Best Marketing Strategies for your Tennis Club in 2021
Getting the word out about your Tennis Club takes a little creativity and a lot of dedication. Thankfully, there are a number of tried-and-true methods that you may employ to get the ball rolling and start building the membership numbers that you need to survive and to grow. We’ve collected some of the best marketing strategies for your tennis club for you to try and we think that you will be pleasantly surprised. All it takes is a little creativity and the ability to recognize the opportunities in front of you.
Getting local businesses in on the action
It is in your best interest to get in touch with your local sporting goods vendors. Since you are running a tennis club you are in a position to send a lot of business their way. They, in turn, can likely offer you a good discount and are quite likely to be willing to help get word of your club around.
As you develop a good relationship with this business, who knows? They might be willing to donate or heavily discount prize items for competitions that you sponsor or more. Getting them involved with your tennis club just makes good sense.
Flyers are still popular for a reason
With your newfound local business friends you’ve got a great way to get your flyers out to the general public. Don’t stop there, however, as there are a number of other places where you can get your flyers or signs out in the public eye.
Make some friends at your local gym and consider posting information on bulletin boards at local schools. Local parks are another place to spread the word. People who are active frequent these places and will be happy to hear that there is something new they can participate in.
Offer discounts for younger members
Creating membership tiers is a good idea and you can always create something special for the younger members, especially the kids. Tennis clinics where they can work on their swing are good and easier to set up than private lessons. After all, you’ve got that club space, so why not take advantage of the free time that is available there?
Student discounts are also a good idea and you can even make them creative, perhaps offering the discount for new member ‘pairs’. Whichever way you market it, students are web savvy and can really help to get attention for your tennis club. Also, if you’ve got a good thing going then these are members that are going to stick around for a long time.
A discount now for years of membership? Definitely makes sense.
Facebook group with Tennis tips videos
While having a webpage is nice a quick way to get a web presence started is to simply create a Facebook Group for your tennis club. This gives you a way to blog about events, promote socialization, post-training videos, and to take on guest-members to get their curiosity piqued.
It’s an easy way to get started in developing a web presence and with social media, it is a lot more fun than reading an automatically-emailed newsletter. You can have one of those too, of course, but an interactive medium like Facebook will get you a lot more attention and gives everyone in the club a chance to invite their friends to the group to learn a little more.
Guest memberships
Consider marketing a ‘try before you buy’ type guest membership into your tennis club at least once per quarter/4 times per year. You can provide a 1-month guest membership and have a great time of it, offering your standard clinics and socials and letting the outside folks see what they are missing.
A few ‘Members vs. Guest Members’ tournaments with some of your best members playing can help to show how much prospective members can learn and between this and the socialization the odds are that your membership is going to increase. Give it a try and see for yourself!
Take advantage of Wimbledon
Hosting Wimbledon-watching events is a great way to get people socializing and to draw some attention to your tennis club. Make sure you’ve got a large TV or maybe even a projector to maximize the viewing experience and lots of good food to go with the fun.
It’s an easy and quick step from ‘guest’ to ‘member’ and one should never underestimate the drawing power of a good social event.
Set up a good referral program
Get your club members to actively refer and recruit by offering incentives, such as discounts, gift cards, or even prizes if you are running a yearly ‘recruiting drive’. Those local businesses are often quite willing to help in the prize department, so it never hurts to ask, but don’t limit referrals to a yearly event.
Put together a clear plan, print it out, and make sure that your members know. A little motivation can go a long way.
Don’t let good space go unused
You’ve got a lot of property associated with your tennis club, why not rent out some of that space when it’s not in use? Rooms that you have free can be used for parties, corporate-sponsored events, and more. Your tennis club can make some good revenue there and all you are doing just maximizing that free space.
Just a little something to think about
Some final advice on marketing your tennis club
Marketing is a constant challenge but it can be a little easier if you break your year down into quarters and plan which tennis club marketing strategies you will use by quarter. As you find out what works best for you then you’ll develop some marketing standards but don’t forget to mix things up a little.
Keep it interesting and your membership will keep growing. You can count on it!
