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Tips for Fitness Businesses to Maximize Profit on Black Friday, Small Business Saturday, and Cyber Monday

By Denise Prichard

The fitness industry has—to put it bluntly—been through the wringer over the past few years. Your business has faced unprecedented challenges and, heading into the 2022 holiday season, you should feel proud to say you’ve come out the other side. After navigating a pandemic and continuing to steer through uncertain economic circumstances, you deserve good news (and a good chunk of change). Luckily, this year’s Black Friday, Small Business Saturday, and Cyber Monday are an opportunity for both. 

The three major shopping holidays take place on November 25, 26, and 28, respectively, giving you and your team a multi-day window to rake in some extra profit. And with the post-Thanksgiving shopping extravaganza fast approaching, now’s the time for your fitness business to nail down a sales and marketing strategy.  

Whether your studio hosts in-person classes and training sessions, helps clients reach their fitness goals through virtual offerings, or a mixture of the two, there’s plenty of opportunity to participate in Black Friday, Small Biz Saturday, and Cyber Monday. Think: exclusive specials on classes, memberships, and merchandise; limited-time perks (like free guest passes); unique holiday-themed classes and experiences; and more.  

Download our marketing budget and plan template to make holiday prep a breeze.      

Let’s dive deeper into a few of the ways you can take advantage of these holiday shopping days to give your business an end-of-year revenue boost.

Themed workout classes and events

Thanksgiving to New Year’s is a time to indulge and enjoy all the celebrations and treats of the season. But you can be sure that plenty of your clients won’t be throwing their wellness goals out the window. Make coming into your studio over the post-Thanksgiving weekend a no-brainer with themed classes or special experiences.  

For example, you might host a yoga flow class the morning of Black Friday specially focused on movements that can aid in digestion. Or, for Small Business Saturday, consider collaborating with a local café or juice shop for an event that promotes both of your businesses. Similarly, think about any events happening in your community that weekend: Are you based in a college town with a football game? Is there a fall festival or road race happening? Look for opportunities like these to connect and involve your business in local festivities to showcase how ingrained you are with the community.

Increase revenue through gift cards

Want to see a spike in gift card sales? Offer special promotions on these days to encourage clients to purchase gift cards for their friends and family. One simple way to do this is by incentivizing gift card sales with discounted rates—offer $100 gift cards for the price of $75. 

Another effective strategy: Throw in a little something extra for the purchaser. This adds value to the sales and can help gain new customers. For example, you might run a “Buy a $100 gift card for a friend and get a $25 gift card for free” promotion. Whether the buyer keeps the $25 gift card for themselves or gifts it to another friend, you’ll gain two customers from one transaction.  

For more gift card selling strategies, check out our guide: How to Sell Gift Cards Like a Pro.

Discount your merchandise and studio offerings

Everyone knows that Black Friday and Cyber Monday are all about the sales, sales, sales. Savvy shoppers wait weeks or even months to make purchases, buy gifts, and sometimes splurge a little on these days—so give them what they’ve been waiting for. Encourage clients to shop at your business by offering discounts on the items you sell in your studio’s retail space and potentially even class packs or memberships.  

You might choose to offer a 25% discount on your merchandise, which is significant enough to make buyers feel like they're getting an awesome deal but is reasonable enough for you as a business owner that it won’t negatively impact your profit margins. You could also consider tiered discounts based on how much your customers spend: 15% off $100, 20% off $150, and 25% off $200, for example. 

Another strategy? Take a look at your retail space and your inventory—do you have any overstocked items? Offer a bigger discount on them to help draw in revenue and free up space for any new inventory you have lined up for the new year. 

You can also apply similar strategies to class packages or memberships. Offer class pack discounts, such as buy four classes, get one free. Easily market these packages as a great gift option or a nice way to boost your clients’ wellness motivation during the holiday season. Finally, you might use Black Friday and Cyber Monday to promote long-term memberships, giving clients a nice discount if they commit to a six-month or year-long membership.  

Want to go the extra mile to promote your Black Friday weekend specials? Supercharge these deals by listing them in the Mindbody app.

Get noticed this holiday season with Promoted Intro Offers

An introductory offer is any kind of promotion given to new clients the first time they purchase a class at your fitness business. This encourages new clients to step foot in your studio and can provide value to current clients on the fence about trying a new type of class at your studio. One of the best ways to enable your clients and prospects to easily book classes at your business is by listing your studio on the Mindbody app and highlighting classes with Promoted Intro Offers. This will display your offers in the “Intro Deals” section of the Mindbody app home screen.  

Here’s how it works:  

Any new or existing pricing options that you sell online and mark as an introductory offer will be promoted and featured front and center on the app at the top of the screen. It’s free and easy to opt into Promoted Intro Offers and you’ll only pay if a client books a class at your business. The fees are performance-based, which means it will cost you nothing if it doesn't produce results.

Here’s how to get started:  

To start promoting your intro specials, be sure to opt into "Promoted Intro Offers" through the Marketing screen in your fitness software. For more information, see our Mindbody Promote support article.  

Get your customers excited to shop

No matter how you decide to participate in Black Friday, Small Business Saturday, and Cyber Monday, make sure your clients and members know what to expect. Get the word out that you'll be running specials with Marketing Suite—easily send out email campaigns and use two-way text messages to promote your holiday offerings or events.    

There’s plenty of opportunity waiting for your fitness business as the end of the year approaches. And with a little imagination and effort, you can get your slice of the holiday revenue pie. 

Get more tips to help you start prepping for the holiday season.

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About the author:

Denise Prichard

Manager, Marketing Content and Certified Yoga Instructor (RYT-200)

Mindbody

Denise Prichard is a certified yoga instructor (RYT-200) and an experienced content marketing professional with a penchant for writing compelling copy within the fitness, wellness, and beauty industries. When she isn't writing or editing, you can find her teaching yoga classes, pedaling her heart out at a spin class, or hanging out with her rescue pups. She currently serves as the marketing content manager for Mindbody.

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