How to win over studio-shy members with compelling marketing and cutting-edge programming

What’s your background?

Mel Tempest (MT): I opened my first club nearly 21 years ago, but I fell into the fitness industry by accident! I had 18 months experience as a circuit Instructor and wanted to get trained in BODYJAM™. My Group Fitness Manager said: “Whilst I'm the GFM, you'll never teach BODYJAM.” So I went home and told my husband I wanted to open a gym. I had no idea what I was doing, but I opened a gym in a church hall that was around 450m². The aerobics room was 100m² and we taught lots of Les Mills programs there successfully. About four years in, we moved into the building we're in now, which is 1600m² – so just a bit bigger! And then 5 years ago, I became a franchisee of the Genesis club chain.

How would you describe the culture at Genesis Ballarat?

MT: We’re very inclusive. I came from a culture where the less you wore on stage, the more popular you were, When we opened, we found the community was crying out for a non-intimidating place to work out, where it didn't matter what they wore. That's a culture and community we've created and fostered over the last 21 years, and we're big advocates for the LGBTQIA+ community. Our club is for everybody, irrespective of age, shape, or sexual orientation. Everybody has the right to be fit and healthy. And we've accepted over the years that people might come to us as the first place to get healthy, and then they might move on. That's okay with us, because we were part of the journey. And it's not uncommon for people to go full circle and come back!

Tell us about your group training offering?

MT: We offer over 55 classes a week, which is a large group fitness timetable for the community we're in. We also provide Virtual on-demand classes, which we offer in our cycle studio and group fitness room when they’re not hosting live classes. We also have a large functional training zone. Our club’s core programming is Les Mills, and over the years we’ve supported that with other programming, because one of the things that was a non-negotiable for me is that we would always have a niche in our club. We would always be different to other offerings in the community.

Roughly what percentage of traffic in your facility comes from group training?

MT: It's 50/50. Before strength training became the latest thing to do, I’d say it was 60% of members coming for group fitness and 40% for the gym floor. As many facilities are finding, we've got this whole new member coming in who’s purely joining for the weights. But that’s overall visits. In our group fitness room, we're 95% female and it’s about 80% female in the cycle studio, but in our functional training room we’re 50/50. Since launching LES MILLS STRENGTH DEVELOPMENT™ we’re pulling in a lot more men. They won’t normally do BODYPUMP or other barbell classes, but they’re flocking into the studio to do STRENGTH DEVELOPMENT. It's fascinating to observe.

What’s driving that shift?

MT: I think the way you market group fitness to men has to be different; you have to break down their preconceived ideas. We were explicit about how STRENGTH DEVELOPMENT differs to other group training classes, breaking it down in our social media ads. We explained that it’s off-the-beat training and keeping time doesn’t matter – just come, put some weights on your barbell and we'll coach you through the rest. And that’s really helped break down barriers and get more members into group fitness.

You also successfully launched LES MILLS SHAPES™. Tell us why you chose the program and how you implemented it?

MT: I’m always on the lookout for hot new programs and I was sure there would be an instant attraction to SHAPES for some of our members. I already knew that Gen Z were going to come because I said to my younger members: “Hey, there's a booty band.” The moment you mention booty band, they're in! So I wanted to build on that to attract new members. We did some social media ads explaining that SHAPES was a great program for all ages, all shapes and sizes. And like we did with STRENGTH DEVELOPMENT, we were explicit about how the program worked, reassuring prospects that you don’t need coordination as it’s off the beat. Any time you mention not needing any coordination, you open your doors to a whole new member base, and that clarity was how we were able to generate new members through the program.

How did you use your top Instructors to support your social campaign?

MT: We know how much members value and connect with Instructors, so we used them as our hook. We used images of our three upskilled Instructors in our marketing materials because our members love to follow their favorite Instructors. We took a broad approach to who we targeted for upskilling, training Instructors across multiple age ranges to appeal to the widest demographic possible. We supported our social activity with the SHAPES assets from Les Mills Marketing Studio, handing out the brochures in-club. For the launch class, we made sure to capture video footage, and then asked members for testimonials. Then we shared our content on social media to show our community that the program was for everyone.

How have you been using SHAPES since launch?

MT: Recently, we ran a six-week challenge, incorporating LES MILLS SPRINT™, SHAPES AND STRENGTH DEVELOPMENT, alongside a wellness program. Our members had to attend SHAPES, STRENGTH DEVELOPMENT, SPRINT and our wellness program for six weeks. We charged $99 to enter the challenge, but everyone who signed up got a backpack, a towel, and a water bottle, as well as all the classes. Everyone who took part for the duration then went into a draw to win AU$2,000. And straight away, all the members I’d spoken to who were unsure about joining SHAPES and STRENGTH DEVELOPMENT or SPRINT were in! So we met those objections by creating a challenge with a financial reward at the end – and that automatically created an incentive. But the best outcome is that all of my Instructors across those four classes are telling me that the people who entered the challenge, who hadn't done those classes before, are now doing the classes on a regular basis.

