I’m going to be honest. “Same-boat marketing” is not a real term. I made it up. But even though you won’t see it bolded in any marketing textbooks, same-boat marketing is a technique all fitness clubs should use while the economy is in recession.
National Public Radio’s Morning Edition did a segment about marketing strategies in a recession. It highlighted companies that are focusing on building connections and bonds with consumers to boost sales. Most interesting was Hyundai, a savvy (and struggling) automaker that has thrown itself into the same boat as consumers with an innovative new program.
Hyundai Assurance allows consumers to finance or lease a new car with a simple promise: If consumers lose their income in the next year, they can return the car. No fees, no debt, no guilt. “We’re all in this together,” Hyundai’s ad says. “And we’ll all get through this together.”
It’s a great idea, and fitness facilities would do well to devise their own assurance programs. Let consumers buy a one-year membership at full price with the assurance that they can immediately cancel their membership without penalty if they lose their job within that year.
Buying anything is a risk in this economy, so share that risk with your consumers. Get in their boat and earn their trust. In the long run, you’ll earn their loyalty, too.
1 comment:
Hi Heather,
You raise a great point. Consumers are more risk averse in tough economic times and businesses that are prepared to assume some, or all of, the risk of transacting with them can really stand out from the pack.
The example you have pointed to with Hyundai is an interesting one.
I’m not sure it translates into a workable strategy for our industry however. Many businesses now offer month-to-month contracts which, ostensibly, serve the same purpose of limiting financial exposure.
I think we need to look at risk more broadly (not just the risk of job loss). There are ways to reduce risk without reducing price. In fact there are ways to reduce risk and increase price.
For example, an overweight customer who walks into a typical health club is concerned that the staff will not have the expertise to help them with their weight loss aspirations.
If they see that the health club has a dedicated weight loss program with cognitive behavioural therapy, social support, nutritional counseling in addition to exercise the risk of them dealing with such a business is greatly reduced.
And they will most likely pay more for the more comprehensive treatment which offers a greater likelihood of a successful outcome.
Risk often is not a price issue at all. I discussed this a little more completely on my own blog recently in a post called ‘De-risk’. http://accessfit.typepad.com/access_fit/2009/01/de-risk.html
I hope you and you readers check it out.
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