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Sports Facility Business Plan

Read eSoft Planner’s blog and news section to learn tips and tricks that can help you with your sports facility business plan using scheduling software. Your sports facility will grow with a business and marketing plan in place.

Learn About Lesson Pricing Models For Your Facility, Like This Lesson

Lesson Pricing Models for Sports Facilities

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When it comes to lesson types, and the different lesson pricing models, facility owners often have questions as to how to properly set their pricing.  Whether group or individual lessons, there are 3 main models and it’s important to understand the differences of each.

Standard Pricing

The key to the Standard Pricing Model is consistency.  Regardless of lesson type or instructor, every lesson in the facility is the same set price. Facility owners that use this model enjoy the ease that comes with it. Marketing and promoting for each lesson is seamless for both the facility and the customer. The only aspect that changes pricing in this model is the length of time for each lesson. When facilities use lesson pricing models like this, they choose a per hour price as their baseline and create additional durations and prices from there. 

Tiered Pricing

In most facilities, there are a variety of instructors with different expertise levels. When choosing prices, some facility owners and instructors choose to consider experience and background. That is where the Tiered Pricing Model comes in. Typically, this breakdown is based on past career development. Lessons from instructors that play or played for a professional organization are priced higher than those taught by an instructor with only high school experience. Customers will pay more for higher qualified instructors. When choosing this model, facilities generally choose three to four tiers such as professional, collegiate, and high school.  Or, it may be determined by coaching experience. 

Individual Instructor Pricing

In the Individual Instructor Pricing Model, instructors become involved in the price rates. Pricing is different for each instructor depending on experience, demand, and more. This can be more confusing for customers to track, but instructors will often prefer this model because it accurately represents their “worth.” 

None of The Models Fit What You Need? 

There is a fourth option for facilities that don’t fit into any of the three pricing models listed above. The Combo Pricing Model is some combination of the three pricing models. Facilities can choose to tier their pricing but also consider the instructor’s wants when it comes to pay. In this combo model, there is a range for each tier.  For example, professional-level instructors may charge anywhere from X-amount to Y-amount. Collegiate level instructors also have a set range, and so on. This allows personalization and instructor input, but also incorporates structure in the pricing model. 

Have more questions or want other insight on how to successfully manage the ins and outs of your sports facility? Schedule a consultation with an eSoft Planner expert today by reaching out at contact@esoftplanner.com.

Learn More About eSOFT PLANNER
eSOFT PLANNER is flexible, affordable, simple, and perfect for small business owners.  Request your free demo today to see how we can help you consolidate effort, save time, increase revenue, and grow your business.
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Spring Break Camps

Spring Break Camps

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Benefits of Spring Break Camps

Sports facility owners, did you know hosting spring break camps can make you a hero?  With spring break right around the corner, hundreds of kids will be home from school for a week and looking to have some fun!  Many parents, though, still have to work and are in need of a solution. 

This is where your sports facility can save the day!  Spring break camps are extremely popular for families with school-aged children.  Your facility provides kid-friendly entertainment during the day and you an opportunity to generate additional revenue. 

To maximize revenue potential, keep your camps generic and centered around fun rather than limiting yourself to a specific type of athlete.   Offering a generic “multi-sport” camp for younger ages allows you to appeal to a broader audience. 

Start here, then expand your camp options to target more specific audiences if you’d like.  For example, some facilities create a sports-specific camp, but limit this to an older, more mature age group.  These are great for athletes preparing for tryouts, wanting to stay sharp in the off-season, or getting some extra practice during the break.

Consider Your Space and Instructor Availability  

As a general rule, 15 campers to every 1 instructor is the maximum ratio, but this can vary depending on the type of camp.  For “generic” camps, a higher kid-to-instructor ratio may work better to allow games and activities to be more engaging.   

For “sport-specific” camps, both clients and instructors may prefer smaller ratios so attention to form and skills can be a top priority.  The amount of student-to-instructor training in these camps can have a significant impact on its appeal. 

Camp Duration

Keep in mind the duration of each camp when choosing your enrollment numbers.  Depending on your space and instructor availability, you may choose to offer camps for a full week, every other day, or offer morning and afternoon sessions.  Some eSoft Planner clients even allow campers to decide how many days to attend during the week.  

