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Marketing Tool for Personal Trainers and Studios
Receiving notice of a tax audit by the IRS is a nightmarish notion. As the daughter of an accountant though, I was raised to look at this differently. At the most fundamental level, an audit is a means of confirming that everything is in the right place and properly recorded. And, if it’s not, adjusting it. With this in mind, let’s visit the idea of an audit as a powerful tool.
What would it look like if someone came in and audited the marketing efforts for your personal training business? What if they evaluated this aspect of your business just as a tax auditor looks at your financial records and tax return? I suspect some of us are laughing at the thoroughness of this suggestion. It seems like such a serious proposition.
Is it, though?
Marketing confusion and client acquisition are top concerns with training professionals. Why isn’t checking our effectiveness a top priority as well? Here are my top three recommendations for your one page internal marketing plan and audit:
Three Simple Steps for Marketing Audit
1. Start with the end in mind. Take the time to write out WHY you are embarking on this marketing endeavor. Be as specific as possible. Do you want to obtain three new clients with an open house presentation? Do you want to increase your twitter following by 100 people? Do you want to acquire two compelling 30-second video testimonials to use on your website? Do you want five current clients to join you on a sponsored 5K run to encourage company loyalty and create great social media material? What do you want and why? Making the time for this step is potent and integral to ensuring success.
2. Decide and detail. Log your planning time commitment, execution time commitment, follow up time commitment, financial investment, tasks that must be completed and final ideal outcome that would qualify the effort as a success.
3. Follow up. Write out what worked, what didn’t, what you spent in terms of time and money, unexpected benefits, unexpected successes and a final grade. Evaluate what you were satisfied with and what you would do differently next time. Detail, follow up and audit everything strictly because of the commitment to the plan. Make it as simple as needed.
The importance of knowing what you want, detailing how you are going to get there and thoroughly following up are simple, powerful and integral to respecting your time and efforts.
