One of the coolest things I’ve seen in a while…I’m driving down the highway and I pass a bus who is on my right hand side sitting at a stoplight. All of a sudden my PDA asks me if I want to join the CPG Wireless Network. It happens to be the wireless network on that bus.

That bus was the employee transportation for a local ad agency here, Crispin Porter + Bogusky, who is a company that pushes the envelope on creative ideas. They don’t spend tons of money on big flashy things, they just do thing that get attention.

The point of this story is that one of your goals should be to keep your members in your gym as long as possible. The longer they’re there, the more they’ll partake in other activities you offer such as food, merchandise sales, member interaction, etc. One of the easiest ways to do that is to provide FREE WIRELESS ACCESS. If companies can offer it on a bus, you can surely offer it at your facility. 

These days, people are looking for hot spots to get a little work (or just email) done. Turn your location into more than just an in-and-out trip and help them stick around a little longer. You’ll have more time to learn their names too!

Never did I realize that something so small could make an impact so big. After leaving a fitness club today I realized that three of the employees had greeted me by my name while I was there. I felt so cool because they knew me but actually what they were doing was working on member retention. After speaking with the GM, she mentioned that every employee is responsible for calling employees by name every day. The result is alot of happy members who feel like the belong instead of just being another number. 

I then looked online for some research on the subject and found confirmation that calling someone by their name is the #1 way to make a personal connection with someone instantly. So for those of you who are trying to close the back door and keep your members, start by learning their names.

I am facing this same dilema as I kick off this blog to help small businesses really boost their business. With the keyboard at my mercy, I could provide long lists and paragraphs of how excellent I am and how much marketing experience I have and how it could help you and won’t it be great to work together. 

The truth is, we’re all trying to build a business and any bit of help we can get in doing that is priceless. 

I do have a marketing background (and degrees) that help me give good advice. But the best part is that I have owned and launched my own businesses so I know how hard it is to find a place to start. That’s why I’m here. I really want to see the privately owned, small business give the Fortune 500, national chain, big box business a run for its money (even if it is billions of dollars). I’ll help you do that.