Kingfisher Health Club sign up 642 new members in seven weeks

IF YOU want an example of a club that is well managed, here it is.

Having acquired Kingfisher Health Club in December 2021, Raymond Harrod and his team operate a tight ship and run various in-house marketing and sales promotions all year round.

They have turned around a struggling business into the life and soul of the community in under 14 months, increasing membership numbers by 33 per cent and member attendance by 95 per cent.

In February this year they decided to take a different approach to compliment everything they have done in the past 14 months and employed a new marketing strategy to target the ‘untapped’ local market. The results of the campaign were exceptional, with 362 new members signing up on the ‘health awareness’ offer and an additional 280 signing up on the club’s standard rates. The campaign was managed by Creative Fitness Marketing who specialise in marketing and sales for gyms and health clubs.

Jonny Packard said: “With health being at the forefront of people’s minds after the pandemic, now is a great time for those in the fitness industry to promote themselves.

“The key is to know your market and to target them with the right message. This is what we live and breathe at CFM.”

In addition to getting your messaging right, the frequency also needs to be considered. It can take some prospects up to five exposures to a message to act. Plus, if you can incorporate an element of social proof into your advertising, then this can help that nervous prospect to take the first step.

On working with CFM, Raymond added: “I was very nervous a couple of weeks leading up to it as naturally you have some doubts.

“My reservations were the initial discount, especially as we’re all trying to increase prices on memberships due to inflation and increase in energy costs. However, I also knew this was about quantity and the advertising was very targeted, so it all worked out fantastically.

“I knew CFM were going to spend a good amount of money on marketing that we wouldn’t have done on our own.

“I was especially impressed with the open day, which sold 48 new memberships. We had Chris and Mike (from CFM) working at the club and they were very much part of the team.

“For any doubts I had with current members being unhappy, we had a plan in place. We had two or three who queried the campaign, but there were no issues with it, and everyone is happy. I would absolutely recommend CFM.”

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