How this Gym Uses SimpleTexting for Mass Texting and 1-on-1 Conversations

When Loggerhead Fitness owner Rick Opton decided to leave his sales career behind in favor of pursuing a passion for health and fitness, he was no stranger to social media and email marketing. 

Despite his expertise, he faced the same problems most business owners do: ensuring that his company’s communication cut through the noise.

“Even the best emails only get a 20-30% open rate,” Rick explained. That’s what led Loggerhead Fitness to SimpleTexting.

“Now within a minute of sending a text, we see a 90% open rate. That makes a huge difference to our business.”

We talked with Rick to find out how he uses segmentation, team members, and multiple numbers to engage the gym’s audience. 

Taking Advantage of Multi-number and Team Members

It was important to Rick that the text messaging service he chose could support both two-way messaging and mass texting.

With SimpleTexting’s multi-number feature, Rick can: 

1. Use a toll-free number to send text message campaigns to large groups of members 
2. Have a separate local number for two-way conversations. 

Note: Want to use a toll-free number with SimpleTexting? Carriers are currently imposing limits on traffic (and those limits will increase until you submit your verification form), so make sure to have it verified to avoid disruptions.

Rick’s employees have been added as team members to the Loggerhead Fitness account.

Rick can then choose who has access to each number based on their role. This enables team members to respond to questions directed at them. 

All team members have access to the primary toll-free number, while it’s up to Rick to decide who has access to the local number. 

Sending Targeted Campaigns to Members

As a fitness center, Loggerhead Fitness offers a range of classes and services to its members, from Zumba to personal training. 

So, if a Zumba instructor calls in sick, it’s common practice to let class members know they’ll be led by somebody else. When you have thousands of contacts, it’s a waste of time to update every single member.

It became apparent that many SMS platforms don’t make it straightforward to segment contact lists. That’s another reason Rick chose SimpleTexting.

“We segment our audience to make everyone’s life easier. Ours and our members. We know who spins, we know who does personal training, and they’re all segmented into separate lists.”

With segmented contact lists, Rick’s team can create a new campaign and send it out to relevant members only.

Having 1-on-1 Conversations Using a Local Number

With our SMS inbox, Rick tells us it’s easy to follow up with prospective gym members who have signed up for more information or have taken part in an induction.

The main benefit of using a local number is that people are more likely to trust and open a message if they recognize the area code it’s from (if you use a local number with us, it will need to be registered).

After someone responds, Rick and the team mark the conversation as resolved to keep their Inbox tidy.

Making Texting Simple

Rick was open about having tried out many SMS marketing platforms before settling on SimpleTexting. So, what made him choose us?

According to Rick himself, “It came down to ease-of-use, the wide range of features, and cost.” 

Using SMS in conjunction with email and social media has provided the gym with a stronger marketing and communication strategy that reaches every member.

If you’re looking to text-enable your gym or fitness center, you can start with a 14-day risk-free SimpleTexting trial.