CrossFit – Cult or clever marketing?
To some, outside the box, CrossFit can appear like a cult, but it really isn’t. Take a moment to step inside and listen to those within the box. You will soon discover that really CrossFit is a community of likeminded people, of all ages, shapes and sizes, who really push each other to be the best that they can be in terms of physical fitness mostly, but also in terms of how we treat one-another – the famous slogan “leave your ego at the door” can be found in many boxes on posters, t-shirts and more!
This community ethos is something that many people fail to see, but also one of the things that I find most interesting is that it is possibly the most important principle the entire brand is built around which has ensured its success not only within America but across the globe.
So what is CrossFit?
CrossFit’s official definition is…
CrossFit is a lifestyle characterized by safe, effective exercise and sound nutrition. CrossFit can be used to accomplish any goal, from improved health to weight loss to better performance. The program works for everyone—people who are just starting out and people who have trained for years.
SOURCE: https://www.crossfit.com/what-is-crossfit
In short, I would say CrossFit is an alternative method of keeping fit, but also comes with a certain lifestyle and a community full of potential friends for those who wish.
What can we learn from CrossFit other than how to get fit?
1. Community building drives brand awareness, creates loyal fans and increases sales
Think about it – some of the biggest brands we know today, like Facebook, Google, Airbnb or even Harley Division, are built around a community-driven model. CrossFit is no different.
Word-of-mouth is still the most powerful form of marketing a company can get. Word-of-mouth not only increases brand awareness, but it also provides solid testimonials and social proof all-in-one go. You can only get this from nurturing loyal customers, turning them into fans and exciting or inspiring them enough to share.
This year, for those of you who have signed up to the Open, you will have noticed you can now create your own mini-communities within the platform.
The power of communities has always seemed to drive this fitness competition like no other, from Friday Night Lights events at your local box bring the club members together, to creating groups within the box to ignite competition and work strongly as teams – for example our box last year did AM class members vs. PM class members. So it seems logical and relevant to take this model into the digital world too and as with all things globalise it – you can create leaderboards with people who do the same job as you, are the same age as you etc.
Strong communities also help improve customer retention, attract top talent and reduce staff turnover. Using CrossFit as an example, for a sport that can appear so aggressive at first glance, I have never been surrounded by so many kind, inspiring and caring people in my life – especially not in a normal gym environment. Those people become friends and you want to go to training just to catch up with them. I for one was notorious for joining a gym then quitting 6 months later – I have now stuck at Crossfit regularly for over 2.5 years – my longest, continuous gym membership today, and there is no sign of me quitting any time soon!
Building a community or following online is now virtually essential for many businesses as part of their marketing strategy. Depending on your business type, product or service offering social media marketing not only generates and increases brand awareness, but it is now also used a method of customer service for many businesses and provides a brilliant platform to gather reviews, testimonials and social proof. In summary, social media is the new platform for word-of-mouth marketing.
If your brand can create a strong social media strategy that includes nurturing a small community of customers or fans, provide them with shareable content that gives value, excites or inspires, then essentially you are making it even easier for people to share good stories about your business and drive further brand awareness.
Which brings us on nicely to…
2. The art of storytelling
One thing I learnt when working at Monster Energy was the importance of storytelling – for brands and businesses (and in general too) there are times when we talk about ourselves, but remember that overall no one really likes to listen to someone talking constantly about themselves all the time.
Across the board, to generalise human communication as a whole, people are more likely to listen to someone telling an inspiring or exciting story about someone else, or to someone telling a story about something educational that might benefit the person listening. We are selfish by human nature – no matter how hard we try!
So as a rule of thumb – when you are telling stories or communicating to potential customers or clients, think about how you say it.
Your brand should aim to inspire, excite and/or educate within the content you choose to publish – every time!
So, bringing it back to the main topic, how does CrossFit do that?
Let’s start with the idea that CrossFit is simply the tool that people might use to create such a story – a bit like this one actually!
Then we have the different outlets for storytelling – from film documentaries around The CrossFit Games, following a handful of world-class athletes on their journey to the games each year, to stories told by the average Joe (or Jane) at grass root level via their social media or personal blog (you can read my latest personal post about CrossFit here).
This week, as the 2020 CrossFit Open begins, possibly one of the biggest, global, events within the CrossFit scene, there will be a ton of stories surrounding it I am sure. And these stories will continue to flow over the next 5 weeks and beyond.
Away from the Open though you have a whole array of topics and content ideas from professional athletes and influencers recording their own stories in and around CrossFit to Coaches providing value-adding coaching tips to try at home, and individuals on their own fitness journeys.
One of the common, most popular, trends for online content within the health and fitness industry is body transformation. People documenting their progress whether that be for weight-loss or muscle building. These stories not only inspire others to do the same but are also essentially benchmarking their performance, setting goals and using social media to hold themselves accountable.
3. The power of benchmarking…
Aside from the stories, The CrossFit Open provides an incredible opportunity for people to test and benchmark their own performance. This benchmarking process is almost gamified by creating leaderboards online so that you can see where you are placing in your box, your country, region or even the world too! It’s quite amazing to think about just how many people are competing with you at the same time, across the globe, during the Open period and how huge this community is!
By competing in the Open, you have not only got to benchmark your current level of fitness, but you also have the opportunity to really find out what your weaknesses are. I think this is an amazing chance to learn, and set goals for the forthcoming year. It forces you to take a better look at yourself, and if you want to learn from your findings, then use them to grow and develop upon your physical fitness and abilities.
But, how does this relate to business, or more specifically your business?
Benchmarking, or a simple brand audit, gives you a baseline of where you are at right now – be that sales, online marketing efforts etc.
Once you have a benchmark, you have a record of where you are at in that moment of time, a starting point for you to build upon.
Now combine benchmarking with market research – be that looking into specifically what people are saying about your brand, or looking at your industry, in general, is even more powerful. Now you can start to seek out your strengths and weaknesses.
Once you have found those strengths and weaknesses you can then start to set goals, create milestones and work towards improving upon your baseline. Essentially, improving your brand and business model to increase sales and grow.
We apply the principles to the brands and businesses we work with
So I have probably got your mind whirling around how you can use these ideas and strategies and apply them to your business?
And that’s exactly what Collective Industries are here to help you do. From exploring your business as a whole, researching your market space to designing and implementing effective marketing strategies, we have it covered.
If you would like to learn more about our services or hear what we have to say on your businesses plan of attack, then please do get in touch with me, Harriet, founder of Collective Industries – Call 07803 146960, or email hs@collectiveindustries.co.uk.