It is now more apparent than ever how important small businesses are to not just our local communities, but to our nation’s economy as a whole. While all of us like to do our best in supporting small businesses, independently owned local companies often lose out to big corporations because they simply cannot match the speed, price and efficiency of a million or billion dollar corporation. But when you support a small business you are supporting your friend, family, and your neighbors. As many small businesses begin to reopen, there are several things you can do to help them not only survive, but succeed. The best news is, almost all of them are free!

1. Continue to be a Customer

We know that many of you are facing some uncertainty in life right now, whether that uncertainty is tied to health or finances. However small businesses need your support right now. Speaking for ourselves, we are unbelievably proud of our service! We aren’t asking for hand outs. We get supported by our customers, and they get to reshape their lives through health and fitness. Not a bad a deal!

For us it’s not enough for you to simply “keep paying your membership.” While many gyms hope you pay and never show up…we want you to come in, and come in consistently. There’s no other way to get the results that you want, and there’s nothing we want more than to help you get there.

2. Write a Review on Google and/or Facebook

Customer reviews are one of the most powerful tools for a small business. We all work hard for our money, so when we buy a product or service, we want some reassurance that our hard earned money won’t be wasted. Hearing from current or former customers is a great way to reassure people that their money will be well spent. There is probably no other advertising or “sales technique” that a small business can use that is more powerful than the testimony of a current customer.

If you haven’t yet and want to give us a review, you can do that on Google or Facebook. It’s free, doesn’t take up much of your time, and makes a big difference in helping us thrive as a small business.

3. Follow them on Social Media and Engage With Their Content

Raise your hand if you have a love/hate relationship with social media. For small businesses social media can be a powerful and free marketing tool. However each platform has their own mysterious “algorithm” and no one really knows how they work. What we do know is the more engagement a page or posts gets, the more it pops up in other people’s feeds. In the end, that’s the name of the game. Small businesses need exposure.

We probably get folks coming in to Arkitect once a month saying things like “we never knew this was here!” As a small business, that’s something you never want to hear. Truthfully many small businesses simply don’t have the budget to compete with big businesses in terms of marketing. Engaging with social media posts is a great way to boost a small business’s visibility. Here’s a quick list of the major points

• Like/Follow/Subscribe to our social media pages
  • We use Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube
• Like posts, but even more importantly comment on them!
• Share posts so your friends and family can see what’s going on. If YOU are a fan of us, your friends and family will probably be interested as well

We know that you’re bombarded with content all day long, but it doesn’t cost you anything, and it can be the difference between surviving and thriving for a small business.

4. Spread the Word

Small businesses rely heavily on word of mouth. Arkitect Fitness is no different. While our social media campaigns have been a big help in growing our business, nothing is better than our members talking about us with their friends and family. You can do this by referring us to a friend that may be interested in fitness, wearing one of our t-shirts when you go out (No joke we signed up two new members one time because someone saw a client wearing our t-shirt in a restaurant) or throwing a sticker on your car can go a long way to making us more visible in our community.

Small Businesses Thank You

No matter how big or small your contribution, we appreciate all of our customer’s support. Every time you like, comment, subscribe, share, come in for a workout, or just send a message to tell us you had a great workout, it all makes a huge impact on our lives and our business. We appreciate you!