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How To Run An Effective Direct Mail Campaign

by Compiled by GymLink.Biz (Fitness Business)

Direct Mail Campaigns How to perform an effective direct mail (DM) campaign!

Direct marketing is not new to the health & fitness industry, but many club marketers don’t really get the results they hoped for. Like any other form of marketing, direct mail has its place, but campaigns need to be executed properly in order for you to achieve the best return possible.

“The commitment that you’re looking for from a potential member goes well beyond the financial: it also requires dedication, will power and continuous hard work on their part. You’re selling something personal, a service designed to create a work ethic in the person purchasing it, so your marketing has to be educational, compelling, and inspiring enough to make someone want to work up a sweat,” says Patrick Kell, the owner of Susan K Bailey Advertising.

When considering a direct mail campaign the most important elements to consider are the target audience, the offer, the cost, and measuring the response. Marketing should not be a spontaneous act that results from someone coming up with an idea out of the blue, you need to plan your marketing carefully and measure the returns. Too many owners and club marketers keep doing the same old marketing or lack of it, not really knowing what works and what doesn’t. The only way to really find out what works well for your business is to test and measure.

Here are 4 simple questions you need to ask in planning a DM campaign!

1.Who are you talking to?
92% of the population don’t work out so you don’t want to be gearing your message to those that are already fit. In most cases you’ll probably be marketing to the de-conditioned 35 + segment as they make up the biggest untapped segment these days. Most of your members will come from within 10- 15 minutes or less drive time, so make sure you know what areas of your market this constitutes.

2.What is your offer?
A direct mail piece typically needs to answer 5 key questions for the prospect

  • What is the benefit?
  • What is in it for me?
  • Do other people like myself buy this product?
  • Do I belong here?
  • What do you (the club) want me to do?

    By including clear answers the above questions on your mailing piece you’ll make the phone ring and see traffic build through your doors, then the rest is up to the membership consultants (sales people).

    You need to have a focused offer, big bold contact information, and a call to action, with an end-date deadline to stress the urgency of responding promptly. Include some educational information about your programming or equipment, but don’t push the features too much as they already know you’re a fitness club, and most fitness clubs have treadmills these days! Also avoid using innuendo and hard body or body beautiful visuals, they’ll mostly turn people off these days.

    3. What will it cost & what return can I expect?
    The best way to evaluate the cost/return on any direct mail campaign is in terms of ROI (Return on Investment). Because there is no magical marketing formula, you need to look at how many sales (memberships that need to be sold) to break even. If you can break even with only a few sales, the rest of the sales that result are pure profit. If you were to spend $3000.00 and return $6000.00 in new membership sales would you be happy with that return- of course you would. Imagine a bank giving to 100% return on your money!

    You are not going to generate huge returns from a single marketing campaign, that’s why you have to continually execute your campaigns throughout the year. The Gymlink Advantage Plus Listing is one marketing medium that is low in cost and high in return in comparison to most marketing mediums, but you always need to have several lead generation strategies in place at all times.

    4.How can you measure the success of your campaign?
    Unless you are willing to track results, you won’t learn anything from a direct mail campaign. You wont discover which offer was most appealing, what language was most compelling, or even what sort of return you’ve earned your investment.

    With most marketing you need to have the support of your staff, but as an owner or manager it should be in your best interests to make sure you do. Knowing the numbers tells you what works, what doesn’t and most importantly why!

    Simply by maintaining a log at the front desk or near the phone, you can track your walk-ins and callers to a specific marketing & advertising campaign. Train your staff to ask, “ How did you find out about us?”, and make sure they write it in the log!

    Whilst most small businesses in the health & fitness industry don’t have large marketing budgets, there are things you can do to ensure that the people you are targeting will hear your message. The most important thing is that you learn a valuable lesson from each marketing campaign you do!

    Buy Lead Boxes for your business now

    If you need help with executing your marketing campaigns, setting up sales & tracking systems or sales training for your staff you can locate a solution in the Industry Suppliers Directory at www.gymlink.biz



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