Market research, business start up and promotion

Do your research, your local council and state government websites will have an enormous amount of data published and linked with their Parks and Recreation Strategies, their position on Community Fitness accessibility, goals for vibrant active, healthy communities and their local council positions on population health.

More and more, councils are taking responsibility for the health, activity, wellbeing, education, and promotion of their recreational parks, assets, and community – they want to increase usage and have the benefits flow back to happy, healthy peaceful local populations.

Meet with the Sport and Recreation department of your local council, get to know your Sport and Recreation state office and learn how to work with your local community, sporting, corporate and not for profit organisations to work together and share outdoor training spaces, parks, green gyms, and locally owned recreational areas.

Resource (for Australians)

All of the business information, forms, applications, registrations, standards, guidelines, policies, procedures and legal requirements for your business start-up and good business practice, can be found here.

Get the information you need to get your business started!

• What other outdoor training programs are currently being delivered in your area?
• What makes your outdoor training program different?
• What is the availability of the space?
• Where is your location? What businesses, residential, schools, transport, parking, shops, and allied businesses are in the area?
• Is there a wet weather option? Or safe to continue your program in all weather?
• Are there bathrooms close by?
• Who can you partner with to cross-promote your business?

Word of mouth and member endorsement is powerful, but will only get you so far when promoting your boot camp. It’s about keeping it fresh, and everyone, existing members included love variety and options to keep their fitness programs interesting.

Alert your current members of the new program through in-class announcements, internal and external social media, member emails and e-newsletters, flyers to local businesses, and use your boot camp as an opportunity to reach new members in your area.

Outdoor Training is a much smaller commitment than a gym membership and could be the perfect way to get new people to try your entire program if you also operate indoors or offer other fitness services.

Facebook

Create targeted Facebook ads and boosted posts to reach individuals that live and work in your area, as well as tagging, using locations and check-ins for the park, council and supportive businesses nearby the park you’ll be hosting the outdoor program.

Develop a landing page or webpage on your site that promotes the boot camp and contains a form for new visitors to sign up. Take lots of photos, with your member’s permission and do live posts so new members get a great feel for the program and the sessions.

With the strategic planning, a boot camp is a great way to boost revenue, retain your members in the busy and slower seasons and ideally, reach potential members in your area.