A Marketing Campaign For A Women’s Gym
Aims of Business
Short Term Aims:
- to survive (keeping customers for the second year)
- to make a profit
Long Term Aims
- to expand across the country as a franchise
- to expand overseas
Business Plan
Location
- The major advantage of location ‘A’ is that it is in the middle of town and so is very visible to everyone in the area and potentially catch a large audience. University just off high street means many possible customers walking by. Women at university have been demanding a single sex gym, but university neither has the space or the money. Supporting my gym is within university interests as it is a better deal for them than building one themselves. Keeping students healthy makes it less likely for them to become ill and miss days ...
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Location
- The major advantage of location ‘A’ is that it is in the middle of town and so is very visible to everyone in the area and potentially catch a large audience. University just off high street means many possible customers walking by. Women at university have been demanding a single sex gym, but university neither has the space or the money. Supporting my gym is within university interests as it is a better deal for them than building one themselves. Keeping students healthy makes it less likely for them to become ill and miss days so they will be encouraged to go to gym. Bus stop right outside front door brings in a market. Disadvantages would be that land is expensive and there is little room to expand. Also the surrounding area consists predominantly of shops so the market will need to travel further to reach it and parking spaces are in short supply and are ore expensive then the other chosen locations.
- The key advantage of location ‘B’ is that it is situated slightly further out of town, in a residential area, where far more customers can walk to it with ease. Also it is nest to a halls of residents so students can simply walk in. The target market is women, who tend to do the food shopping in the family and so because it is right above a supermarket, the gym is likely to attract more customers. As well as this the supermarket supplies a large car park so anyone travelling further than walking distance can park cheaply, though it is not as cheap as location ‘C’ and it will only cater for one side of town whereas location ‘A’ should gain an interest from the entire town.
- The benefits of location ‘C’ is that it is near the edge of town where land is very cheap and there is plenty room for expansion. Car parking spaces is cheapest of the three locations. But it is not within walking distance for very many people and it is not very visible. People who want to go to the gym often walk or cycle and location ‘C’ is a little too far away from its target market. The area does not seem as safe as the other location or well lit later on in the day and as the gym for women, they will not feel safe going home at night.
I have chosen that location B for my business
Legislation
Planning permission
If a building has a change of use, planning permission is needed. My proposed business location was a gym in the past so I do not need to apply for it.
Health and safety
Direct.gov says that a business as big as mine should have “a formal health and safety policy, including arrangements to protect (employee/customer) health and safety” Mine will include such things as all equipment, in the gym, having clear instructions on how to use them and available staff who understand the basics of the machinery to keep an eye on things. Prior to registering, all customers should have fitness checks to make sure that it is safe for them to be using the exercising equipment. All equipment will also be checked regularly and carefully. A first aid kit will be available and staff will have basic first aid training.
Sex discrimination
One important target market is Muslim women who will not go to unisex gyms, but if the trainers are men, then the business simply will not be able to attract this section of the market. This may be able to be overcome, without breaking any sex discrimination laws. the website Direct.gov says that “In some cases, a job can be offered to someone of a particular sex, because of what is called a genuine occupational qualification” And gives the example of jobs in single sex schools. This may also include single sex gyms so I will need to do some research if that is the case. If men are hired, their records will be checked to ensure that they have no history of any form of harassment towards women.
Social
Charity fundraiser. There will be a dial showing the overall distance ran on all the treadmills, each time the number reaches a set target, the gym investors will donate another batch of money to a charity. This will improve business as people will see the dial and target and work out extra hard, this will get them to feel as though they are contributing to the gym and become more involved. This creates customer loyalty and the gym will be given a very good name. This in turn should increase membership. The charity should be something that is very much linked to women, eg breast cancer. In the future, if this idea has worked and the gym has a higher disposable income, the fundraising campaign could be linked up to all the equipment in the gym and help to raise even more money.
Environmental
The gym will encourage staff and customers to cycle rather then drive as their main transport. Advertising this message shows that the business cares about the environment and should increase the gyms popularity. This in turn will hopefully either bring more customers to the gym or more funding. In the future I hope to have enough people cycling that the council will create a better cycle route which will go past the gym. The improved transport and easy access ought to invite more customers to the gym thus raising profits.
Questionnaire
- Which of the following applies to you?
- Mother with young children
- Mother with school children
- Student
- Working woman
- Retired
- Muslim
- Other
- Which name would appeal to you the most
- Bella Bella
- Raising the Tone
- Girl Power
- Diana
- Sirens
- Fit ‘n’ Funky
- Dianastic
- Are you a member of an existing gym and are you likely to join an all women gym
- No, I have no interests in gyms
- I am not a member of a gym, but would join an all women gym
- I am already a member of a gym, but I would move to an all women gym
- I am already a member of a gym and I would not move gyms
- If you are not currently a member of a gym, then what are your reasons?
- Not interested in gyms
- It is too expensive
- It is too posh
- It is too far away from where I live
- I do not have the time for it.
- Inhibited about exercising in front of men
- Bad facilities
- If you are a member of a gym then rank the following reasons in order of importance
- The good facilities
- The staff quality
- Presence of pool
- Price
- Distance from home
- The large range of classes
- Décor
- The other cliental
- How often do you visit your gym or think you might visit the all women gym
- Once or twice a month
- Once or twice a week
- Three to five times a week
- Everyday
- Twice a day
- Never
- Which THREE of the following would you consider the most significant basis in a gym
- Swimming pool
- Women only
- Bar/Café
- Opening early in the morning
- Open until late in the day
- Wide range of equipment
- Wide range of classes
- Free parking
- Cresh
- How far would you be willing to travel to get to a gym?
- If it was much cheaper to visit the gym only on weekdays from 9:30am – 4:30pm would you be likely to take advantage of it?
- Yes
- No
