8 ideas for using SMS communication in your gym

Did you know? For 2025, getting more exercise is the number one resolution for 34% of French people.
This is the perfect opportunity for gyms to communicate about current offers, new features, or upcoming events to their members. In just a few clicks, create your SMS messages and send your campaigns to all your members or a prospect database. SMS has a 95% open rate, making it one of the most effective communication channels.

Table of Contents

Why use SMS communication in your gym

1- The reminder SMS

2- Renting contact databases

3- Promotional offers

4- Schedule change notifications

5- General information

6- Tips and advice

7- Voice SMS for your gym

8- Simplify the management of your clubs

SMS examples to use in your gym

Discover how Freedom Fitness finds new members with SMS

Why use SMS communication in your gym

In the competitive world of gyms, communication is essential to ensuring member satisfaction. In order to keep members properly informed, it is important to send messages containing the information they need. This improves both the organisation of your gym and your communication with members. There are several ways to use SMS in your gym, particularly to provide useful information or promote your offers.

1- The reminder SMS

Sending reminders about classes or events can help boost attendance and prevent no-shows. On SMS Partner, you can schedule your sends for any date and time you choose. This makes it easy to send reminder SMS messages a few days before a class and again on the day itself, to maximise participation.

2- Renting contact databases

Renting contact databases allows you to reach prospects and grow your membership base. You can select multiple specific criteria and personalise your messages according to your target audience. If you want to attract people in your geographical area, you can target by postcode or city. Depending on your desired targeting, you can choose an age range, gender, socio-professional category, or even the interests of your prospects.

3- Promotional offers

Promotions and special offers are key elements for attracting new members and retaining existing ones. SMS is very effective for distributing these offers quickly and efficiently. At the end of the year, you can also launch large SMS recruitment campaigns to encourage people to join your gym.

Be sure to comply with the legal sending hours for marketing SMS messages. As a reminder, marketing SMS messages can be sent from 8am to 8pm Monday to Friday, and from 10am to 8pm on Saturdays. Sending these messages on Sundays and public holidays is prohibited. Additionally, it is mandatory to include a “Stop SMS” opt-out in your messages.

4- Schedule change notifications

Informing members of any last-minute schedule changes helps avoid inconvenience and maintains their trust in how the gym is managed. For example, notify them of a cancelled class or a session moved to a different time slot. Additionally, if you have special hours on weekends or public holidays, sending an SMS ensures your members show up at the right time.

5- General information

You can share a wide variety of information. Whether it’s to announce the installation of new equipment or changes to your gym’s rules and regulations, SMS is the ideal channel. Membership confirmation for new members can also be sent by SMS. By doing this, you enhance their experience and strengthen the bond between your members and your gym.

6- Tips and advice

Providing practical tips, fitness advice, and wellness reminders via SMS can also be greatly appreciated by members. These messages can offer added value outside of training sessions and help members stay on track with their fitness goals.

7- Voice SMS for your gym

To give your messages the tone you want, use your own voice! With our Voice Partner solution, you can create and send voice messages, leave voicemail deposits, and even create voice scenarios. Voice communication makes your messages feel more human, making it easier to motivate your members to come and train at your gym.

8- Simplify the management of your clubs

On SMS Partner, you have the option to activate the sub-account feature. This feature allows you to better manage your SMS sends if you have multiple clubs. For example, if you run offers specific to each club, this feature lets you send separate messages for each one. This makes it easier to personalise your messages and segment your sends. You have 2 options: a simple sub-account or an advanced sub-account. Advanced sub-accounts include features such as SMS credit management.

Find out more: SMS Multi-accounts: Manage multiple sub-accounts for free

Finally, for better visibility, combine different communication channels. Email solutions remain relevant for reaching an audience that responds better to email than SMS. Check out our dedicated article on using email for your gym.

SMS examples to use in your gym

Here are some SMS examples you can easily copy for your campaigns.

Notify your members of an unexpected change:

“Hello [Name], your training session on 15/06 at 9am has been rescheduled to 17/06 at 10am. Thank you for your understanding, see you soon!”

Send a class reminder to your members:

“Don’t forget your group class on 10/04 at 5pm at your [Name] gym! Have a great workout!”

Encourage prospects to come and discover your gym with an SMS:

“? New: Come and discover your new gym at [Location]. Your first session is free from July 9 to 30! STOP 36XXX”

Offer a membership renewal with a sign-up bonus:

“Hello [Name], enjoy 30% off an annual membership until 30/08. One month free when you sign up! More info at http://ptnr.fr/1htNjC. STOP 36XXX”

Discover how Freedom Fitness finds new members with SMS

The Freedom Fitness club is a group of 8 gyms located in Grenoble and a client of the Heitz System solution. Every year, Freedom Fitness organises open days to energise its clubs. SMS Partner supports them in this endeavour. The concept involves bringing clubs to life by organising a friendly event for both members and prospects. The goal is to recruit new members by allowing them to discover the equipment and the welcoming atmosphere of the gyms. To make this initiative a success, Freedom Fitness contacted us to run a targeted SMS marketing campaign.

Challenge: How to drive visitors to Freedom Fitness open days?

As part of an exceptional recruitment campaign, we proposed a targeted number rental based on specific criteria. The aim was to reach people most likely to be interested in a gym membership.

Criteria selected for the number rental:

– Socio-professional categories: Upper & Lower CSP

In the Grenoble area, 2,124 numbers are available.

Actions implemented

Once the prospects were selected, a two-step strategy was put in place:

Step 1 – SMS campaign send – 3 days before the open day

An SMS was sent to communicate the open day details, reaching the list of 2,124 potential prospects for the first time. The impact is significant, as SMS is a communication channel with a 95% open rate.

Step 2 – Voice campaign send – 1 day before the open day

A voice message was left on the voicemail of all 2,124 recipients, inviting them to discover the Freedom Fitness gym at its open day.

The goal of combining these two campaigns just days apart was to encourage prospects to attend the open day and maximise the club’s visibility.

Results of this campaign

This marketing campaign in numbers:

– 2,124 prospects reached within a highly targeted area.

– 40 calls received requesting information following the voice message send (1.88% call rate).

– 5 new members signed up at the gym thanks to this campaign (0.24% sign-up rate).

Would you like to find out more about using SMS in gyms? Feel free to download our free white paper on gyms.