Before you Begin
Before starting a group cycling program, consider the following suggestions.
* It is important that your new indoor cycling program has a distinct name, logo and identity. All of the pre-packaged programs provide clubs with ready-made media kits to expedite your marketing efforts. Creating a separate name and schedule for the new program will help differentiate it from your other group exercise classes.
* Give your indoor cycling program some pre-program exposure. Place promotional fliers and teaser ads in visible locations around your club. That doesn’t mean only your bulletin board, but also on the bottom of step platforms or the top of stationary cycle consoles. Members who use stationary bikes are prime candidates for an indoor cycling class. Don’t forget the treadmills; walkers and runners can gain cross-training benefits from an indoor cycling class.
* Offer preview classes for all of your staff members. Since the front-line staff will often answer questions about your program, be sure that they know as much as possible about the indoor cycling experience. During your indoor cycling promotion, give front-line staff members T-shirts to wear for additional name recognition. As with all other club services, front-line staff members are your most effective sales force.
* Design informational/educational fliers for interested members. The fliers should describe how an indoor cycling class is designed, what to expect from the workout, what to bring to the first class and, most important, the benefits of adding indoor cycling to their workout routine.
* Find a strategic place in your club to place an indoor cycle for the initial promotion. Use the bike as a “live” bulletin board to promote the new program, with an educated staff member nearby to answer members’ questions. If you have a promotional video, place it near the bike or play the video on your closed-circuit TV system.
* When you have determined the location of your cycling studio, mark it clearly with promotional trailers such as bike tracks leading to it (if your architectural design allows for that). Because cycling studios end up being tucked away in the back of the club, you want to avoid the “out-of-sight/out-of-mind” effect.
* Look at your new indoor cycling program as one of your standard company products that is just packaged in a different way. Giving it a different name, identity and feel from the rest of your programs will differentiate it and will help to attract a different clientele. Display and distribute your schedule in a way that distinguishes it from the rest of the group exercise schedule. Remember that some members may be not be attracted to a program that is related to group training, while group exercise enthusiasts will find your schedule of classes even if you print it on a post-it note and hide it under the front desk.
* The key to a successful program launch is the right staff! Recruiting key instructors to teach your new indoor cycling classes can give the program instant visibility. Recruit your staff to be a mix of group fitness leaders (especially those who attract large groups to their classes), sought-out personal trainers (they will have a lot of clients to recruit to indoor cycling), and cyclists who have strong group teaching skills and are open to adapting their training techniques to motivate fitness enthusiasts.
* Launch the program with trial 30-minute classes (Training Wheels) for everyone to try. Give complementary orientations to all interested members, along with a promotional item to the first 50 members who take the class.