If you haven’t yet availed yourself of the boot camp marketing possibilities working with Groupon, then you need to get on the ball. Thousands of businesses (including fitness businesses) are already making a fortune marketing on Groupon, but some of the biggest moneymaking boot camp marketing campaigns we’ve done at Fit Body Boot Camp have been on Groupon as well.

When I say that these campaigns have been hugely successful I mean that we’ve been able to convert at least 30% of our Groupon buyers into ongoing clients who either paid in full or signed up for automatic debit.

There are 4 keys to success with a Groupon campaign:

• The deal.
• Your on-boarding procedure.
• The experience you give the client.
• Your conversion process.

Making the deal

First of all, the deal has to make sense for you and for the client. You don’t want to give away too much, because it undercuts the financial benefit of doing the Groupon deal. Also, people are more likely to take your offer seriously if it isn’t ridiculously low.

But your deal does have to make great sense to the buyer. People go to sites like Groupon because they want a great deal. That doesn’t mean they’re cheap or that they’re automatically going to split as soon as the deal is over. They just enjoy getting a great deal.

When we were setting up our 23-region Groupon deal, we set a few rules right off the bat.

We wanted a very low cost 15-day deal and a higher-priced (but better value) 30-day deal.

We did this because we knew that about 80% of Groupon buyers would take the 30-day deal which would give us the chance to do two very important things:

First, we could give the buyers a much better experience, get them better results and also build a better relationship with them……all of which would make closing much easier later on.

Second, we could offer to absorb the cost of their 30-day deal into an ongoing program, which would effectively give them their first month free. Remember, these people love a great deal.

By stacking the deals this way, it’s much easier to command and get the higher price than if we just ran the higher-priced deal.

The On-Boarding Procedure

Once people purchase their deal they are sent to a scheduling calendar with limited spots open each day so that they can schedule their orientation.

This way, you’re not going to get random walk ins, or a whole crowd of people coming in at one time and not only tying you up but throwing off the vibe in your boot camp.

Even if a few Groupon buyers bypass the online scheduling calendar and just walk into your boot camp, you can very politely ask them to go home, schedule their orientation online, and come back on a day that’s specially designated for them.

Delivering an awesome client experience.

All the Groupon purchases on the planet won’t help you if you don’t deliver an incredible client experience. Don’t waste one of the best opportunities to take your boot camp to the next level by dropping the ball once the client is in the door.

You need to wow these people from the minute they hit your door. Make sure you greet them warmly, get them situated and introduce them to other clients. Give them a small goodie bag with a water bottle, magnet or some other boot camp swag. Then kick their butts.
Make sure that you know what their goals are so that you can explain to them how what you’re doing, what they’re doing is the perfect way for them to reach those goals.

Talk to your Groupon customers. Listen to them. Ask about their day. Add even more value to their experience by giving them a free report you’ve produced or a nutrition plan that will help them burn the fat.

Dominating the conversion process.

Some time back, Butch Nieves did an awesome job of explaining how he converts Groupon clients. Check it out.

By dominating, I don’t mean bullying anyone into a contract or doing all of the talking during the process. I mean going into the conversion conversation confident and excited about helping them to change their bodies and their lives.

When you take that attitude, you will be amazed at how much higher your conversion rate is. Transmit your excitement on their behalf – it’s a powerfully motivating thing.

Start the conversation by telling their goals back to them and then stating all of the ways that they’ve moved toward those goals and remarking on all of their progress. Be real about it, don’t snow them or just offer empty compliments.

Then you need to show them how continuing to work with you will get them results A, B and C.

You want to be sure that you don’t fall into the trap of presenting your flagship program and then asking them if they want it. That’s a yes or no question and we don’t want yes or no questions when we’re trying to close.

Instead, present them with two options. Offer them a 12-month or an 18-month program. Offer them a good rate for paying in full or an even better one for auto debit, which usually gets you a better renewal rate at the end of its term.

If you follow these steps for doing killer boot camp marketing with Groupon, you will grow your business, probably much faster than you dare to expect.

This entry was posted on July 25, 2014 at 2:53 pm. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

Posted in Boot Camp Business, Boot Camp Marketing, Boot Camp Strategies, Fitness Marketing by Steve Hochman | No Comments Yet