Purple Cow and Likes for Epicenter Gym

Focus on “Sneezers”
Epicenter needs to do a better job of focusing on “sneezers” to get more word of mouth going. I’ve noticed they do similar things that other downtown gyms do where they’ll put signs up on the street advertising the latest deal, but they would do better to have their members do the work for them. Class instructors should focus on certain people in their classes (kickboxing, bicycling, yoga, etc.) and try to get them to spread the word about the class. Something simple like “liking” their profile on Facebook or commenting on a post would work for getting the class (and the gym) some quick word of mouth to that user’s friends. Personal trainers could also do this with some of their clients.

Focus on the niche
There are always new exercise techniques and classes that are popping up so Epicenter would do well to discover these fads early and capitalize on their momentum. They could take it a step further and create some of their own new workout programs too. For example, they have a rock climbing wall which is pretty unique, yet they barely promote or do anything with it. If they somehow incorporated this into a new workout program, they would have a significant competitive advantage over the other gyms that don’t have a wall and it would certainly create something unique that their gym members could talk about.

Utilize “likes” on Facebook
This was touched on earlier, but Epicenter should be active on their Facebook profile and get their members to “like” their page. They have an ad on their website where they ask you to “like” them on Facebook, but they only had 89 likes as of yesterday. Part of the issue is they don’t advertise this in the gym so unless a member happens to go to their website, it probably wouldn’t cross their mind. The other issue is there isn’t much activity on their page. Epicenter should encourage their personal trainers and exercise instructors to create their own pages and then they should “like” each other. As noted earlier, these employees can then suggest to their students and clients to “like” their pages and Epicenter’s. This would leverage social networking effects and could lead to member’s friends joining the gym.