As a personal trainer, your customers are the most important part of your business. Aside from providing predictable income, their weight loss or strength training journeys are also a reflection of your abilities. And their stories can help inspire future clients, generate referrals, and build your brand online. One area that personal trainers should be focused on online is in generating powerful positive reviews for their business. Here’s why and how.
Why Online Reviews Matter
Consumers are more informed than ever before, especially for larger investments and for personal services. About 9 out of 10 people won’t make a purchase until they’ve read online reviews. Customers—especially millennials—treat online reviews similarly to how they perceive recommendations from friends and family. Overall, your online reputationis set by reviews, and they are one of the most persuasive and important ways to market your business.
While Facebook and Yelp are still important for small businesses, Google reviews now account for nearly 60% of all online small business reviews. And 89% of people viewing review sites make a purchase within a week; once someone is comparing reviews of a business, they are ready to make their final purchase decision. Just because your clients know you’re a great trainer, future customers won’t know this until they tell people with online reviews.
How to Ask Customers for Online Reviews
It can feel awkward to ask for online reviews directly if you haven’t before. But, there’s a good chance that your happy clients would love to help you grow your business. Consider sending an email to every client at a certain point (for instance, after 90 days) where you can link directly to the review sites to make it as easy as possible for them to leave a review.
Here’s a sample email you can send:
Hi [name]!
I’ve enjoyed working with you over the past few months, and I’m so excited to see that you’re showing results from our personal training sessions.
One of the ways that I am able to find great clients like yourself is through Google reviews. Would you mind taking a couple of minutes to leave a review about your experience with my training programs? Here’s the link: Leave a review
If you wouldn’t highly recommend my services, please let me know what I can do differently to meet your needs.
[Signature]
Aside from sending emails at a certain time frame, you could also consider sending emails or texts at benchmarks, which also provide the client with content to add to their own review. For example:
Hey [name]! Did you know that since we started having 3 sessions a week, your body fat percentage has dropped by 5%? In addition to the weight loss, I hope you’re feeling stronger! If you’re happy with the work we’re doing together, it would mean so much if you could leave me a review on Google so other clients can learn about my business: Link
Finally, you can also prep clients for the request at your next in-person meeting. Tell them that as part of your business goals for this year, you want to reach X Google business reviews. And be specific about what you’d like for them to mention in order to attract new clients.
For instance, “I like working with clients at any level of fitness, so if you could be honest about where you started and you’ve been able to lose weight and work to achieve your goals, I’d appreciate it.” Or, “For me, the matchup of personalities is really important. So if you like my positive attitude and how we work together, that would be awesome to mention.”
Earning Online Reviews
Of course, in order to get those 5-star reviews, you need to be providing a 5-star experience. For your clients that you’ve had for a long time, how are you keeping their experience fresh? Are you offering an overall health and fitnesstraining plan or just focused on body fat numbers?
Be sure to continually update each clients’ workout plan and reevaluate the fitness goals you’re working towards. If a client can leave a review saying that “[Trainer] helped me achieve my goals!” you’ll start hearing from lots of other people who want to see results.
One way that you can ensure that you’ll get a great review is by providing a better client experience. If your clients can book time with you through an app, manage their own billing online, and access their fitness assessments, they’ll be more engaged and more likely to continue working with you than if they had to call you for everything.
That’s why we recommend investing in personal training software, which gives you everything you need to manage your business so you can spend your time focusing on giving your clients a great experience.