insights for success

Sure, knowing your audience's age, gender, location, income, occupation, education level, marital status, and family size is important, but it’s just the tip of the iceberg. To really connect with your audience and deliver what they need, you have to dig deeper.

Here’s a detailed approach to understanding your market better:

1. CONDUCT ONE-ON-ONE INTERVIEWS
Start with direct engagement with both potential clients and current ones. This in-depth conversation lets you ask open-ended questions that encourage detailed responses. Here’s what you want to explore:

• Past Experiences: Ask about their previous fitness journeys. What programs have they tried before? What worked well, and what didn’t? Understand their history and look for patterns in what delights and what frustrates them.

• Specific Desires: What do they really want from a fitness program? Are they looking for rapid weight loss, muscle building, or perhaps a holistic wellness approach?

• Biggest Challenges: Identify their biggest pain points. Is it finding the time to work out? Lack of motivation? Not seeing results quickly enough?

2. ANALYSE DATA ANALYTICS
Next up, dig into the data. If you have a website, use your analytics, or link it to Google Analytics to track visitor behaviour. Look at which pages get the most views, where visitors spend the most time, and which content leads to conversions (like signing up for a newsletter or booking a consultation).

• Website Metrics: If a particular blog post or landing page gets a lot of traffic, that’s a clue about what your audience is interested in. Maybe it’s a guide on “Quick Workouts for Busy People” or an article on “How to Stay Fit While Traveling.” If these topics are clearly resonating, and you can build on them.

• Social Media Insights: Social media platforms like Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn offer built-in analytics tools. Look at engagement rates, which posts are getting the most likes, shares, and comments.

3. OFFER DISCOVERY CALLS
Discovery calls are a fantastic way to learn more while building rapport. Don’t approach these calls as sales pitches—at this stage, they’re conversations that reveal their fitness journey, motivations, and barriers.

• Open-Ended Questions: Ask questions like, “What’s the biggest challenge you face when trying to stay fit?” or “What motivates you to keep going?” These questions encourage potential clients to open up.

• Uncover Hidden Motivations: Sometimes, what people say they want isn’t what they really need. By listening closely during discovery calls, you can uncover underlying motivations. Maybe they say they want to lose weight, but what they really need is to feel more confident in social situations.

4. ANALYSE COMPETITOR FEEDBACK
Take a look at your competitors too. Check out their reviews on Google, Yelp, Facebook, and other platforms. What are clients praising? What are they complaining about? There could be an unmet need in the market.

• Identify Gaps: If clients consistently complain about a lack of personalised attention or ineffective programs, you’ve identified a gap you can fill. You could position your service as the solution that offers effective programs with an emphasis on dedicated support.

• Benchmarking: See what competitors are doing well and what they’re missing. Maybe they have great HIIT classes, but there’s no community aspect to keep people engaged. That’s an opportunity for you to create a unique value proposition that combines two.

5. SOCIAL MEDIA LISTENING
This is a big one that a lot of people miss. Social media listening involves monitoring what people are saying about specific topics online. For large companies it’s mainly used to see what people are saying about their brand but it can be used to understand current trends and the sentiment around broader conversation.

• Tools for Social Media Listening: Use tools like Hootsuite, Brand24, or Google Alerts. These tools let you monitor keywords or phrases like “best workouts for busy professionals” or “quick fitness tips.” You can see what content is trending, what questions people are asking, and what concerns they have.

• Free Tools for Sole Traders: If you’re just starting out and want to keep costs low, try free tools like Talkwalker Alerts or TweetDeck. These are great for basic social listening without any financial commitment.

• Identify Trends and Pain Points: For instance, if you notice a lot of people searching for “workouts without equipment,” that’s a clear indicator that many of your potential clients are looking for fitness solutions they can do at home or while traveling. This kind of insight is important because it helps you create programs that align with exactly what your audience needs.

6. JOIN ONLINE Communities and Engage
Get involved in forums, Facebook groups, Reddit threads, and LinkedIn communities where your target market hangs out. Don’t just lurk—actively participate. Ask questions, offer advice, and share valuable content.

• Build Trust and Authority: By consistently showing up and providing value, you establish yourself as a go-to expert in your niche.

• Spot Emerging Trends: Pay attention to the discussions and see what topics keep coming up. Are there new concerns about fitness trends? Are people interested in specific types of diets or workout regimes?

7. NETWORK AND ATTEND EVENTS
Get yourself out and about by attending fitness-related events, workshops, or even local meetups. Direct interaction with potential clients and industry peers can offer real-time feedback and spark some great ideas.

• Face-to-Face Insights: Sometimes, nothing beats a good old face-to-face conversation. You can ask open-ended questions and get immediate, unfiltered feedback.

• Collaborative Opportunities: Networking also opens up possibilities for collaborations that could help you expand your reach and better understand different segments of your market.

8. DEVELOP AN EMPATHY MAP
Creating an empathy map is a powerful exercise to help you step into your client's shoes. It’s about understanding their experiences, behaviours, and emotions.

• Set Up the Framework: Take a large sheet of paper or use a digital tool and divide it into four sections: Says, Thinks, Does, and Feels.

o Says: Note down direct quotes or phrases from your target market. For example, “I don’t have time for long workouts.”

o Thinks: Capture what they’re thinking, such as, “I want quick results without sacrificing my work schedule.”

o Does: Describe their behaviours, like “Joins online fitness groups” or “Uses fitness apps to track progress.”

o Feels: Highlight their emotional states, such as feeling “frustrated with inconsistent results” or “motivated by achieving fitness milestones.”

• Identify Pain Points and Goals: Once your map is filled out, look for patterns. What are the recurring pain points? What goals are common? Use these insights to refine your offerings and marketing strategies.

9. USE THE EMPATHY MAP TO CREATE CUSTOMER PERSONAS
Take the information from your empathy map and use it to develop detailed customer personas. These personas represent different segments of your target market, providing a clearer picture of who they are and how you can serve them.

• Tailor Your Messaging and Offerings: With detailed personas, you can craft more targeted marketing messages and develop better services, which all leads to higher engagement and better conversion rates.

10. ITERATE AND REFINE
Finally, remember that understanding your market is an ongoing process. Regularly review the insights you’ve gathered, and don’t be afraid to make changes to your approach based on new data or feedback.

• Stay Agile: Be prepared to pivot your strategies as you learn more about your audience and as their needs evolve. The fitness industry, like many others, is always changing, and staying flexible will help you remain relevant and effective.