Price

All of these variables — limiting enrollment, space and instructor availability, duration — impact pricing for your camp.  In addition to the cost of space, instructor pay, etc., consider any “behind the scenes” costs.  Items like t-shirts, water bottles, and bags are great for marketing, but also add to your cost. 

And because you’re planning in advance, you can offer an “early-bird” discount to draw attention and increase appeal.  Also, don’t forget to create a sense of urgency — “early bird pricing ends soon!”.  Planning in advance makes scheduling easier and gives you much-needed flexibility.

Now is the time to reach parents; so build a plan and promote, promote, promote!

Learn More About eSOFT PLANNER
eSOFT PLANNER is flexible, affordable, simple, and perfect for small business owners.  Request your free demo today to see how we can help you consolidate effort, save time, increase revenue, and grow your business.
Follow us on Facebook to stay current on industry news.
Offers on Spring Promotions

Spring Promotions for Your Facility

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Plan Promotions for the Spring Now

Happy busy season! While your facilities are full and business is booming, it’s important that you think of the future. Right now you need to be preparing revenue-building promotions that can take your facility to the next level, even in the slow season. A rule of thumb to follow all year round – always plan quarterly.  Planning and promoting three months in advance is a perfect way to stay one step ahead and beat out competitors to get your clients’ attention.

Plan In Advance

What is important to keep in mind with any promotion you run, whether it is for memberships, combines, or camps – always maintain a sense of urgency. How many times have you seen “Only six spots left!” on promotional materials? There’s a reason you see everywhere. It works! Make your offer desirable to your current or potential clients, but don’t let them think it will always be there.

The spring and summer are go-time for baseball and softball, so most of those clients will see you again in the fall. However, you don’t want to miss all of the other athletes out there that want to utilize their off-seasons to improve. If your facility offers sports performance, now is time to expand to other audiences, two of the biggest being football and soccer athletes.

Maintain Urgency

In my past experience owning DNA Sports Center, there were a few strong promotions we ran for the spring and summer that kept our facility busy, even on the most beautiful days. We ALWAYS ran a spring combine program in May to help athletes assess and improve their skills before entering tryouts, showcases, and important recruitment seasons. You hear May and think “oh I have plenty of time” but I am here to tell you differently. Begin promoting now! Run early-bird specials and get those athletes committed before another program can pull them in. Keep that urgency and remind your audience of the limited availability in the combine so they sign up early and confirm they have a spot.

Do the same with your spring and summer camps. Secure your instructor, figure out the schedule, and promote! Another benefit of planning early – if one camp fills up and you have more interest than you thought, plan another camp! You now have the time to adjust your plans to maximize your profits.

Camps and combines are fantastic opportunities to increase revenue in the slow season and bring in new clients, but you will want to make sure you keep a recurring income. Membership drives are a tactic I utilized every year to make sure DNA Sports Center had a consistent cash flow and a full facility during the spring and summer seasons. Offer discounted memberships or camp/combine membership priority to incentivize new clients to sign up. You need to create a sense of urgency here too. Make the offer run for a limited time, or restrict the deal to 10 memberships and continue to include that in your promotion.

Key Takeaways

The three keys you should take away from this are:

  1. Begin planning AND promoting three months in advance 
  2. Maintain a sense of urgency in ALL promotions 
  3. Keep a source of recurring income during the office season. 

Want to know how to properly promote the ideas I have given you above? I have you covered! Check out my blog post on how to build a marketing strategy for your sports facility here. Have more questions? Reach out to us via email at contact@esoftplanner.com or book a consultation with me. Also, request a demo of our sports facility scheduling and management software.

Fitness-Skills-Evaluation-Memberships

Use Fitness and Skills Evaluations to Sell Memberships

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You may be asking, won’t an upfront fee scare away new business? The answer – it won’t if you provide something of value in return. If you properly utilize the fitness evaluations in your sales pitch, potential clients will understand that the assessment is essential to their success. Then, they will pay for it. It’s for the same reason they choose to pay for the classes and training. Some other things you can include with onboarding new members would be facility branded T-shirts, a bag to carry fitness gear, a printed manual going over the programs offered at your facility, and more. The potential member is happy with the free gear. In addition, you can send out marketing materials. Then, they will be seen by friends, classmates, and teammates.

