The Fitness Business Owner's New 'F' Word
Be honest with yourself. Looking back over the last few weeks and months in running your fitness business, as you were adding new masked client photos to your marketing or designing your new outdoor workout area, how many times did you use the term, 'It's Fine', to describe your finished product(s)? Last year, 'Fine' became the new 'F' word for fitness business owners. 2020 was definitely not a year known for exceeding expectations, but as a business owner, we cannot let that lead us into a state of mediocre or baseline services and experiences. Your mom would never approve of your using the 'F' word and neither will I.
The best brands in the world are built around the idea of going 'above and beyond' in meeting customer expectations in EVERY way, EVERY day, no matter what the heck is happening in the world around us. With many of us fighting to simply keep our doors open right now, this means that we have got to dig deep into getting creative with how to continue setting the bar.
I. When it is just 'Fine', you are not finished.
When you are running from fire to fire each day, it is easy to let this pressure lead you to making a rushed business decision. For the important decisions around your brand, marketing, and customer experience, make sure that you are taking an extra beat to ask yourself:
Is there any creative twist that I can use to upgrade this?
Would this FAR exceed my customer's expectations?
Are you truly proud of what you have created and excited and ?
Settle for nothing less than amazing!
II. Research, Strategize, Knock it Out of the Park
Take a moment to think through your clients current fears, challenges and passions. These have definitely changed in 2020. Use this information to build a strategy to connect with them in deeper, phenomenal ways. Then knock their socks off in the delivery.
III. Use ALL of your resources in new ways.
2020 has all of us making tight decisions on budgets and expenses, so get creative by reaching out to all of your contacts and connections and asking them for help. We have thrown any semblance of pride out the window this year and there is no shame in playing the 'phone a friend' card. Need some canopies for your outdoor workout area? Ask your clients if anyone has one that you can borrow from them. Feeling tapped out of creative insight, get your team together on Zoom for a 'wine and design' party to get the ideas flowing. Most of us have a client base that is stacked with professional resources including lawyers, software designers, decorators, and CEOs. This year, most folks are ready to assist in any way that they can. Do not hesitate to ask. Ubuntu for life!
