Sports Facility Marketing Tip: Track and Promote Records

We all wish we had more time to spend on efforts for marketing our sports facilities. But even if you’ve fallen behind on your annual marketing plan, there’s one tactic you can implement this week if you haven’t done so already: establishing facility-wide records.

Even if you’ve just opened your doors, you can start the tradition of memorializing the best performances that have taken place within your walls. The records that you track will vary depending on which sports you host. Most sports facilities should at least include records for various sprint times, vertical jumps and strength tests.

Decide which categories or records you’d like to track, then find an official way to display them prominently within your facility. Doing a Google Image Search for “sports records signage” is a good place to start. Once the records are displayed, you can make them a point of discussions with clients.

Benefits of Publicizing Facility Records

Publicizing facility records does several things to benefit your sports facility:

• It’s great for public relations. When a local athlete breaks a record, it’s a great opportunity to reach out to local media with the news, especially if your facility has been around for a while or hosts large numbers of athletes. Here’s an example of how one facility record made the local news.
• It builds relationships with record holders. Once an athlete’s name is posted semi-permanently in your facility, that athlete will naturally have more loyalty to your business.
• It creates excitement for your current clients. Record holders gain a sort of celebrity status with the little kids in the facility. It is fun to watch and gets kids excited to be practicing with you.
• It establishes your facility’s longevity. Posted records make your facility look like it’s been around for a while and will be around for the long term.

My own sports facility is home to a Parisi Speed School. Parisi Speed Schools have a great system that tracks kids’ progress as they improve their personal records for speed and agility. It’s called the “Cat Club,” and kids move up from “bobcat” level all the  way up to the “cheetah” level. Their progress is assessed at regular “Cat Club Challenge” tests. This Cat Club system does a great job of inspiring kids to do better and showing them that they’re improving over time – and it’s another way of tracking personal records.

If you have any suggestions for how to track or display facility records, I’d love to hear them. Please leave a comment, or send me an email.