Pricing for this upfront fee can vary based on your membership pricing, how much you pay your staff, and more. In my past experience owning DNA Sports Center, I charged $69 (not including tax) for the enrollment fee. This cost allowed me to pay for the staff’s pay for the assessment, the onboarding member materials, and the equipment used for the evaluation. It even covered the commission for the staff member that sold the membership.

Once laid out in front of them, clients will now understand the benefits. For a small fee to get started, they will walk away with a private assessment that uses industry-leading fitness evaluations technology, plenty of merchandise, and a written in-depth report to guide them through their membership program.

Make it a Sales Tool

Additionally, use the assessment as a great incentivized sales tool when a client is stuck on the overall cost of the membership. Waive or discount it as a strategy to confirm the sale. Another way I allowed the staff at DNA Sports Center to utilize this tactic is waiving the enrollment fee with the purchase of a longer membership package. Waiving this small, but often intimidating, fee is typically more cost-effective than discounting other services that come with the membership.

Learn More About eSOFT PLANNER

eSOFT PLANNER is flexible, affordable, simple, and perfect for small business owners.  Request your free demo today. See how we can help you consolidate effort, save time, increase revenue, and grow your business.

Paperwork for Creating a Marketing Plan

Marketing Plans are Annual Need for Sports Facilities

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Create Annual Marketing Plans for Your Sports Facility

What’s the best way to market your sports facility to your community? Planning ahead with developing a marketing plan is critical — whether your business is brand new or has been around for decades.

If recent events have taught us anything, it’s that your business’s financial situation can change in a moment. You need to be flexible! But if you don’t have a plan, you’re not being flexible, you’re simply unprepared. Planning ahead is especially critical for sports-related businesses to avoid a slow season and a lull in revenue that can make or break your business.

Break the Year Down and Find a Focus

Use your annual marketing plan to break the year down. Decide what to focus on each month and write it down.

  1. What your clients will want to buy that month. You know your clients better than anyone. Familiarize yourself with local school schedules and sports schedules. Which sports and fitness programs are the most popular in your community, and when? Note those details on your calendar.
  2. What programs, classes, or events will provide the optimal revenue for your facility. Remember that each area in your facility should have multiple uses throughout the day. Diversify your space to maximize your revenue! Keep your clients’ range of ages and interests in mind when planning programming. Make sure that there’s something for everyone! Remember, each square foot of your space costs you money every day. Each square foot should be generating as much money for your business as possible. Don’t worry about getting too detailed here. The most important thing is to note the start dates, staffing, focus, and tentative pricing. You can finalize all the details as the event gets closer.
  3. What special events and promotions you can run to reach your goals. It’s up to you to come up with promotions that will entice customers while still allowing you to meet all your financial obligations and keep your doors open. New businesses, in particular, benefit from offering discounts to get new customers in the door. Plan promotions with care and update the pricing as your financial needs change.

Mapping Out Your Calendar

You’ve established your general outline of events. Now it’s time to create a calendar.

eSoft Planner’s team of industry veterans have found that the ideal window for getting the word out about a new class, program or promotion is six to eight weeks ahead of time. Classes may or may not fill up that early.  Sometimes they do! But it does get people thinking about the event.

We typically send out a dedicated email during this window. We remind followers on social media about the event or class after a few weeks have passed. Finally, we send out yet another email linking directly to the registration page. We repeat this last step at the beginning of the week of the actual class or event, or the registration deadline for the class or event, if that comes first.

Having specific to-dos on a highly-visible calendar will keep your staff on track. You’ll want to assign a staff member to enforce the deadlines contained in your plan.

Make sure to revisit the plan every month to make additional changes and add details. Every six months you should be planning ahead for the next six. You’ll be able to stay a year ahead at all times!

For More Information

eSoft Planner’s customizable tools and features as well as an experienced team of consultants help fulfill your small business scheduling needs. The marketing module can track customer interest, email customers, post messages where they’ll be noticed, and keep you organized across the balance of the year and into 2021.

Fill out this form to request a free demo and learn more about eSoft Planner’s comprehensive scheduling and management system for sports facility owners across the country.

