A training business is one of the most rewarding types of businesses you can start. With the right strategy, resources, mentorship, and commitment, you can thrive in the online space.
You’ll be able to help people across the globe achieve their health goals from the comfort of your home. More than the money, your clients’ testimonials will be a true indicator of your success.
If you are in the fitness industry, this is probably your ultimate career goal. You are passionate about fitness. You have the certification. You’ve built an incredible career offline and thinking it’s time to launch your business online. Believe in yourself—the world needs your expertise.
Before you test the waters, here are four challenges that online training businesses face. It will help if you know the pitfalls in advance to step in the online space prepared.
Poor Marketing Strategy
Most online startups don’t fully understand how important it is to have a solid marketing plan. Without a reliable way to reach out to your target audience, it will be harder to get off the ground. A business can only thrive if it has clients, and online fitness business is no exception.
There are several strategies that you can implement to ensure you avoid this challenge.
Take a Marketing Course
As a small business owner, you wear lots of different hats—and this often includes the role of marketing manager. If you don’t have the resources right now to hire a marketing agency or an in-house marketer, there are free courses you can enroll in to get a better idea of how to promote yourself. If you don’t have time or resources for a complete course, you’d be surprised how much you can learn from blogs, newsletters, and video tutorials.
Use Social Media
Social media is a powerful marketing tool because the average person spends at least 2 hours online daily. Use your social media account to your advantage.
Social media platforms serve as a great way for you to get your name out to potential clients. Training videos and social media posts can go a long way in making sure you have a healthy stream of clients.
Make sure your online network knows the services you offer. Let all your posts end with a call to action.
Set Aside a Marketing Budget
Often people underestimate the cost of marketing products or services online. Other times it’s completely ignored.
But you shouldn’t.
Rather, try and do thorough research on marketing strategies and the accompanying cost. Set that budget aside from the onset.
Customer Support Challenges
Unlike when working face-to-face, in online fitness it becomes difficult to know if your clients are doing the workout routine right or if they are following the training regimen. Keeping tabs of clients’ progress becomes challenging if you have not set up the right system. You’ll end up losing clients.
Give Clear Instructions
Because you are not working with the client face-to-face, you must give explicit instructions about the workout routines and entries that the client must fill.
Reward Committed Clients
Come up with a way of rewarding clients that is consistent. You can give discounts, free branded items, or an additional package. Think of exciting challenges that can keep your clients on toes.
Invest in a Workout App
Another thing to ensure you’re up to speed with your clients’ progress is to invest in a workout app. Your clients can enter their daily workout, and you can access them in real-time and give feedback.
The Complacency Syndrome
The fitness industry is growing at a remarkable rate. It only makes sense that the personal trainers grow with it. However, most online personal trainers become complacent when their business takes off, which is a sure recipe for failure.
Take Courses
It is important to always keep up with your studies. There’s always something new you can learn. Take short courses online or enroll for more comprehensive long-term programs. Ensure you add value to your academics every year.
Research Emerging Trends
The best way to keep tabs of the emerging trends is to join a fitness association, attend networking events in the industry, and make Google your friend.
Do your clients a favor and base your training on the best practices.
Wrap Up
The online platform has provided us with diverse opportunities. The world is a global village. And as a fitness trainer, you can use this to your advantage.
Understand the online business dynamics and ensure you counter the above challenges with the best solution.
With this cheat sheet, you are one step ahead. You already know what isn’t working, and therefore you can establish a stable online fitness career by implementing the right strategy.
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