It’s not uncommon for new gym owners to prioritize opening the doors over spreading the word. Nic Casaula, manager and coach at Bodied Fitness Club in New York, NY, had a different idea. And the PushPress team was here for it.
With his sights set on opening in September 2023, Casaula launched a brand awareness campaign during the summer. He used PushPress Core and Grow for the marketing push, and it worked.
The brand new gym sold 26 six-month memberships and 64 one-week trials before the doors ever opened. The success has since continued and there are now more than 50 members that call Bodied Fitness Club their gym home.
Step One: Create Brand Awareness.
In July 2023, two months prior to the grand opening, Casaula set out to spread the word about his gym. He used PushPress Grow to email his list of 450 prospects.
Another fitness business in the area had just closed, and he knew that the group had just lost their gym home. He explained that he wanted to tactfully reach out and promise them a new home.
His first email was very straightforward. It simply touched base with prospects, and announced that Bodied Fitness Club was opening in September. It also introduced the gym’s owners and coaching staff.
Casaula then chose an appropriate follow-up cadence, sending another email in August and one more on the day the gym opened. He promoted a one-week trial for $49 and a discounted, six-month “founders rate” on membership.
His goal was brand awareness, and the automation in Grow made it easy for him to set up. Plus, he credits PushPress Landing Pages for making his sales easy. He could simply link to these pages in his communication, and prospects could immediately make a purchase.
Further, Casaula also began building the gym social media presence throughout the summer months. He mainly focused on Instagram and TikTok, which he said also contributed to building brand awareness in his local market.
Step 2: Add the Personal Touch with a PushPress Grow Website.
Although Casaula credits automation in PushPress Grow automations for helping him convert a majority of leads, the website chat widget has also been a game-changer. He believes that connecting with a real person immediately adds a personal touch.
“So much about selling health and wellness is about communication and acting when people come in off of their impulses,” said Casaula. “So being able to utilize Grow, and having those conversations pop up and being able to answer people in real time, is unbelievably helpful.”
He continued, “More touch points is better than less touch points, so I have automations set up. But I also want to make sure that you’re receiving a specific message from me, introducing myself.”
Step 3: Build Community with PushPress Train.
As a new gym, Bodied Fitness Club is working hard to find ways to build a strong gym community. According to Casaula, PushPress Train is one of the tools that has helped this effort immensely.
“The fact that people can keep track of their scores is such a huge thing,” he said. “Not from the stance that people are hungry to keep track of how much weight they have lifted. But it allows them to feel like they’re embedded in the community.”
He noted that it’s more about accountability to the other members of the gym family.
“When they put their scores in, they start to see the other people in class. And then if they don’t show up for 7:15 the next day, their name isn’t going to be on there. So it has helped create that community in a way that I wouldn’t have been able to without having the resources that PushPress has to offer.”
Step 4: Expand into Nutrition and Personal Training.
Now that the gym has been up and running for a couple months, the next step for Bodied Fitness Club is to roll out personal training and nutrition coaching options. Casaula and his team of 11 coaches plan to manage these programs with the Appointments feature in PushPress Core.
“Being able to set up the plans where they get a certain number of appointments and they’re able to book through the system on their own is going to be very helpful,” said Casaula. He plans to use Grow to send out emails and texts to let members know about the new services.
Further, he explained that Landing Pages are perfect for linking from social media posts. It allows him to share available times and options for various programs.
“We can put the link to sign up and purchase a session, and everything gets handled without us having to physically be there,” he said. “It allows us to generate more business, faster.”
In Summary: Taking the Right Steps to Success.
Bodied Fitness Club is taking all the right steps to succeed in the fitness industry. With a unique approach to brand awareness before the doors were even open, Casaula is proving he’s on his way.
He’s also using the PushPress tools that will help him with everything from generating leads to connecting his community. And he noted that he appreciates the customer service he’s received along the way.
“My first call with PushPress was in the middle of June,” Casaula recalls. And by September 5th, we had a fully-developed app with programming put in, and a fully developed website. That is very quick.”
He noted that his PushPress mentor, Greg Buck, has been particularly valuable. He said it’s not uncommon for Buck to send him a Loom video at 4:00am when Casaula has had questions, or needed clarification.
“Greg has been absolutely instrumental in helping us achieve the goals we have set out,” he said. “If I didn’t have someone to guide me through it, it wouldn’t be possible.”
And for now, Casaula is proving that if he can dream it, it’s possible.
