Fort Worth Strong: Turning Member Insights Into Marketing Momentum

Fort Worth Strong had built something exceptional—an 83-85% close rate, world-class NPS score of +76.2, and members who genuinely loved their experience. But despite this operational excellence, owner Nick Redmond faced a frustrating reality: the gym was operating as a hidden gem in the Fort Worth fitness market.

The challenges were multifaceted and interconnected:

• Marketing Inconsistency: As the "50 hats guy,” Nick struggled to maintain consistent social media presence and organic lead generation while managing all other business operations.
• Undefined Target Audience: Operating two distinct business models—personal training and group training—without clearly defined buyer personas made it difficult to create focused, effective messaging.
• Proximity Dependence: With 40% of new members finding them through location alone and only 6-8 new members monthly, growth was limited to geographic luck rather than strategic attraction.
• Digital Presence Gap: Only 10% of members found Fort Worth Strong through online reviews, despite having exceptional service that warranted five-star testimonials across the board.
• Scattered Content Strategy: Without clear direction, marketing efforts followed a "sprint and stop" cycle—bursts of activity followed by periods of silence, with no sustainable system in place.

Nick knew Fort Worth Strong delivered world-class coaching and programming. The problem wasn't the product—it was that the right people didn't know it existed: "We had a general idea and maybe I could speak on it beforehand, but now through the survey and actual facts, we can put together what that actually looks like."

Nick Redmond chose GRIT Marketing Co. for a comprehensive one-day marketing intensive workshop, leveraging both the professional credibility and personal relationship established through GRIT founder Mel Bell's membership at the gym. This unique positioning allowed for deeper business understanding before the formal engagement even began.

The approach centered on building a complete marketing foundation through member insights, competitive intelligence, and actionable frameworks—all delivered in a concentrated four-hour workshop that Nick described as so valuable "we could have spent eight" hours.

Rather than jumping straight to tactical execution, GRIT's strategy focused on three foundational pillars:

• Customer Intelligence Through Data: A comprehensive member survey gathered quantitative and qualitative insights about who Fort Worth Strong's members were, what they valued, and how they made their decision to join. This wasn't superficial feedback—it revealed patterns about demographics, motivations, pain points, and communication preferences across both personal training and group training segments.
• Strategic Market Positioning: Competitive analysis identified Fort Worth Strong's unique position in the Fort Worth fitness market—more structured than competitors, more community-focused than exclusive gyms, and clearer in positioning. This research revealed the messaging sweet spot: "Expert-led, community-driven, results-focused training that scales from individual to group."
• Sustainable Content Framework: Rather than creating a pile of content for Nick to execute, GRIT built a system of content pillars that could be applied consistently, delegated among coaches, and adapted for both personal training and group training audiences without requiring constant creative reinvention.

The workshop deliverables included detailed buyer personas, content pillar frameworks with messaging guidelines, and a calendar structure that integrated with Fort Worth Strong's existing seasonal programming—giving Nick and his team tools they could immediately implement without requiring marketing expertise.

As Nick reflected on the experience: "Going through the survey on my own, it was just a lot of things to digest. I liked how clean GRIT’s presentation was  and simplified for even my coaches and my staff to learn  things they could apply on their own."

The marketing intensive followed a structured approach that built layer by layer to create Fort Worth Strong's marketing foundation:

Pre-Workshop Survey Design & Deployment: GRIT designed a member survey that balanced quantitative scales with open-form responses, capturing both measurable data and authentic member voice. 

Survey Analysis & Insight Extraction: GRIT transformed 44 member survey responses into actionable intelligence, revealing patterns Nick suspected but couldn't articulate with confidence. The data showed:

• A 76.2 NPS score
• 76% of members in the 25-44 age range
• 54% retention beyond one year
• + Critical insights about what members valued most: coaching quality, programming structure, community atmosphere, and personalized attention

Competitive Market Analysis: Research into local competitors—from boutique gyms to big box facilities and franchise operations—revealed Fort Worth Strong's strategic positioning advantage and messaging opportunities that weren't being leveraged.
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1 Day Intensive Marketing Workshop

Foundation Building: The intensive began with reviewing survey results and revealing the "hidden gem problem" where exceptional service operated in the shadows. A competitive analysis followed, identifying Fort Worth Strong's unique middle ground in the market.