Laptop with Screen of Sports Facility Website

How Can You Create a Sports Facility Website?

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Sports Facility Website Guide Part 1: The Basics

Many new sports facility owners don’t think of themselves as “computer people.” You spend your time out on the field or the court — not in front of a screen.

You know a website is important for your new business. But where do you start? Many jump at what seems like the simplest or cheapest option without looking before they leap. There are better choices out there!

What are the common website stumbling blocks and priorities for new sports facility owners? Here’s a basic roadmap for beginners who need a website but don’t know much about making one.

What You Need: A Summary for Beginners

You’ll need four building blocks regardless of who builds your website or how much you pay for it. Some web designers or web builder packages include all four in the total price and do the setup work for each one — but you’ll pay for them one way or another.

  1. A Domain Name

You know these. They start with a “https://www” and usually end with a “.com.” These are also referred to as your website’s “address.” It works the same way as a postal address does by pointing visitors to your website’s location and displaying that location at the top of your browser. You can buy (or “register”) your domain name through a variety of domain name registrar companies. You have exclusive rights to your domain name once you register it. Make sure you own this and register it in your name — it shouldn’t be owned and controlled by the company making your website. As the address becomes more valuable, you don’t want a landlord. Unfortunately, you won’t have all the building blocks for a working site just yet.

  • If your website is a house, the domain name is its address.
  • Average cost: According to GoDaddy, “a domain name can cost you anywhere from $2 to $20 per year, depending on specials or discounts.”

  1. Hosting

Your website’s electronic files must be stored somewhere. Plenty of companies are happy to host those files on their own servers for a fee. Many domain name registration companies also offer hosting services, or you can use a different company for each service. However, buying a hosting account is not the same as buying a working website.

  • If your website is a house, a server is the plot of land you want to build on.
  • Average cost: “Websites for individuals and small to medium-sized businesses can generally get everything they need from web hosting plans somewhere in the $2 to $20 a month range, with $50 being the upper limit you’re likely to face,” says HostGator. Be aware, however, that prices can climb with added services.
  • It’s worth considering a hosting service that provides easy back-up and restoration services and/or even a “development” or “staging” environment. These features make it easier for you to fix your website if it ever goes down or you break it while trying to make updates or changes.

  1. Design and Programming

Here’s the real cost. Programmers and graphic designers will create and code your site — either from scratch or from a basic template. Your options range from individual freelance designers to big companies with hundreds on staff to offer these services.

  • If your website is a house, this is the actual construction — the bricks and mortar, as well as the aesthetics.
  • There are two models for having someone build it for you.
  • Some companies charge an upfront fee and then a monthly fee for their website development service. Keep in mind that this cost adds up over time and you might end up spending more in the long run.
  • Other companies charge just for the development of the website. Look for one that will turn over the keys to the house and give you tools to do your own content changes — like adding items to your calendar, updating pricing or adding pictures.
  • If you’re looking for a build-it-yourself option, check out these choices from PC Magazine. They estimate that most monthly fees for these website builders are about $25/month as an e-commerce site. One-time fees range from $1,000 to much more, depending on how many custom features you want. Read the details to see how hosting is handled.

  1. Service and Updates

Aging websites need maintenance. They experience wear and tear or face unexpected disasters, such as hacking. Technology is always advancing. Criminals always want to steal things. You’ll need help keeping your website safe and up to date.

  • If your website is a house, updates are the homeowner’s policy and hiring repairmen.
  • Average cost: “Keeping a website relevant requires paying for maintenance and updates,” says Forbes, and hosting accounts and website designers charge service costs. They can start out at as little as $15/month but pay attention to what your plan includes. Make sure you can get ahold of someone to get it fixed right away if something goes wrong.

For More Information

Are you feeling more comfortable with building a website? We would love to discuss with you how eSoft Planner sports facility scheduling software can free up time in your workflow to focus on website development.

eSoft Planner’s staff is also well-versed in industry best practices and sports facility website design trends. Fill out this form to request a free demo and learn more.

Planning a Sports Facility Exit Strategy

Defining Your Exit Strategy for your Sports Facility

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How to Build an Exit Strategy for Your Sports Facility

It’s always more fun to create your new business plan than it is to think about how you’re eventually going to STOP running it. But even if your sports facility stays open forever, you won’t be around to see it. So your business plan should conclude with your personal sports facility exit strategy.

