M
arketing has
many facets.
Two of which
Planet Fitness
club owners rely
on are presales
and referrals.
by Kristen Perez
While there are a
variety of methods
one can use in both aspects, your fellow
franchisees are a great resource for
proven tactics to get the most out of your
efforts. Here we take a closer look at best
practices for executing successful presale
periods and generating referrals.
covered in PF-approved branding.“I
prefer to use the trailers because we can
get the added exposure of our brand
with the trailers being wrapped with our
logos and price point out in front of our
new location. The trailer is also selfcontained with bathrooms and offices
for construction use if necessary,”said
Bouchard.
Trailers are most effectively used
when set up roughly 60-90 days before
PRESALES
The exterior of a mobile presales unit
used by Planet Fitness NC.
The trailer is outfitted with Planet
Fitness decor to keep branding consistent from the start.
the grand opening, in front of the new
club’s property. However, when using
a mobile unit for presales, you need to
ensure that it is properly vetted with
all of the necessary local authorities
to operate out of for commercial
purposes.“A lot of presales have
been shut down before because
franchisees did not receive the
necessary permits or their
spaces did not meet the local
or ADA commercial requirements,” warns Dricker.
To help visibility of the
presale, have the main sign
of your new location installed
REFERRAL PROGRAM
Once your club has opened, referral
programs are an effective, low-cost
means to bring in additional clientele.
Referrals are also identified as one the
most valuable forms of marketing.
According to one study, more than 90
percent of people trust word-of-mouth
recommendations as opposed to the 10
percent of consumers who trust companies. Because referrals have self-selected
your services using a reliable criteria
— the recommendation of someone
they know — they also tend to be more
confident in their selection.
Continued on page 22
GearedUp | 2015 Issue 2
There are several components to
the presale process that can be done
to ensure a healthy club opening and
starting client base. Franchisees CJ
Bouchard of Planet Fitness NC and
Jessie Dricker of Burlington Fitness Inc.,
weighed in on what they believe to be
the most successful presa