3 Ways Fitness Studios Can Prepare for Father’s Day

Last year, the National Retail Federation estimated Father’s Day spending to hit about $15.3 billion in the United States, with the average American spending an average of $133 on dad. So, what does all of this mean for you? Well, if you're a local fitness studio owner—Father’s Day represents an opportunity for your gym to make a serious summer surplus.

In order to make this Father’s Day a monetary success at your studio, it’s all going to come down to your marketing efforts. You’ve got to showcase to your gym members and all their gift-searching loved ones that a workout at your studio is the perfect gift for dad.

Here are three Father’s Day ideas to help you turn your gym into the Father’s Day destination.  

1. Host a Father’s Day pop-up event

Any dad will say the perfect Father’s Day starts and ends with spending time with his loved ones. And what better way to spend Father’s Day than with some high-energy fun with dad that can include the whole family? Let’s say you own a boot camp or a HIIT studio, you could create a Father’s Day Challenge and have families compete against each other for some healthy (and fun!) competition. Hosting one of these events is a simple and effective marketing strategy for attracting new members and retaining existing customers. By having fitness software integrated with your gym, it’s easy to add holiday-themed classes to your schedule on the fly.

Want some more tips on how to host a pop-up event at your studio? Check out our checklist.

2. Create Father’s Day swag bags

As opposed to just marketing your services, holidays like Father’s Day present local fitness studio owners with the perfect opportunity to market any retail (and branded items) they may sell. Maybe you offer branded apparel, water bottles, or sweat towels—the days leading up to Father’s Day are the perfect time to push these overstocked items. Besides simply selling them individually, group some of these items together to create a swag bag. Imagine all the free marketing exposure you’ll get from dads all over town rocking your gym’s branded tee.

3. Push Father’s Day gift cards

When in doubt, gift cards are a surefire way to boost revenue, especially during holidays like Father’s Day. Not only do people love getting gift cards, but it’s also the perfect option for all those procrastinating last-minute shoppers out there. They’re equally attractive for gift givers who may not know exactly what to get but know what the person they’re buying for likes.

With that being said, push gift cards at your fitness studio during the days leading up to Father’s Day—they’ll be a big seller. Last year, the National Retail Federation reported $2.1 billion was spent for Father’s Day. With that much potential profit out there for gift card sales, it’s imperative you promote them at your gym.

Create some special ones specifically for Father’s Day. Make it clear that these aren’t generic, but instead, Father’s-Day specific. Make sure these gift cards are highly visible. Consider promoting them in your storefront window or at your front desk.

Want to offer custom printed gift cards all set to work with your MINDBODY fitness software at your business? Learn more.

Now it’s time to promote...

Now that you’ve fine-tuned your marketing efforts for dad’s big day, you only have one more thing to do—get the word out there! Some great advertising tools for you to use are:

• Email marketing: Get that one-on-one conversation going with your customers. Send your customer base an email letting them know that gift cards, swag bags, and special classes are available. Customers themselves might find the information useful, and if they’re delivered to dad directly, he can forward your email to all his gift givers as a hint.
• Social media: Popular social media sites such as Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram give your fitness studio the ability to engage with a large audience of potential new clients. Though slightly less personal than email, social media can help fitness studios cast an even wider net for driving more business.

Want to learn more about taking your business’ social media strategy to the next level? Check out our guide.