Expanding one’s market begins with identifying new areas of reach. In personal training the overall market seems fairly limitless when defined as “anyone who needs exercise supervision.” When socioeconomics, work and time dynamics, and scheduling issues are applied the total market gets a bit smaller. Therefore, selecting the most viable aspects of the total market, which also present the best current opportunity, is a wise direction to focus promotional and advertising efforts. Personal trainers find that seasons often dictate client upswings and downturns. Following the New Year’s rush is the Summer/Spring market, as people realize they will be wearing swimsuits soon.

Timing is of the essence when it comes to corralling in seasonally-based motivation. With the emergence of Spring there are two key aspects of the season which often convert transtheoretical contemplators into action. The action phase of the transtheoretical model of behavior change suggests people who have considered hiring a personal trainer are ready to get started. The most important factor with motivation-timing is connecting with the prospects when they are ready to act. The window will open but close just as quickly if the perception of “its too late” enters the psychological picture. The current seasonal opportunity points to summer weight loss and wedding season. Since wedding season is a more specific market it should be the focus of advertising and promotional attention. Certainly a percentage of resources can be directed to other marketing campaigns but keying in on what is perceived to be the greatest potential is a business pillar.

A commonality of brides (and brides-maids) is that they want to look as good as possible in their dress come wedding day. Concerns of physical appearance is pre-empted by knowing that look will remain as a keepsake forever (on film). Weddings come with a heavy price tag and many women are willing to pay a premium to ensure the day is perfect, which certainly includes their appearance. For most people, wedding prep from a physicality standpoint is about a 90 day process. Therefore, packaging this process makes sense, particularly if the marketing efforts are focused on event preparation. When planning weddings, people are exposed to package deals and make at least some attempt to remain budget conscious. Most though, are willing to spend more on things perceived to be most important to the day’s success. Take advantage of this line of thinking and create packages which are cost effective for the consumer, yet business-lucrative over the time period.

Packages for weddings can have some level of diversity depending on the market plan. Some ideas for different programs include:

Traditional training – make it mandatory that the bribe participates three days a week

Accelerated program – more days/shorter duration sessions for those with loftier goals or late starters

Bride’s maid package – group sessions to make it more cost effective and take advantage of the social group-mentality

Bride and groom – do not forget about him, and partner training is cost effective

Bride/Maids group sessions – combine personal training with group exercise (< 8 persons) to take advantage of the season and use group participation for conversions to one-on-one training.

It is smart to break the market plan down into categories and define where resources should be allocated to attract this population. Start with the wedding planners. It is their job to identify the best resources for the wedding which certainly includes getting prepared physically. A referral program here could be lucrative all year round. Consider offering a barter system of services or discounts for them to motivate the promotion of your wears.

After the wedding planners in the area are promoting for you, contact the dress stores. Since this is where the look is made or broken, it certainly makes sense to place some effort in getting the sales staff to promote your services. In almost all cases, people need to become smaller to make the dress most attractive when worn on the wedding day as designs are not centered on the American physique. Designer dresses can be taken-in, but cannot easily be expanded so this is one area where body size will move to the forefront.

The next marketing frontier emphasizes the blanket approach. Any place a person must go to set up a wedding you should already be at with an advertising or promotional strategy. Flower shops, tuxedo stores, the bakery, and nail or hair salons are just a few examples of where lead stands should be placed. Use a small footprint with a big message. Small size advertising stands are more appealing to shop owners and the message should be supportive of the marketing plan. Have business cards or flyers made that explain the population specific services. They should be easy to grab and throw in a purse or wallet. The advertisement should identify packages and emphasize time tables as weddings are date sensitive. Be sure the contact information is easily accessible and inquiry calls are answered or returned quickly. Once a person gets the idea in their head they need a personal trainer to get in shape for the big day, you want it to be you who provide the services.

Lastly, keep your eyes and ears open. There is no doubt that wedding talk will be on the rise and you should be ready to provide a business card and promotional blurb that you specialize in this arena. Use people you know to promote for you. Set up consultations and present packages that are bride (and/or groom) specific. After all, for most people it will be the most important day that only comes along once in a lifetime.