected audience. Host webinars to connect with your audience and discuss the changes you have been working upon. Try to keep the webinar public as this will attract more viewers.
#18 Make affiliates
Affiliates can be local doctors, pharmacists, health bloggers, and lifestyle businesses willing to collaborate to benefit mutually. While they refer your gym to their customers, you can create value for your affiliates by recommending them to your customers. This is a popular way of passive marketing during the COVID-19 lockdown!
#19 Send workout reminders
This is one of the easiest and most effective ways to retain your customers. Through manual or automated messages, you can send daily reminders to your customers and help them maintain a healthy lifestyle during the lockdown! You can do this through Whatsapp, Gmail, or Social reminders!
#20 Gym anniversary discount
This might not work for everyone but if your gym’s anniversary is near, offer new members attractive discounts and packages. This is a practical gym business recovery tip since it will attract new package subscriptions from existing customers. Something you might be doing before COVID-19 came around but still, it is an effective business recovery tactic.
#21 Start blogging
If you have been blogging for some time, this is the time to shift gears and blog more If not, it is the time to start one! Talk about fitness, COVID-19, beginner workouts, and hygiene to grow your followers. Ain’t got time to create content even during quarantine? Check out our content writing & marketing services!
#22 live online training
Reserve at least 30 minutes every day to conduct a free online training session. Use your YouTube channel, Facebook or Instagram to go live and train beginners during the lockdown and help them stay fit. There is a strong possibility that a lot of them will stay connected with you and consider your fitness center after the COVID-19 lockdown ends!
#23 Feature members on social media
Featuring your loyal customers in your social media and sharing their journey will help you strengthen the bond with them & motivate others. This will also inspire newbies to join your fitness club after Coronavirus restrictions are lifted. If you have been running a gym or fitness center for some time now, it is quite possible that you already have such stories. Reshare them!
#24 Host a Q&A session
There will be a lot of fitness and wellness-related doubts in the minds of people under lockdown due to the pandemic Coronavirus. Request your trainers and dietitians to come online and take questions. Be legit, share actionable insights, and try your best to connect at a personal level! This will improve your member count once the lockdown ends.
#25 Promote your new workouts
Personal trainers, this one for you. In the time of lockdown, it’s impossible to visit and train their clients. Use social media and YouTube to introduce exclusive workouts to current clients. Make it private so that they feel valued and remain connected with you post-COVID-19 too. This can be a crucial Coronavirus business recovery strategy for personal trainers!
#26 Negotiate refunds
Refund and package cancellation requests might be knocking at your door since everyone is cash-strapped. Use your interpersonal skills to handle each request individually and try your best to retain as many customers as possible. Customers who are very insistent on package cancellation and refunds should be obliged as well.
# 27 Hire micro influencers
There must be hundreds of local influencers in your network. Even if there aren’t, identifying them on Instagram and Tiktok isn’t hard. Collaborate with some of them to discuss how you can recover business as soon as the COVID-19 situation eases. Doing the groundwork during the lockdown is critical for the success of your Coronavirus business recovery plan!
COVID-19 pandemic will take time to go away and no one’s sure when things will become normal again. At these uncertain times, this gym business recovery guide will help gym and fitness entrepreneurs sustain their businesses during and after the pandemic.
Coronavirus business recovery plan – endnote
Fighting COVID-19 pandemic to keep your fitness, gym, and yoga business afloat requires proactive measures. While most of the COVID recovery tips, ideas, and hacks shared in this plan are DIY in nature, we are here to help you with you if you get stuck with something!
Contact us at hello@upreports.com and we will prepare a solid COVID-19 business recovery and growth strategy for your gym and fitness business. Feel like reading more about COVID business recovery? Check out our guides below!
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