When it comes to marketing, a one-size-fits-all approach is sure to feel bland and irrelevant to much of your target audience, but where can you start making changes?

There are several important factors to consider as you develop a marketing plan, but the key to success lies with three things: collecting data, knowing what consumers want, and crafting a message that speaks directly to them.

The following is a summarization of an education session from the 2015 IHRSA Convention, produced with full permission from IHRSA. The full-length video is available for purchase at ihrsastore.com.

About the Speaker

Justin Tamsett is the Managing Director of Active Management. He is a well-recognized international speaker and presenter and the Director of The Fitness Business Podcast.

Gain the Advantage with Segment Marketing

Do you know your customer in relation to your customer relationship management (CRM) software? Get the most out of your data by creating an in-depth description of your target customer that includes their likes, dislikes, strengths, weaknesses, age, gender, geography, level of education, and favorite activities.

Adding details to client profiles will help you stay organized while planning a personalized marketing approach. Define client profiles by their attitude to fitness or add other prominent features that will distinguish them. Visual cues can also be useful, such as a photographic profile or a stock image of a person of the same gender and age for each client category.

Change guesswork to reliable factual data reflecting your members. Interview members to test your assumptions for accuracy. You cannot exceed the member and prospect expectations unless you understand who they are, with data that goes beyond the very basics of age and gender.

Consider the Status of Your Members: Deniers vs. Brand Fanatics

Deniers usually engage with businesses that serve their values, such as aesthetics, quality, and sustainability. Brand fanatics, on the other hand, are loud and proud about what they like, engage in guilt-free consumption and are staunchly devoted to brands. Both are comfortable with speaking their minds about brands.

Should you try to convert deniers or expend greater effort with fanatics? True success demands a bit of both. Both types value the betterment of their communities. Win them over by connecting at a local level and showing your care about their communities. Consumers will spend more if you offer products that are customer-centric and have a one-on-one human touch.

Know What Your Customers Want

Customers are concerned primarily with their personal or family wants and needs. Incorporate this reality to provide better services, which address these needs.

Build trust with your customers. Their earned trust generates the information required to provide a seamless, comprehensive, and personalized service.

Consider the impact of local engagement. People always feel a love and pull toward their communities. Give back to the community with purposefulness. For example, organize charity events or discounted services with proceeds directed to helping the community.

Zero tolerance for waiting has resulted from the instantaneous nature of technology. If members are required to wait for services, find a way to fill the time or kill the program entirely. Use apps geared toward fitness to distract members while they wait.

Consumers have technology and information lust. They always want the newest fitness apps, wearables, and have a strong interest in health and fitness information. Find the sweet spot that exists between providing information and technology, while not negatively impacting the environment and community.

Connecting and sharing is a part of the digital world. Make it easy to share information on your club experience. Open social media as a platform for members to share their experiences and meet similar people from your facility. Connecting members to each other forms a sense of community, which will enhance loyalty and increase retention.

As you revamp your marketing approach, incorporate thoughtful data collection and then put it to good use. By creating an engaging, personalized experience, your marketing efforts should be much more successful at winning both deniers and brand fanatics.