After nearly 3 long years, boutique fitness events are back in full swing. Covid-19 shut down in-person events and changed them entirely moving forward. Now, it’s the time to evaluate your event strategy, what to bring, and how to engage with others to generate buzz at each show.

Why? Successful boutique fitness studios don’t pop up overnight; they grow with care and time. You may set up passive ways to generate new leads, but you also need an active approach that reaches a new audience. Through in-person events, you can attract new leads with hot offers and swag to take home.  

Attending events isn’t just a great way to attract new leads. These fitness summits are the places to be to learn about new technology, what the industry leaders think is coming up in the future, and about any new products you can sell at your studio. 

Upgrade Your Presence at In-Person Fitness Events

Here are the key strong ways to stand out at your next in-person event.

Design an Eye-Catching Booth: Potential leads walk by hundreds of booths each day they’re at any given expo, so your booth needs to stand out. Here’s how to stick out:

  • Use Bold Lettering with Clear, Actionable Messaging: Visitors should immediately know what kind of studio business you operate with your signage, but also want to stop and talk to you to know more.
  • Choose a Unique, but Recognizable Layout: So many booths will be using a simple cloth tent, but you don’t have to do that. The more unique your booth looks, the more curious attendees are to visit and ask you about it.  

Promote an Event-Only Offer: Whether it’s a free item, or a free class when they make a bigger purchase, offers are hard to resist.  

  • Create Event-Specific Codes for Check-Out: This will help you track how many leads come from specific events, and help you decide if you want to exhibit there again or up your budget for the next one.
  • Automate Your Marketing to Seal the Deal: Get their e-mail address, and if they don’t redeem the offer, nurture them through the journey.  

Host a Contest, Game, or Giveaway: Who doesn’t like free? Make your booth fun by hosting a giveaway with prizes for winners.

  • Build a Form to Collect Entries: Use Mariana Tek’s Marketing Automation to collect form entries, select a prize winner, and set an automated campaign to follow-up with leads after the show.
  • Host a Prize Draw at a Determined Time: This will invite attendees to come back later and give you another chance to engage them once again.  

Send Them to Your Booth at any Chance you Get: If it’s in your marketing budget, creating unique marketing materials to share at the event will up your chances of passerbys stopping for a chat.  

  • Print Event-Specific Shirts for Team Members: Even if they step away from the booth, their matching branding to the booth will show visitors where to go.  
  • Get Social with Your Event Promotion: One post on Instagram isn’t enough event promo. Create a plan to promote it a week before, a day before, and the day of, at the very least.  

Know Your Audience: One of the most important ways you can bolster your booths presence at any expo is to know who exactly is going to be at that expo.  

  • Refine Your Offer to the Crowd Attending: Is it a business-to-customer (B2C) fitness expo where you’re more likely to talk to potential members? Or is it a business-to-business (B2B) expo where you may meet representatives from organizations who are interested in corporate wellness? Whoever it is, build an offer that appeals to them.
  • Follow Up the Right Way: When you know what kind of expo it is, then you can follow up with leads in more effective ways. For a B2C expo, follow up with an e-mail blast to addresses that have been submitted, and for a B2B expo, connect on LinkedIn or exchange business cards to keep the conversation going.  

Make it Memorable: Above all else, offer an experience at the event that they will enjoy and remember for a long time coming. Community building is all about making moments that matter, and events are another unique opportunity to do that.

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The Top North America Fitness Events in 2023

Health & Fitness Association (Formerly IHRSA)

Health & Fitness Association (Formerly IHRSA) hosts an annual trade show, and this year’s show is in San Diego on March 20 – 22. Over 6,000 industry pros gather at IHRSA to listen, educate, and generate new ideas to keep the fitness industry moving forward. IHRSA 2023 will host over 300 exhibitors, including Mariana Tek, and over 100 presenters over the course of 3 days.  

Boutique Fitness Solutions Summit

Boutique Fitness Solutions (BFS) hosts a summit each year specifically for boutique fitness businesses to gather, network, and connect. The 2022 summit took place in New York City on April 28 & 29, and featured panelists including fitness marketing experts, brand strategists, and consultants who specialize in boutique fitness. Details about the 2023 show are not available yet, but BFS did put out a call for partners.  

CLES

The Club Industry Executive Summit (CLES) is a showcase for executive leaders in health clubs, studios, activity centers, medical wellness centers, and recreation facilities. This summit is an intimate space for C-suite fitness leaders to hear talks from renowned speakers and discuss strategies moving forward. The 2022 CLES show took place in Chicago from October 17 – 19, and featured speakers from YMCA, CorePower, and OrangeTheory.  

canfitpro

Canadian Fitness Professionals, Inc. (canfitpro) is the biggest educator in Canada’s fitness industry, and hosts events of all sizes, including an annual trade show. Their 2023 show will be hosted in Toronto on August 16 – 20 and will host dozens of in-person and online speakers, ranging from sports nutritionists to boutique fitness instructors. This year’s show will also celebrate canfitpro’s 30-year anniversary!

IDEA World

IDEA Health & Fitness Association will host their IDEA World Convention in Los Angeles on July 12 – 16. IDEA World will share over 250 sessions and presentations on personal training, nutrition, boot camps, business development, and mind-body wellness. Plus, as part of the show, attendees can also join in on outdoor experiences around the Los Angeles area to get outside and be active.

Up your event game with Mariana Tek

Don’t lose another lead to leaks in your pipeline again. Mariana Tek takes them from curious lead to brand advocate without breaking a sweat.

The Mariana Tek team will be at IHRSA 2023 in San Diego, CA from March 20 – 22! Will we see you there? We hope so; we want to show you more in a demo at booth #3109. We’ll see you there!

Article by Xplor Mariana Tek

First published: March 21 2024

Last updated: July 18 2024