Achieving a common goal together as a group — or in this context, a fitness tribe — is a powerful way to inspire ongoing motivation. The sense of community a goal brings can attract and retain members who are looking to belong to something more than an average, everyday gym. Follow these 4 steps to incorporating a common goal into your gym’s strategy and start reaping the benefits of a loyal tribe of members.
Communicate A Goal
One of the most important ways to attract members with a goal is to communicate what the end goal is and how to get there. Having the goal laid out ensures each new member is aware of the bigger picture and how his/her role plays a part.
Beyond the initial goal, it is important to keep the goal up to date. Show members of your fitness tribe what their efforts are doing to make a difference and keep them engaged as time goes on.
Walk What You Talk
Telling people you have this great common goal that you want everyone to join in on is not enough. To create a fitness tribe of followers around the goal you must first embody the goal yourselves. Having an example set and seeing first-hand how they can start contributing to the goal will make it easier for members to start buying in.
Incentivize Your Fitness Tribe Goal
Once you start getting people to take part of your goal, make it worth their while to take part. Regardless of what of the situation, people like to feel rewarded for their hard work. Placing a reward at the end of a workout adds a layer of interest to member’s gym perceptions.
An incentive doesn’t have to be anything extraordinary. A social share or call out goes a long way, or a discount can add value to a fitness tribe member’s contributions to the goal.
Create a Community
Seeing your individual impact is great, but to create a tribe you need to show what the community is doing. The idea of a bigger purpose on a multi-member level provides a sense of inclusion but only works if members can see the collective contribution. Tracking the goal allows participating members to visualize their impact on the greater goal. Seeing your impact inspires more efforts and engagements from participants but also from other members who are looking to be part of something more.
These 4 steps to creating a tribe with a common goal can seem vague if you have no goal in mind. One gym in the UK has created a one of a kind tribe around the sustainable impact they have as a group on the environment. A simple adjustment for any facility is to start going green, not only does it resonate with the most abundant demographic in the industry (millennials) but it is easy to start making sustainable switches to everyday processes.
One of our most successful gyms, Eco Gym in the UK, has mastered the art of the fitness tribe. A link to the latest webinar featuring owner Paul Crane will be shared soon, but in the meantime, you can check out the technology Eco Gym is using by downloading our free Harnessing Human Energy Whitepaper.