4 Reasons Why Your Fitness Center Could Benefit From a Snack Bar
Good exercise is hungry work. Fitness centers that provide a snack bar can significantly increase their revenue by selling tasty ways to hydrate and re-energize. While incorporating food production into your business model adds a new maintenance checklist, don’t let this discourage you! The ambient and monetary rewards of the snack bar will strongly outweigh the effort it takes to keep it running. Even if your fitness center snack bar only consists of a fridge and a blender, you may be surprised at how much business picks up when you offer more than a vending machine for your calorie-craving customers.
Providing Healthy Calories
The role of a fitness center is not just to provide a place for people to work up a sweat, it’s the home of an entire local fitness community. Your fitness center benefits when members and staff support each other in their health and fitness goals. Unfortunately, it’s all too tempting to work out hard and then grab a big greasy burger to replenish the calories. A simple fitness center snack bar with smoothies and lean protein-rich sandwiches can encourage your members and visiting first-timers to stick around and eat something that will help build strong muscles and drop unnecessary fat. Your snack bar can provide the same kind of moral support friends and trainers do by offering an alternative to that fast-food place across the street when members are hungry for protein and minerals.
Members at the Snack Bar
Your members are the lifeblood of your fitness center. They come and go every day, pay their dues and often purchase little extras to enhance their fitness experience. If you’re selling towels and personal trainer hours like hot-cakes, why not also sell smoothies and healthy sandwiches as well? A relaxed seating area creates a space to rest between intense work-outs and quietly talk with friends. When able to fully relax after their first session, members will stay for a second and even third session on weekends because they can rest and refuel.
Walk-In Business
Walk-ins are great for business. Not only do they sell additional food units, your reputation will grow through word-of-mouth. By framing your snack bar in a large front window, you can freely advertise to passers-by, and outdoor cafe-style seating is even more effective. When the service is great, people will tell their friends about the amazing little snack bar in the fitness center. If you are located near offices, you may find that your fitness center snack bar fills up at lunchtime with hungry health-conscious professionals.
Member Conversions
Members will always be a gradual source of new members, as they recommend their fitness center to friends, family, and co-workers. For every five people a member recommends, perhaps only two will visit the center and consider membership. A welcoming snack bar is a great way to increase that recommendation-to-membership conversion rate. It’s easier for your members to lure friends to the center with the promise of a tasty lunch and once there enjoying the ambiance, their chances of joining skyrocket. The same conversion effect works for walk-in customers as well, your center is already conveniently located and appealing to them. Why not become a member to take advantage of more great services you provide?
Get a Fitness Center Snack Bar Today!
Snack bars are cozy, welcoming, and re-energizing for members and walk-ins alike. For the price of some nicely decorated floor space and two employees, your fitness center could massively increase its local popularity, curb appeal, and membership conversions. Contact us for more ideas on how to boost the effectiveness of the fitness center franchise you have today or the one you plan on opening in the near future.
David Michael Gilbertson is the founder and president of 3 Elements Lifestyle, LLC., a Fitness and Weight Loss company that specializes in YOU!. With more than 15 years of experience owning, operating and managing clubs of all sizes, David lectures, delivers seminars and gives workshops on the practical skills required to successfully help you with your health and fitness goals. David also helps you build the teamwork, management, and training necessary to open your own fitness center. For more information on Licensing and Consulting Services Visit his Web site at: www.3elementslifestyle.com or email at daveg@3elementslifestyle.com or call (805) 499-3030.
