What’s special about your business?
What is it that makes your members keep coming back and bringing you more revenue?
This is one of the most vital questions you need to ask yourself as a fitness business owner, and sometimes the answer can be harder to find than you think.
There’s a business term for this, and it’s called the Unique Selling Point.
What is a Unique Selling Point?
A Unique Selling Point is what differentiates you from your competitors.
If you’re a spin studio or boxing gym – what is it that makes you different from all the other locations in your area?
If you can’t find the answer to this, then you need to seriously reassess your business plan. In the modern fitness industry, it’s simply not enough to just provide a space for your members to work out. You need to be providing a far more comprehensive experience that sets you apart from the competition.
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How to Discover Your Unique Selling Point
There are a number of elements you need to investigate when looking at your Unique Selling Point, or USP.
All of these, however, tie into a concept called The Jobs to Be Done.
Jobs to be Done is a marketing concept which, at its core, focuses on what job your business does for your consumers.
Think of it this way; when a member walks into your studio or gym, are they looking to relax? Get a good workout? Make friends? Or something else?
A person might come to your Saturday morning class to get a boost of energy and feel good about themselves as they kick off their weekend. Or, they might be there to get some time to themselves away from home and work stress, sharing a moment with their friends in your fitness community.
Understanding the core job that your business performs for your customers is vital in discovering your unique selling point.
It’s not an easy thing to understand the job that your business does, sometimes it’s a completely different job for a variety of member types, but it’s vital that you understand it.
Finding your Jobs to be Done and your Unique Selling Point are essentially two sides of the same coin. People come to your business to get a job done that can only be done at your location.
But what makes your business unique? What is it that makes them keep coming back for more?
Here’s a full list of elements that your Unique Selling Point can consist of:
1. Your Business Type
Are you a yoga business? Or a spin studio? It’s usually quite easy to figure it out, but you need to dig a little deeper into what your business is providing to your members
Your members might just be coming to your business because you’re the only person offering that service or experience in the area. Great, right? It is, for now. Eventually, if you do well enough, someone is going to notice and set up a similar business type. Then, your business isn’t so unique.
Research your fitness business type, and see if there’s anything different that you can be doing to add an extra element to your offering. But, don’t lose what makes your business special in the process. Talk to your members, find out what they enjoy, and make sure you keep that as the core of your business.
But let’s say your business isn’t the only type of its kind in the town – what else could be attracting people to your location?
2. Your Price Point
Simply enough, if you’re cheaper than the competitors but offer the same services and experience, members are going to come to you. Take a look at your competitors and see where you lie in their price ranges. Sometimes, this can be extremely insightful as to why you’re attracting certain members and not others.
You may even find that you’re drastically undercharging your members, which could be a major benefit for you.
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Discover more However, a low price point isn’t the only attractor for members, sometimes it’s actually a higher price point.
Some demographics put a high price on their fitness and wellbeing, and also have the funds to back up that desire. By offering a high-end service, you need to make sure your price point reflects that service.
Here’s a prime example:
Grey Goose, the vodka brand, was in dire straits. Their sales numbers were at an all-time low, nobody liked their product, and they were at severe risk of bankruptcy.
Then, in a final effort to boost sales, they tripled their prices. This seems like a counterintuitive move, but it actually saved their company. They were pricing their product at a level that made it seem low quality and undesirable, even though it was a quality product. Then, when they bumped up their prices, people saw that what Grey Goose was selling had value.
Make sure you’re valuing yourself properly.
You may have the best gym service in the world, but if your prices are too low, people may think it’s a lower-quality product and choose another fitness service. Know your worth.
This brings us to the next element, which may be the most important aspect of your Unique Selling Point of all.
3. Your Ease of Use
You go to the website, and they say you have to book a class on their app, you download the app, it doesn’t work, you try calling them, nobody answers, and you never bother again.
This personally has happened to me on three occasions, and I’m sure it’s happened to you as well.
Some people choose a particular fitness activity because it’s easy to book, easy to stay engaged, and there are never any hoops to jump through.
Make sure that your booking and enrollment process is as easy as possible. If you have a keen potential member and they can’t get a hold of a rep or even download your app, then you have a serious problem.
Having a phone number on the bottom of a poster isn’t good enough anymore, and it certainly isn’t scalable.
You need an easily searchable website and an intuitive app that makes it easier than all your competition to book a class or session.
Don’t have your own app or booking software?
You’re in the right place
So let’s say you have an excellent price point, your business type is entirely unique and appealing, and your business is easy to sign up with. Now, you get the secret Unique Selling Point – the one that will bring you from a struggling single location to a thriving franchise: Community.
Why Community is the Ultimate Unique Selling Point
You cannot buy a community, and you cannot just force it: it only comes about when your members create it themselves.
Your job is to be the facilitator of the community, creating an experience and atmosphere that allows people to feel a sense of belonging, inclusion, and progression. Once that happens, you create an energy for your business that will propel you further than anything else.
Think about your own hobbies and activities – I’m sure that community is a part of 90% of those. It’s the people that make something special, you can only create the atmosphere that makes it happen.
How do you build a loyal community?
What is a Unique Selling Point?
Essentially, it’s what makes you different from your competitors, and what makes your business special.
Let’s recap quickly on what your Unique Selling Points may be:
- Your business type
- Your price point
- Your ease of use
- Your community
Naturally, there are plenty of other USPs, but these four are the main motivators of members joining (and staying) with a fitness business. These facilitate the jobs to be done, and they are the backbone of your business model.
If you’re a fitness business that needs that extra level of analysis to discover your own Unique Selling Point, you’re in the right place.