How are you timetabling SHAPES now?

MT: When we launched, we wanted to support our early slots, and target the market that we know regularly train from 8.45am to 9.30am. And we also found it to be a great fit on Sunday mornings. We ran it really successfully on Friday and Tuesday nights as well. At our facility, we know everybody can make the 6.15pm slot, it just gives that extra time for people to finish their days, because not everybody can make the 5.30pm slot. So it’s a dual-purpose program, because we’re using it as a challenge to encourage new members to try it, and then we’re also running it as a timetable staple for those who come to love it.

When we were timetabling STRENGTH DEVELOPMENT, we knew it would work after BODYCOMBAT™ AND LES MILLS SPRINT™. We timetabled it at 6.15pm because we knew the Combaters and Sprinters would go into a weight class right after. We also knew that barbell classes worked at 5.30PM, so we put STRENGTH DEVELOPMENT in there as well. It’s all about paying attention to your members and timetabling for their habits.

Back-to-back BODYCOMBAT and STRENGTH DEVELOPMENT is quite a commitment!

MT: I know, but so many of our members are here for the community. Sure, they do the work – but a lot of them come to the gym because it’s the best part of their day. Maybe they’re unhappy at work, or aren’t ready to go home yet. So they come to the club because it’s a safe space and their club friends don't judge them.

What has the Instructor journey been like for SHAPES?

MT: It was an easy win for me to ask our Reformer Pilates Instructor to upskill. She’s just so good at what she does, and I knew there would be a crossover with SHAPES and Reformer. When I asked her, she was initially unsure, because she hadn’t taught Les Mills before. It’s the same education piece for Instructors as it is for nervous members sometimes. Once she knew she didn’t have to work on beat, she was there. Our members love her. I also targeted two of our longstanding Les Mills Instructors, because I felt they would benefit from something new and SHAPES has invigorated them. They love teaching the new program and it’s given them renewed passion for their Signature Les Mills classes.

Our male Instructor who trained in STRENGTH DEVELOPMENT has been unlocking the studio for males. He’s created his own following because of his age and gender. It doesn't matter whether it's SPRINT or STRENGTH DEVELOPMENT, they’ll follow him and he fills the room.

Have you got any insights you can share with fellow operators?

MT: I would love to sit down with clubs that have Les Mills programs but are unsure about SHAPES or STRENGTH DEVELOPMENT and give them a whole list of things they could be doing with the programming – there’s so much potential! I've got nearly 3,000 members and as soon as I saw the programs, I just knew that if I did my job properly as a club owner, I could make it successful. And more club owners need to think outside the box. One of the best things a club owner can do is use Marketing Studio. Get on there and look at all the marketing Les Mills gives you as a licensee – there are so many awesome resources and tools available. There are loads of great ideas you could try, or you can tone it down and use imagery of your own talent with ‘Choose Happy’ assets as a really positive and inclusive platform for your marketing.

What’s your advice for experimenting and trying something new?

MT: When it comes to programming, don't be afraid to try something new. What's the worst-case scenario? It doesn’t work and you take it off the timetable. We've all done that once or twice before with a program. If you want to test something out, and you’re a little bit nervous, test it out on your Christmas timetable. Because you can do whatever you want on your Christmas timetable when it’s quiet. Have a play around with what you want to trial, line new things up back-to-back and then get feedback. And that will help you determine what you do on your permanent timetable. People will come because you're doing something different and they want to be part of it. And don't be afraid to have an Autumn timetable, a Spring timetable and a Winter timetable, because small changes make the difference. If you've got a program that's not going well on your Autumn timetable, never mind, it's winter now. That class drops off and you put something else in.

What’s next for Genesis Ballarat?

MT: In this part of the world, we're starting to go into Winter, so people's habits change in terms of what classes they can make. We’ll launch our winter timetable and we might not have as many 7am classes, but we’ll definitely keep our 4:45pm classes because people will come into those more. I’m also looking forward to seeing what’s coming next from the Limited Edition Collection. And we’re really excited to celebrate our big 21st birthday in September. We’ve got lots planned and we'll do more teaser classes, including BODYPUMP, SHAPES and BODYCOMBAT – it’s just another great way of getting people into the room.