Putting the WOW Factor in Your Business

With every passing day it seems like training businesses are starting to look more and more alike.

Not so many years ago bootcamps & group based training businesses were unique.

Now they’re everywhere.

A few years ago offering monthly payments instead of blocks of sessions was rare.

Now it’s common.

Not too long ago you could get leads by just running a Groupon…or more recently, a copied FB ad.

Now, to beat the competition you need to be different than the competition.

So with that in mind, here’s a path you could employ to start the process of differentiating yourself.

Creating WOW Points of Contact

Your prospects and your clients have a number of points of contact with you throughout your business relationship.

In our industry those contact points are probably similar (not always the same) from business to business.

One of the most obvious ways you can differentiate yourself from the competition is to take those individual contact points and find ways to make them a WOW Experience.

So how can you do that?

First, identify all the individual contact points that a person has with your business from the moment they become a client.

Here’s an example of what that might look like:

1. Visit your website or call your facility to learn more about what you do and see if it’s possibly a match for their needs and potentially schedule a consultation or initial session.
2. Receive a confirmation call or email prior to their visit.
3. Enter the facility for the first time for their consultation.
4. Engage in a discussion about their needs and goals.
5. Be taken through an assessment or screen.
6. Be presented with program options.
7. Make an initial purchase and become a client.
8. Visit for their first training session.
9. Participate in ongoing training sessions.
10. Do a follow up assessment.

Once you’ve developed your list of contact points, create a second list of what the common contact points are for competitors’ businesses.

After this is done, your job is clear: start adding the WOW Factor to your contact points to clearly differentiate you from the pack.

There are a couple of easy ways to do this…

Add New & Unique Contact Points.

If you can find new and unique contact points that will add value to your clients’ experiences, then these can be big WOW moments in their relationship with your business.

Here are a few examples:

• If no one else in your area takes individual clients on a grocery store tour, then you could take a field trip with them once they join to help them navigate grocery shopping successfully to achieve their goals.
• If you really were ambitious you could visit their house to do a ‘home fitness success audit’ when they become a client, you could clearly separate yourself from the crowd.
• You could give them a quick kitchen makeover and have the client give you an overview of their actual lifestyle so you could help them eliminate any obstacles they may face.
• You hold a ‘Welcome Party’ for your new clients each month.
• You make them the guests of honor and invite all of your other clients to attend to help make the newer clients feel like they’re part of your fitness family.

Add The WOW Factor to Existing Contact Points.

You’re already coming in contact with your prospects and clients regularly, as you’ve identified in your contact point list – so just choose one contact point and add a WOW Factor.

Here are a few examples:

• When someone schedules an appointment to come for a consultation or assessment you could send them a Save the Date Card in the mail with a map to your facility and any points they need to remember.
• Upon entering the facility the guest could be greeted warmly by name, handed a bottle of water and made to feel as ‘at home’ as possible.
• When someone becomes a client you could send them a Gift Bag with a T-Shirt, towel and water bottle to welcome them as a client.
• After a client has completed their first actual training session you could give them some small reward for taking a significant step toward reaching their goals.

The options are endless, and you may already be doing some or all of these things, but there are things you aren’t doing that you could be and probably should be doing that would WOW your clients and get them talking about you.

So go create some WOW Moments and creating a gap between yourself and the competition.

By Pat Rigsby