A few years ago, I had the opportunity to meet Jimi Letchford, Brand Manager of CrossFit, and hear him speak on the role marketing plays in the brand. As an avid CrossFitter, I was pumped and had a ton of questions. But most of my questions weren’t baked in all the excitement — I was on the defense.
- Why are there so many BAD CrossFit gyms and coaches?
- How can you stand by with ZERO quality control for your gyms?
I’ve been to bad gyms, and I’ve been to good gyms. And yes, I’m one of those people that gets defensive about CrossFit when people tell me I’m just going to get hurt. That’s why I was so fired up hearing from Jimi.
Your customers matter.
At the time, it cost only an initial $3K affiliate fee + the $1K training certification to open a CrossFit branded gym (this obviously doesn’t include gym equipment, insurance, etc).
The catch with CrossFit is that the people dictate whether or not the gym stays in business. If the coaching sucks, people leave. If the community just isn’t there, people leave. It may work for the short-term, but can’t go on forever. That’s why CrossFit as a brand is okay with not providing any quality control or check points for their gyms.
So why does this matter for you? The big takeaway here is YOUR CUSTOMERS MATTER. They ultimately determine how successful your business is. You can have a fantastic sales team and a cutting-edge product or service, but if you don’t ultimately satisfy your customers long term, then you just won’t last.