If you’re going to show this business plan to potential investors or partners, you’ll want to use this section to emphasize that you’ve planned for all scenarios to protect the business and their investment. (If this business plan is more for your own planning use, you should still add this section. It will help guide your leadership through the years.)

Before we talk about what to write in the “Exit Strategy” part of your plan, let’s talk about your exit options.

1. Sell Your Share in the Business to Your Partners

If you open your facility with other financial partners, any one partner should be able to personally exit the business by selling their portion of ownership to their partners. Your partnership agreement should include the details of how this should happen, and the agreement should be reviewed by a lawyer.

2. Best Option: Sell the Business to a New Owner or Owners

The process of selling your business can be expensive and complicated. It’s not simple to put a value on a business, after all, and there are plenty of legal and accounting fees. However, it’s usually the best exit strategy for sports facilities, because it makes you the most money.

Here are a few common buyers for sports facilities:

  • Related businesses. Look for companies that could benefit from expanding into your market. Complementary businesses – like apparel or equipment stores – or your competitors could look to expand their business into your location someday.
  • Current employees. It’s common for facility staff to be interested in purchasing the sports facility where they work, and they can be good buyers because they already understand the business. (Side note: Owners who want to sell to employees often use a “leverage buyout model” that allows the buyers to make payments over time rather than buy the whole business upfront. Unfortunately, this often results in plenty of headaches if the new owners stop being able to make payments. Get as much money upfront as possible to avoid losses and/or being sucked back into the business you tried to exit.)
  • New sports facility owners. If you list your business for sale, you might get inquiries from new potential sports facility owners who are looking for space and equipment. Although, they may find buying your business outright more practical.

3. Close the Business and Sell All Your Stuff

If you can’t find a buyer, you can simply close the business and sell your assets (building, equipment, furniture, etc.) to whomever will give you the best deal. This isn’t the option you want to include in your formal business plan. However, it is worth noting your assets and the resale value of your equipment and infrastructure.

Add Your Exit Strategy to Your Business Plan

Now that you’re familiar with your options, you can summarize your sports facility exit strategy in a short paragraph to conclude your business plan.

Here’s an example of what it could look like:

All of DNA Sports Center’s owners will agree to a detailed, legally approved document that specifies the terms of any individual’s potential exit from the business.

By consistently investing marketing dollars in DNA Sports Center’s brand and image, focusing intensely on reaching profitability, and by investing in and maintaining quality pitching machines and fitness equipment, we’ll make sure that our facility is attractive to any potential buyers from the sports performance industry. 

That’s it — we’ve come to the end of the business plan series. We hope you’ve found some useful information. The team at eSoft Planner is ready to help you make the most of your sports facility because we want you to be successful. Talk to our team today about how eSoft Planner can support your business.

Volleyball for sports facility financial strategy

Developing a Sports Facility Financial Strategy

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Developing a Sports Facility Financial Strategy

This is the fourth in a series of posts on creating a business plan for a sports facility – sports facility financial strategy.

Now that you’ve thought out the details of your products, staff and operations, you can use that information to estimate your business’ finances.

We’ll do that by estimating your revenue, comparing it to your expenses, and determining if you’ll make enough profit based on those numbers.

Step 1: Monthly Revenue Estimates

First, you’ll need to review the marketing plan you created, including your plans for busy seasons, major events and promotions. Then, estimate how much revenue they’ll bring in, based on your pricing.

You should be conservative in your estimates. It’s always better to exceed expectations than to come up short, especially when trying to attract investors.

Here is an example of how you might chart out your revenue estimates for your various services:

Step 2: Monthly Expense Projections

Now it’s time to get totals for all your business expenses.

