How do you determine your sports facility's target market?

1 Know your goals and mission

Before you start researching your potential customers, you need to have a clear idea of what your sports facility's goals and mission are. What is your vision for your facility? What are your values and principles? What are your strengths and weaknesses? How do you want to position yourself in the market? Having a clear and consistent identity will help you attract customers who share your vision and values, and who are loyal to your brand.

2 Analyze your current customers

One of the best ways to learn about your target market is to analyze your existing customers. Who are they? How old are they? Where do they live? What are their income levels, education levels, and occupations? What are their hobbies, interests, and lifestyles? How often do they use your facility and for what purposes? How satisfied are they with your services and programs? You can collect this information through surveys, interviews, feedback forms, or observation. You can also use tools like Google Analytics or CRM software to track and analyze your online traffic and interactions.

3 Segment your market

Once you have collected and analyzed data on your current customers, you can segment them into different groups based on their characteristics, behaviors, and needs. For example, you can segment your market by age, gender, location, income, fitness level, motivation, or preference. Segmentation will help you identify your most profitable and loyal customers, as well as your potential customers who have similar traits. It will also help you create more personalized and relevant marketing messages and offers for each segment.

4 Research your competitors

Another way to determine your target market is to research your competitors. Who are they? What are their services and programs? How do they price and promote them? What are their strengths and weaknesses? How do they differentiate themselves from you? How do their customers perceive them? You can use online tools like websites, social media, reviews, or blogs to gather information about your competitors. You can also visit their facilities, observe their operations, or talk to their customers. By researching your competitors, you can identify gaps and opportunities in the market, as well as learn from their best practices and mistakes.

5 Test and refine your market

Finally, you need to test and refine your target market based on your goals, data, segments, and competitors. You can use various methods to test your market, such as surveys, focus groups, experiments, or pilot programs. You can also use metrics like sales, retention, referrals, or satisfaction to measure your market performance. Testing and refining your market will help you validate your assumptions, adjust your strategies, and improve your results.

6 Here’s what else to consider

This is a space to share examples, stories, or insights that don’t fit into any of the previous sections. What else would you like to add?