People We Love: What I learned from Orange Theory Fitness

Written by

Britt Silcox

From “skeptic” to “superfan” in 1 week.

A week ago I had only heard of Orange Theory Fitness in passing. I had seen the sign a couple times and had made the assumption that it was a nothing more than a place for people who love to sweat and spend money. Neither of which appealed to me, until…

A friend of mine invited me to join her for a free class. The conversation went something like this… “it’s really expensive, and you might throw up the first time, but you should come with me, it’s awesome and they give you 2 free workouts to try it out.”

A week later I am not only signed up but telling all my friends to join as well. So why did I go from cold-as-ice to raving superfan in one week? Because Orange Theory Fitness understands their customer and has created a fabulous Customer Journey.

What is a Superfan?

Your potential customers or clients or audience can become those coveted “Superfans” every business dreams of having. So what is a Superfan? People who love your product so much that they tell ALL their friends to try it too. Superfans are not a one-time transaction without any emotional connection or return business. They are so impressed with what you offer they write blog posts about you! They post on social media about you. They can’t wait to engage with you a second and a third time.

Building an exceptional Customer Journey is vital to building your tribe of Superfans.

Your Customer Journey is the experience people have when engaging with your business. So how do you measure your customer experience? Have you ever thought through each of the connection points and asked yourself:

  1. “What is my customer feeling right now?”

2. “When they become curious about my business, where do they go to learn more about me?

3. “What emotions do they feel as they engage with my marketing channels?”

4. “Have I made it easy to understand what my brand is passionate about?”

5. “How can I gently lead them through the sales funnel/process feeling seen, heard, valuable, inspired, motivated and even delighted?”

Have you been too busy to check in on your Customer Experience?

It is easy to do. Especially when business is hectic. But neglecting your Customer Journey is the fastest way to ensure a transactional relationship and not a meaningful one. Sure, anyone can spend a ton of money on paid click ads to drive traffic to their site, but that certainly does not ensure a sale. And most importantly, it doesn’t mean that people connecting to your business truly feel thankful that they found you.

Don’t you love it when a client refers you to their friend? And what about when they say things like “I’m just so impressed, this experience was amazing!” Those feelings of delight make a connection between you and your customer that become a multiplier for your business.

Identifying gaps in your Customer Journey are worth the time and effort. Making your audience feel seen and heard are game-changers. Repeat customers who use their influence to gather more potential customers are worth more than any paid click ad.

To see how you are doing with your Customer Journey, take this easy quiz!

What was it about the Orange Theory Fitness Customer Journey that made the impact with me? They made it so simple to try, they made me feel important, they motivated me to perform far above my normal workout. The value I received caused me to gladly spend 3x’s what I would have spent at other gyms. And here I go, telling the world how great they are. From a marketing perspective, they nailed it! It’s time to learn from Orange Theory and create experiences that people can’t help but talk about!