  • Check the marketing section of your business plan. Add up the monthly costs of all your marketing tools.
  • Check the operations section of your business plan. Add up all monthly staff costs, such as the salary, apparel, unemployment and bonuses.
  • Check the operations section of your business planagain and add up all the monthly costs for your building and equipment. This includes utilities, monthly payments plus interest on any equipment that you’ve financed, rent costs, and any other regular building costs.
  • Add up the monthly cost of any other ongoing expenses, such as taxes, accountant’s fees, insurance, internet and phone, scheduling software, cleaning and maintenance, and security. Larger, one-time or semi-regular annual expenses, such as legal fees, should also be split up into monthly amounts and added here. Even if you paid certain expenses upfront, you should still account for them in the month they’re due, so you’ll have the money ready when the expenses come up again next year.
  • Total all of your expenses to get a final monthly number. If your costs and revenues vary on a monthly basis, it’s OK to list each month’s expenses separately.

Step 3: Calculate Your Profit Margin

The profit margin is a handy figure that lets you know what percentage of your revenue is going to profit. Best practices for target profit margin depend on what kind of business you have, but it is a good idea to aim for 30% minimum.

You can find the profit margin by dividing the expected profit by the total expected revenue.

Step 4: Troubleshoot and Adjust

If your profit margin drops below 30% consistently, it’s time to make some adjustments to your financial strategy.

First, determine your least profitable piece of equipment and get rid of it. Is there a less profitable area of your building that you can eliminate? Do it. What about your staff — can you justify each staff member’s pay based on the revenue they’ll bring in? Maybe you should switch to a commission-based pay structure.

Your sports facility financial strategy is the meatiest part of your business plan and incorporates all the previous steps. If these numbers don’t look right, you NEED to fix them before you move forward.

Next, you’ll need to consider and plan your exit strategy — a particularly important aspect of your business plan if you have investors or partners. We’ll look at that next month.

The team at eSoft Planner has experience helping businesses like yours be more profitable. If you’ve run your numbers and found lower profit margins than you’d like, talk to us about scheduling, marketing, and package ideas that can improve your financial performance.

Sports Facility Operating Strategy on Court

The Third Step in Your Sports Facility Business Plan

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Creating a Sports Facility Operating Strategy

This is the third in a series of posts on creating a business plan for a sports facility. This is about creating a sports facility operating strategy

You’ve already established a summary of business objectives and details of how you plan to introduce your sports facility to the community. It’s time to describe your facility’s operations. This step in your sports facility business plan has two parts: the physical building and equipment and the facility’s human resources or staff.

Part 1: Infrastructure

The Space – Describe your ideal physical building for your sports facility. Make sure to include:

  • The facility’s square footage
  • A few sentences about what makes it ideal
  • A list of both monetary and temporal costs of the purchase or rental and maintenance of your physical facility (including cleaning, estimated repairs, and utility costs)

If you don’t have your site finalized yet, you can put estimates into this section.

The Equipment – Describe the equipment you will need to run the facility and discuss how you will use it. List estimated costs, both upfront and ongoing, including taxes, shipping, maintenance and installation.

Here’s an example of an introduction to the infrastructure portion of your operations plan:

DNA Sports Center’s facility features an open turf field that can be split into various pitching tunnels and batting cages. It also features a strength training room, a staff office and a WIFI-enabled waiting area for parents. Because we are operating out of a previous fitness facility, our physical costs will be kept to a minimum by taking advantage of existing resources. The following equipment will need to be purchased and installed: (include a list of equipment and costs).

Part 2: Staff

Describe the staff positions at your facility. Make sure to list the job titles and include:

  • Specific job duties
  • Weekly hours for each position
  • Wage ranges
  • Staff payment methods

Certainly, you should briefly note your sports facility’s hours of operation and describe when services would be offered to maximize revenue.

Here’s an example of an introduction to the staff portion of your operations plan:

DNA Sports Center will hire qualified candidates for the following positions: Office Manager, Speed and Agility Program Director / Sales Director, Director of Baseball Operations, Director of Midwest Prospects (an elite baseball team). The rest of our staff, including sports-specific instructors, will be considered contractors. (Include the list of roles.)

Conclusion

Your sports facility operating strategy does not have to be elaborate, but it does need to support your vision. By following the steps for describing your operational strategy, you are well-positioned for the next step of your business plan – developing a financial strategy.

The expert team at eSoft Planner has worked with thousands of sports facility owners just like you. We know what it takes. Our implementation team excels at helping you use the tools to make your dream a success. We love to hear about your plans, and we want to be a partner in your vision.

