WNiF Magazine - Autumn 2016 Edition | Page 12

By Juliana Mare COMMUNICATION – ARE YOU DOING ENOUGH? T here are plenty of means to communicate these days but do you know which tools are the most effective for your business and its members? Juliana Mare finds out what the best communication strategies are for 2016. 64.6 per cent of Australians own a smart phone , which means at any given time, two-thirds of the population are capable of sending and receiving communication. In our increasingly digital world, emails, text messages, apps and social media are the norm when it comes to communicating. But this begs the question – is there room for face-to-face communication anymore? According to Managing Director of Active Management, Justin Tamsett, ‘you simply cannot beat face-to-face communication.’ Consumers are bombarded with marketing messages all day, by means of flyers, commercials, posters and newspapers, so Justin says the best way to guarantee your message is received, is to actually tell your members in person. ‘Face-to-face creates an experience for the members. Your delivery of the message has an impact on their understanding and you can see their response.’ Unfortunately within the health and fitness industry though, it’s not uncommon – especially with the 12 Instant communication tools such as social media, club apps, push notifications and SMS’s have recently increased in popularity for marketing and advertising. popularity of 24-hour gyms and selfservice – for club owners to have little to no face-to-face interaction with their members. For this reason, digital and email marketing should play a considerable part in the overall communication strategy of any business. WHAT’S NEW IN FITNESS - AUTUMN 2016