It’s very rare these days that you’ll scroll through any social media platform without seeing at least some type of health-related content. This could be a customized daily vitamin regimen or an easy-to-make nutritious smoothies that can be delivered right to your door. Health and wellness offerings , content, and issues are now a fixture of today’s popular culture. One of the main reasons for this is that millennials place a great deal of importance on maintaining a healthy lifestyle.
Not only is this a good sign for the collective health of future generations, but it’s also a great opportunity for health and fitness centers to gain new members by providing a service valued by today’s society. Especially when you consider that on average, over a third of millennials exercise two to three days per week for at least 30 minutes.
So where does direct mail come into play? As mentioned above, health and fitness advertising and content seems to be everywhere online these days. Unfortunately that means that we tend to become bored with it and tend to not notice it as much. This is exactly why direct mail is a good marketing channel to invest in right now. Instead of trying to compete in an oversaturated digital advertising landscape, you can reach your target customers through a different medium that is more memorable.
Here’s why direct mail is a great channel for advertising your gym or fitness center, especially if you’re targeting a millennial audience:
Millennials actually like receiving mail.
We’ve said it before, but we’ll continue to say it: Millennials value direct mail! And that’s why advertising via mail is a good idea for many businesses, including fitness studios and wellness centers. This is especially the case for local gyms and small boutique studios that might be missing out on opportunities to sell to Millennials if these businesses do not use mail. You will want to make sure that the message you create is targeted to the millennial audience you are wanting to reach. You will want to do this by being to-the-point and transparent about your offer.
Direct mail allows fitness businesses to capitalize on seasonality affordably.
Like many other industries, gyms and health centers experience seasonality. The most obvious seasonal spike? Right around the New Year also known as “resolution season”. Millennials are more likely to make resolutions that include improving their life and health compared to Gen Xers. If you use direct mail to reach your audience at the right time— like when they are actively thinking about their health and fitness—then you have a good chance of getting more people thru the door. Instead of competing with high CPMs for digital advertising during this time of year (after all, you won’t be the only fitness business trying to acquire new members!), direct mail guarantees that your message will reach its target audience at an affordable price point.
Tangible offers and exclusive promos work.
Direct mail is an effective channel for the fitness industry is because it lets people know about promotions that they can act on in person. For example, send a coupon to potential new members that they can turn in to receive a free 7-day trial. This provides value in two ways: 1) The mail piece itself becomes a memorable branding tool because it is associated with the positive connotation of saving money and the peace of mind that comes with trying before buying, and 2) It leads to an in-person conversion when someone visits your studio to start his or her trial. You should also compliment your direct mail efforts with a social media paid campaign that will target the same region and millennial demographics as your direct mail campaign. You should use similar imagery and messaging so you develop a brand voice with your audience that is cohesive. Getting repeat impressions across multiple channels helps to boost ad retention and is more likely to translate into more membership sales.
If you’d like to find out even more about how effective “direct mail” is for your real estate business, or if you have any additional questions about topics like graphic design or targeted mailing that you’d like to go over in a bit more detail, please don’t hesitate to contact us today.