An online review of Golds Gym: looking at the implications of local search, user reviews, and consumer generated media against business development questions.

1. CASE OUTLOOK
GOLDS GYM
Online Brand Traffic and Business Impact

2. 529 LOCATIONS NATIONWIDE

3. Nationally, good online brand control
• Retains top 50% if Google
1st Page Results
• Has company controlled
assets in top results
• Has local listings submitted
for map presence

4. YET ECONOMICS FORCE
CONSUMER REDUCTION
• Severe traffic downturn after Holiday spike
• -10% drop in site traffic in one month
• -45% drop in site traffic in ninety days

5. Top Traffic Sources
to GoldsGym.com
Unique Monthly Traffic
• 69223
• 23980
• 13597

6. But….
Consumers search local
Even if they don’t know it,
Google gives them local.

7. Local Consumer Reviews = Problem

8. SEARCH: Golds Gym Seattle

9. Realistically,
everyone reads the negative
if it is painfully obvious

10. But what about B2B and Franchise Investors?
Golds Gym
(http://www.goldsgym.com/golds/franchising/steps.php)
The main criteria of becoming a franchise candidate
FINANCIAL REQUIREMENTS
Potential franchisees must possess the capital sufficient to fund the
development of a Gold's Gym facility.
– $800,000 in Net Worth
– $300,000 in Liquid Assets
– Previous Business Ownership or Unit Management in retail or service industry
– Experience in managing 15-30 employees - salary & commission
– Interested in Fitness or a related health care/wellness activity
– Sales Experience
– Involvement in the community

11. Investor Due Diligence
Magnifies Negative Impact
(http://www.yelp.com/biz/golds-gym-seattle)
• quot;I went and did a quick walk through of the Capitol Hill Golds Gym as I work in the
area. I had read the reviews on here but thought I might as well check it out for
myself. The reviews on here are accurate--the place smells like urine. Not sweat
like some gyms but stale urine (think vagrant parking garage.) Didn't need to see
anything else. I'll keep looking.quot;
• quot;Nevermind the fact it smells like fungus growing in a sweaty shoe and the bad
techno untz, untz, untz interfering with my music.quot;
• quot;With few exceptions, they have a very rude, unconcerned staff. Members are
rarely greeted when entering or leaving. The management is indifferent when
members raise concerns about cleanliness, broken machines, billing, etc.quot;
• quot;This is one of the skankiest gyms I've ever worked out at. The men's locker room
is lit like the backroom of a gay bar and smells like a fungal-infected crotch. I
levitate over the floor in there and would NEVER take off my shoes.quot;
• quot;My bf & I originally joined this gym when we first moved to Capitol Hill and it was
virtually the only workout facility within walking distance. We enjoyed screw-ups
on our account, lack of good facilities, rudeness, quot;questionablequot; behavior in the
men's locker room, and all-around bullshit when we tried to cancel our
membership. I wish there were negative stars, because this place rates a negative
5!quot;

12. As a consumer
you may rethink spending your
$100 a month elsewhere…
As an investor
you may want to keep your
$500k and think about the future…

13. As a competitor, you might…

14. Look at Paid Keywords sending them traffic…
and spend your dollars more wisely

15. Or look at Organic Keywords
sending them traffic…
and make sure people find you instead

16. You could also
Figure out where they are not…
and put yourself into the right spot.

17. Knowing your marketplace,
Competitors
– How they perform
– How they fail
– How they succeed
– What market you can take
Audiences
– Where they are
– How they react and interact
– Where they are going
– How you can retain them
– How to communicate with you and your staff
Allows you to drive results…and highlight beneficial communications

18. Do you know…
• The competitors in the space and their current and past effectiveness online?
• Competitors online status in detail- have they done a comprehensive overview of
online footprint and options?
• How to beat competition in current space, and in finding new spaces online for
customer interactions?
• How to fine tune or revise allocations to cut costs ?
• How proactive maintenance works – and why it’s critical relative to Search engines
and brand monitoring?
• When to adapt to search engine calculation or algorithm changes?
• How to identify risks, brand reputation opportunities, and trademark uses?
• Have you looked into co-marketing or channel partnerships, channel expansions,
and niche alliances?
• How do online channels work with local distributors and stores?
• How to test a market prior to a project or campaign launch?
• What mediums are most effective in communicating with your customer base?

19. Competitive Analysis
Our analysis answers questions like:
• Who in my industry or segment is doing a better job?
• Which company on the internet has results I want to model? (any industry)
• What percentage of online searchers are seeing my ads vs. someone else's?
• How much are competitors advertising? What is their effectiveness?
• What competitors have entered my industry or changed positioning?
• What potential competitive launches should I be aware of? Have any new campaigns been
launched recently?
• What is the decision making pattern of my competition?
• How efficient is my paid search compared to other advertisers?
• Is my agency really making me money or does their data fall apart when audited?
• What copy changes have occurred over time and why?
• What can be used to avoid project failures – have these already been attempted?
• What part of my offerings are repeatable and scalable?
• Which blend of traditional media and online is the most cost effective?
• What is my brand impact and what associations do customers make, or could they make?

20. Ask simple questions…
What does my consumer want?
How can I provide them value?
Where can I differentiate my business?
How can I maximize on opportunities?

21. Thank You, Questions Please.
Barry Hurd
123SocialMedia.com
http://twitter.com/123socialmedia