Start the conversation today! Contact us for a custom demo.

Sports Facility Marketing Strategy for Gym

The Second Step in Your Sports Facility Business Plan: The Marketing Strategy

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Developing A Sports Facility Marketing Strategy

Last month, we looked at creating the vision for your sports facility business plan. Now that you have the foundation, it’s time to consider how you’ll promote your sports facility to your customers and community – also known as your marketing strategy.

Summarize Your Brand

Think about how you want others to perceive your sports facility and write a few descriptive sentences. Consider which colors you want to use to help establish your brand. We suggest getting a professional logo to use on your website, ads and apparel – if you don’t have one yet, you can get an affordable, quality logo with an online service such as LogoBee or 99 Designs.

For example:

DNA Sports Center’s brand identity will be energetic, athletic and professional. It should appeal to both kids and adults. Brand colors will be dark red, gray and black.

Establish Price Points

Why is pricing here in the marketing section? Because it can be a great marketing tool.

Firstly, research what people are paying for similar services in your area. It is likely that your sports facility offers unique services in comparison to your competitors, and your differentiators will help as you consider your pricing.

Do you want to establish yourself as an exclusive, luxury service or as an affordable service for families? Consider your brand image as you establish the pricing for all your services, including rentals, lessons and group instruction. Decide whether you want to give discounts to valued clients or sell packages of services at discounted rates to encourage sales.

(When we get to the financial analysis step of the business plan, we’ll see if you can be profitable at the prices you want to charge.)

For example:

Young athletes around the Cincinnati area are looking for an accredited, professional program for sports fundamentals, as evidenced by the high number of similar programs within 40 minutes of our facility location. However, competing programs don’t have the legitimacy and professional branding that a Parisi Speed School provides. There are also no speed and agility programs within the immediate Milford area. DNA Sports Center will charge between $100 and $300 per month for unlimited access to speed and agility training, which reflects the exclusive, semi-private nature of our training.

Adding additional details about the packages that you will have available will help you define your offering.

List Your Other Marketing Tools

Below are some marketing methods you should consider. Each of them can be an effective tactic in making your facility known to the community.

  • Sales Staff – Sales reps with established connections in the community can be your strongest marketing asset. If you plan to hire any, briefly describe their position/s and include how much you’ll will pay them. For example: DNA Sports Center will employ a sales rep that will be paid a __ base salary plus __% commission for all new memberships he or she sells to the facility. This employee is expected to generate __ leads/memberships per week/month.
  • Email marketing – Costs for a professional program start around $30/month and increase based on the number of contacts in your database. Your facility management and scheduling software should have basic email marketing components, too. (eSoft Planner comes standard with a basic e-mail marketing system.)
  • Website – Get some estimates on a search-engine-friendly web site. Blogging or updating a news section on your sports facility’s web site is a good way to get noticed. Decide who will be in charge of updating the website, and how often.
  • Social Media – Create a social presence and start making connections. Just like a website, social media is only effective if you keep it current and relevant. You’ll need to decide who will be responsible for it and how often you’ll post.
  • Advertising and Sponsorships – You know your community. What are the influential media or organizations in the area that will be noticed by your customers? Research and include the costs to advertise with these organizations in your budget. If you’re having a grand opening event, you can work with local media to make sure it’s covered. And don’t forget digital advertising to ensure you show up in local searches for facilities like yours.

Create a 12-Month Marketing Plan

This is a big one. Sports facilities are very seasonally dependent. As a result, for each month of the first year, you should list the major marketing initiatives you will use for each of your chosen marketing tools above. Remember that you need to anticipate your customers’ needs in advance of each season.

Marketing initiatives include:

  • What your clients will want to buy that month
  • Programs, classes or events will provide the optimal revenue for your facility
  • Special events and promotions you can run to reach your goals.

Conclusion

With your sports facility marketing strategy and expenses established, you can move on to the next step of your business plan, which is to detail the operations at your facility.

The expert team at eSoft Planner has worked with thousands of sports facility owners just like you. We know what it takes to succeed. Our implementation team excels at helping you use the tools to make your dream a success. We love to hear about your plans, and we want to be a partner in your vision.

Start the conversation today! Contact us for a custom demo.

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