Get Your Fitness Business Ready for the Holidays

Whether you’re getting your first frost warnings or temps have dropped from 100 degrees to a balmy 95 where you live, summer is just about over.

That means that, at your fitness business, it’s time to plan for the holidays and the ensuing New Year’s rush.

The more you do to get ready between now and November, the less you’ll have to worry about at the last minute. This is the time to start getting organized, planning your promotions, taking care of your inventory and scheduling, and remembering to stock gift cards.

So pour yourself a pumpkin spice latte and let’s walk through the steps you need to take to be ready for the 2019 holiday season.

1. Keep Your Calendar Organized

Create a well-thought-out, organized holiday calendar. Here’s a helpful holiday calendar example.

Include the following information:

• Beginning and ending dates for promotions
  • Add reminders to send out marketing emails and texts to support those promotions.
• Prompts for stocking your holiday inventory
  • Add reminders to stock gift cards and any special holiday retail items you may want to sell.
• Staff time off
  • Talk to your staff early about when they may want or need time off around the holidays so you don’t get surprised at crunchtime.

You also can include reminders to decorate, any days you may be closed, and the date of your staff holiday party if you plan to hold one.

2. Plan Your Holiday Promotions Early

September is the time to start promoting holiday specials—shoppers love to get a jump on holiday gift buying. It’s crucial to have your specials planned out as early as possible.

Set up your promotions within your fitness management software by creating a holiday-themed email campaign that notifies your clients of any specials you’re running during the season.

Create a plan to help promote these specials on your website, on your social media pages and in your fitness studio to make sure all your clients are aware of them.

3. Address Your Inventory Needs

Merchandise can be a great source of additional revenue for your fitness business—especially during the holidays.

Since the season tends to sneak up on us, address your inventory needs now. On top of that, the new year is right around the corner. That means resolution season and a lot of shoppers in the market for new yoga mats, water bottles and workout gear.

4. Remember Gift Cards

Sixty percent of consumers have said they’d prefer to receive a gift card as a holiday gift over any other item, making it the most requested item for more than a decade now, according to the National Retail Federation’s holiday survey.

Make sure that you have more than enough gift cards on hand and that your staff is well-versed in selling these items to make the purchasing process flawless for your clients and your staff.

———

As any good parent (or conniving Grinch) can tell you, planning ahead for the holidays is the best way to ensure a little calm during that most hectic season. After all, riding high on a successful holiday season for your business will be the best way to start the new year.