Persona Development & Content Strategy: Detailed buyer persona creation for both personal training clients (Persona A: age 40+, returning to fitness after 10-20 year gap, prioritizing flexibility and personalized attention) and group training members (Persona B: around age 30, seeking community and accountability, often coming from other boutique fitness backgrounds).

"Through the survey and actual facts, we can kind of put together what that actually looks like... I think it gave us actual language to use coming from the client's mouths."

Content Pillar Development: The team then brainstormed four core content pillars: (1) Challenging + Supportive, (2) Community + Members, (3) Coach Expertise + Personalization, and (4) The Level Method + Programming. Each pillar included messaging guidelines and strategic angles for both personal training and group audiences, solving Nick's challenge of marketing two distinct offerings without creating entirely separate content streams.

Post-Workshop Deliverables: Comprehensive slide deck with all frameworks, messaging guidelines, persona documents, competitive analysis, and content calendar structure integrated with Fort Worth Strong's existing seasonal programming approach.

Throughout the process, Nick felt heard and involved at every step: "GRIT was able to relate to people that really have no marketing background... she did a good job of simplifying it."

The marketing intensive workshop delivered transformative results across multiple dimensions of Fort Worth Strong's business:

Nick rated his satisfaction with the partnership a 9 out of 10—not because anything was lacking, but because "I always think there's somewhere to grow." The work exceeded expectations, particularly in how cleanly the complex survey data was simplified and presented.

Here are the key takeaways from the workshop: 

• Defined Buyer Personas: For the first time, Fort Worth Strong has detailed profiles of their two primary audience segments—personal training clients and group training members—complete with demographics, pain points, decision criteria, and communication preferences. This became the most valuable insight from the entire process.
• Language Directly From Members: The survey provided authentic words and phrases to use in marketing. "It gave us language... actual words to use coming from the client's mouths. We can assume certain things, but the survey showed us words that are likely to resonate with future clients.”
• Market Position Clarity: Competitive analysis revealed Fort Worth Strong's unique positioning—more structured than local competitors, more personalized than franchises, more expert-driven than big box gyms—giving the team confidence in their differentiation strategy.
• Sustainable Content Framework: Four content pillars with messaging guidelines created a system that prevented the "what should I post?" daily struggle. The framework allows for variety while maintaining strategic consistency.
• Coach Empowerment: The simplified frameworks meant Nick's coaching staff could participate in content creation. "My coaches were so interested in it they were like, ‘Now I can start applying this to my own media,’ because attracting clients and building an audience is important for them as well." 

The workshop revealed opportunities that extended beyond marketing into core operations:

• Communication Enhancement: Survey feedback highlighted gaps in member communication, leading to improved advance notice systems and better awareness of programming and offerings.
• Service Adjustments: Member feedback led to evaluation of class times, offerings, and service structure based on actual member needs rather than assumptions.
• Retention Strategy Development: The survey revealed the need for an ongoing suggestion platform, now prioritized on Fort Worth Strong's operational to-do list. 

Nick described the workshop experience as exceeding expectations in its accessibility and value. "The presentation as a whole too, I like that it was just in one session. I didn't know because I was kind of hesitant to like, oh, we're going to sit here for four hours. Like, how much can we actually get done or digest in four hours? But it was like we could have spent eight instead.”

The collaborative nature of the process created buy-in across the team. Coaches left with frameworks they could apply not just to Fort Worth Strong's marketing but to their own professional development and client acquisition.

On a scale of 1-10 for recommending GRIT Marketing to others, Nick gave a 10, noting he "would do it a hundred times over again."