20 Tips for a Bulletproof Fitness Brand
I have this theory, and I like to call it the toilet paper effect.
I probably sound like I’ve lost it but stick with me.
How many times have you gone into a public space, and they’ve had the absolute worst toilet paper imaginable? That stuff that’s single ply, or even worse, those tiny little individual squares.
If you’re anything like me, you automatically thought of a few places. For me, it was my college and Walmart.
On the flip side, I know that at home we always make sure that we have the nice stuff, because we care about our bathroom experience.
But why are we talking about toilet paper?
Because I firmly believe that the toilet paper that your fitness facility chooses is a direct reflection of your quality and customer experience.
If you’re a budget gym, I expect lower quality toilet paper, but if you’re charging an arm and a leg for membership, I better have the best toilet paper around!
Your toilet paper is your brand.
Listen, I don’t know who needs to hear this but your logo is not enough.
I get it when you first started your fitness brand, you were so excited to have your very own logo put together.
You started sharing it on Instagram, you put it on some T-shirts, maybe even on a business card or two.
You started designing your brand.
But then you stopped.
At this point, I think there’s a pretty good chance that you’re thinking well of course I stopped, what else is there to do? And that’s why I’m here, because your brand is so much bigger than having a logo on a T-shirt or slapped onto a transformation photo on your Instagram feed.
Enter: the toilet paper effect.
As we mentioned before, the idea with this concept is that the toilet paper that your business chooses tells me more about your brand than your logo.
Whether it’s paper thin, those awful individual squares, or the most luscious experienced, you always recognize the quality.
Regardless of how trivial toilet paper selection may seen, perception is reality, so if you’re choosing cheap, thin toilet paper, that will directly impact how your brand is received. And that’s why doing an exercise like this is important four creating a bulletproof brand identity.
It’s time to start thinking of your brand as every single touch point that your client has with your business.
In order to create a brand that is known for something in your industry, every time your client thanks about your brand it needs to be consistent visually and in the messaging or perception.
So today, I want to take you through the first step that I take clients through when we first start working together, which is auditing their brands.
This is just a stepping off point as each brand has different points of interaction.
Bulletproof fitness brands
Here are 20 unconventional things to consider when up developing your bulletproof Fitness Brand
PS when I say audit, think about how you’re audience will be perceiving it but also how it compares or differentiates to your competition
Let’s get into it:
- Voicemail message – you need to make sure that regardless of if your clients talk to you in person or leaves a message, they have the same opinion of the interaction. What is the important information you can provide them on the phone – hours, services, FAQs?
- TV screens – So many fitness facilities are leveraging TV screens on locations, You can sell ad space, but you can also promote your brand and services
- Gym equipment – The type of equipment you have is important for your audience, are you working with Body Builders or Athletes? If you have the budget, you can even put your logo on your equipment for added points!
- Employee contracts – This is an internal asset, but it set the tone with your staff and contractors, you are a professional business and should be taken seriously
- Client on boarding – Provide how to, expectations, and a welcome promotion to your clients to get them excited about your business
- Sales documents – Similar to employee contracts, sales contracts for clients set the tone for your business
- Signage (put your weights away, sanitize after use..) – This is a huge category, but any in-studio signage should be consistent with one another. This could be simple signs that say take off your winter boots, or it could be your posters for protein smoothies, but make it clear they belong to your brand
- Interior design – This is something that many studios overlook. You can have a great space, but what makes it yours? Know your brand’s vibe and keep it consistent in studio. It could be your colour, the layout, or how you communicate workouts, but make it align with your overall brand identity
- Employee uniforms – To be perceived as a professional business, having all staff wear a uniform (usually an athletic top with black bottoms) will elevate your appearance. But beyond that, consider putting coach on the back for your instructors to reinforce your branding
- Retail displays and products – This is closely tied to your signage, but if you’re going to be retailing branded apparel or products, don’t make them look like a staff shirt. Design some really cool products that happen to be by your brand.
- Instagram highlighted stories – Your Instagram profile is your resume, and your highlighted stories are the fast facts you can show new followers. Keep the covers consistent and organized
- Welcome email – When people optin to your email list or join your gym, welcome them with an on-brand email that sets the tone
- Automatic follow up emails – Provide value for your clients that keep them engaged
- Email signature – when having personal interactions with your clients, use your email signature to prompt an action. For example, link to google reviews, or prompt them to ask you to ask about a free first workouts.
- Google maps images – While you don’t have full control of your images on Google, carefully select images that fall inline with your brand’s vision – Do body transformations? Show them!
- Ebooks & free optins – This is a huge category, but having a cohesive funnel for clients will keep them engaged and in a logical progression in your systems
- Sales pages – There are so many templates available for your Sale’s page, take inspiration but always remember to use images, graphics, and verbiage that reflects your brand and appeals to your clients
- Fitness app logo – If you’re using online training platforms like Trainerize, make the app look custom by uploading your Icon and setting the colours
- Favicon design – Small but mighty, the favicon is your small logo that shows up on your tabs in your internet browser.
- Invoice design – Have a professional template for any invoices that are on brand and organized
And because I had a few more in mind, here’s 3 BONUS Elements
- Program design documents – Chose you will be providing your services, are you sending an excel document, or do you have a custom template that you can enter your plan in to?
- Your title, are you a trainer or are you head coach? – Depending on your ideal client and branding, how you refer to yourself sets the tone for how you will interact with your clients.
- Certifications – Boost your credibility by completing certifications that will aid your ideal client
Every business, online or not, has their own unique touchpoints that need to be audited. This is not a complete list, take a walk through your facility, google your brand in incognito mode, and explore what your clients experience when interacting with your brand.
And remembers, if you are a high end luxury studio, you better not be cheaping out on your toilet paper.
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