Tara Massouleh
|
September 23, 2021
|
Marketing
category
minute read
September 23, 2021
There’s a reason storytelling has stood the test of time. Storytelling is the world’s oldest form of art—and remains mankind’s most effective way to communicate. If you want to capture and keep someone’s interest, tell them a story.
When told well, everyone can connect to a story on a personal or emotional level. Achieving both levels of connection is the ultimate goal.
So what does storytelling have to do with your health and fitness club?
An authentic, well-told brand story gives people a reason to choose your club over another. We all know that people respond to people. By telling people who you are, what you do, and why you do it, you can humanize your club. Once those human emotional connections are made, it’s easy to create loyal members who are excited to advocate for your club.
The end goal for all health and fitness clubs is to gain and retain members. Marketing plays a huge role in both, and a strong brand is one of the most powerful tools marketers have at their disposal. With a compelling brand story, you gain buy-in from members. Once they become long-term advocates of your club, they’ll naturally start referring others to your business and your member base will grow. On the Net Promoter Score scale, the goal is to make all members promoters rather than passives or detractors. According to a Nielson study, consumers are four times more likely to buy a product when referred by a friend. So encouraging and fostering a strong referral program at your club is hugely important.
A brand story can also be hugely impactful to a club’s internal health and success. A brand story can inspire the right type of employees to want to work at your club, which means you can hire and retain the best staff. It can also act as a North Star for your team to keep purpose and values aligned. With a shared brand story that every believes in, it’s easier for staff to stay motivated and working toward one common goal.
Brand stories carry a lot of responsibility—to portray who companies are, what’s important to them, and how they’ll deliver on a promise. Despite their gravity, brand stories are much easier to create than you might think. By asking the right questions, thinking deeply and critically your business, and following a basic structure, a brand story can take off.
The first step is to evaluate your business by asking the right questions and thinking critically about what the honest answers are to those questions. Here are some questions to ask:
Once you’ve answered those questions, you can start crafting your brand story by putting your findings into a loose structure. All stories follow the same structure, and this the structure you should use for your brand story. Readers will unconsciously recognize the familiar story pattern and have an easier time connecting to it. Start by setting the stage and introducing the people involved. Then, identify a central problem or conflict. The story is primarily about how this conflict or problem is solved and the journey of coming to a resolution, which is where your brand story ends.
As important as what you say in your brand story is how you say it. With the content and major plot points planned out, turn your attention to the voice or style you want to use to tell your story. A good story should be:
The final step to developing your brand story is to share it with the world. Telling your brand story requires an ongoing and multifaceted approach. Consider the following channels for sharing your story:
Don’t fall into the trap of associating your brand story with just the early stages of your club’s lifespan. Remember that new people are being introduced to your club every day, so it’s important to keep your brand story prominent in your marketing. A comprehensive club management software can be a great way to keep track of how your brand story is shared through websites, digital marketing, and more.
To see how Club Automation can help you create and share your brand story, schedule a demo.
Thi sis a
A rich text element can be used with static or dynamic content. For static content, just drop it into any page and begin editing. For dynamic content, add a rich text field to any collection and then connect a rich text element to that field in the settings panel. Voila!
Static and dynamic content editing. A rich text element can be used with static or dynamic content. For static content, just drop it into any page and begin editing. For dynamic content, add a rich text field to any collection and then connect a rich text element to that field in the settings panel. Voila!
A rich text element can be used with static or dynamic content. For static content, just drop it into any page and begin editing. For dynamic content, add a rich text field to any collection and then connect a rich text element to that field in the settings panel. Voila!
A rich text element can be used with static or dynamic content. For static content, just drop it into any page and begin editing. For dynamic content, add a rich text field to any collection and then connect a rich text element to that field in the settings panel. Voila!
A rich text element can be used with static or dynamic content. For static content, just drop it into any page and begin editing. For dynamic content, add a rich text field to any collection and then connect a rich text element to that field in the settings panel. Voila!
A rich text element can be used with static or dynamic content. For static content, just drop it into any page and begin editing. For dynamic content, add a rich text field to any collection and then connect a rich text element to that field in the settings panel. Voila!
Into any page and begin editing. For dynamic content, add a rich text field to any collection and then connect a rich text element to that field in the settings panel. Voila!