74: 9 unique ways to make your business stand out (to get more clients)

The Business of Fitness Podcast

Dan Williams explores nine powerful ways fitness business owners can stand out by being truly different, because in today’s crowded market, being better isn’t enough. For each area of differentiation we’ll look at a well known business case study, and Dan will brainstorm some unique fitness business ideas.

5 things you’ll learn in this episode:

• Why competing by being ‘better’ traps you in a red ocean, and how to escape it.
• How to define your unique selling proposition (USP) with one sentence.
• The nine key areas where your fitness business can stand out from the crowd.
• Creative, real-world examples of differentiation across gyms, PTs, EPs, yoga and martial arts studios.
• Why living your USP through repeatable actions is more effective than generic claims.

Episode Transcription:

The single most important thing that people need to get right when they’re in the early stages of building a successful fitness business is also the most difficult thing.

It’s one of the very first things I work on with the business owners I mentor, and is without a doubt, the thing they struggle with most.

This incredibly important, yet incredibly difficult task, is how to make your business different.

So today, I want to make it easier for you, by giving you the nine ways you can be unique.

I’ve seen hundreds and hundreds of businesses either fail, or just as bad, slowly fade away into obscurity while paying their owners a fraction of what they deserve based on the work they put in.

It’s hard to be different. If it was easy, everyone would be doing it, and if everyone was doing it, you wouldn’t be different any more.

And yet, if you’re not different, you have no advantage over your competition. Why would people choose your 24 hour gym over the one on another street corner? Why would they choose you as a PT over the ten other options they’ve got in the same gym? Why would they come to your semi private classes, when there are five other businesses offering the same service within 2km of your door?

You might have heard me talk about this before. It’s a topic I often explore when I’m giving live, in person talks and keynotes to business owners, and I recently covered the need to be unignorably different in episode 69 of The Business of Fitness Podcast, “Delivering an Experience: The Strategy of ‘Being Different’”.

If you haven’t listened to that one, I recommend you check it out, because it’s a great accompaniment to this episode.

But basically, I spoke about a blue ocean strategy. Most business owners are in a red ocean, where they’re fighting with their competitors to try and be the best. There’s blood in the water – hence the ‘red’ ocean. Everyone looks the same, competes on the same points, and fights to be slightly better. But being ‘good’ isn’t good enough. The goal isn’t to be ten times better than your competitors, it’s to step out of the fight completely. The goal is to be different. To build something so unique, and so remarkable, that you create your own blue ocean, a space with no competition.

In that episode, I gave two action steps. The first is to define your USP – your unique selling proposition, and the second was to make of list of the actions you take in your business to make that USP true.

To define your USP, the exercise is simple. Complete this sentence. ‘The thing that we do that is different from everyone else is…’.

But as I’ve said, finding the thing that makes you different is really hard. When I ask people what makes them different, I’m met with boringly predictable answers. Boutique gyms tell me they have the best community. Personal Trainers tell me they’re empathetic, offer an individualised approach and meet people where they are. Again and again, I hear words and phrases like ‘individualised care’, ‘going the extra mile’, ‘building relationships’, ‘a science-based approach’, ‘world class programming’, ‘professional coaches’, ‘a non intimidating environment’, ‘amazing communication’, and the list goes on and on.

But this is what everyone is saying, so it’s not different.

It’s brainstorming your unique selling proposition that is the challenging part. Working out what it is that makes you stand alone.

And in that previous episode about being unignorably different I teased at nine different areas you could be different in. They were: Your target market, price point or revenue model. The problem you solve, the tools you use to solve that problem. Your location, the experience you provide, your area of specialisation, your use of technology, or your support of a cause.

People told me these were a great starting point, but that they were still struggling.

So I thought now we could go a bit deeper, and have a look at some case studies of these nine areas. I wanted to get your creative juices flowing by looking at some very well known global brands that are a great example of each of the nine areas of differentiation. Then, after each case study, I’ll give you a couple of examples of how I might use that area of differentiation for a few different types of fitness business. Some of the ideas I’ve come up with are pretty out there – but that’s the whole point.

Unique Target Market:

Let’s start with a unique target market, where you stand out by choosing a specific group of people to serve.

A good example is Barbie by Mattel, which stands out because of who they chose to serve. While most toy brands try to appeal to kids broadly, Barbie focused deeply on young girls’ aspirations and identity play, and more recently, expanded that target market to adult collectors, feminists, and even critics.

Mattel’s USP might be: ‘The thing we do that is different to everyone else is… we sell dolls that reflect cultural identity and ambition.’

In the fitness and health industry some examples might be

• Personal Trainer: Coaches only postnatal mums with twins, offering dual-pram-friendly outdoor sessions.
• Martial Arts: Teaches self-defence exclusively to FIFO women in remote Western Australia.
• Pilates/Yoga: Runs men’s-only yoga retreats for FIFO workers with stress and sleep challenges.

Unique Price Point or Revenue Model:

Our second potential area of differentiation is a unique price point or revenue model where you stand out by charging or earning money in a different way.

One company that took a different approach to how it makes money is Spotify. Where most music platforms sold tracks or albums, Spotify used a freemium model, offering unlimited music streaming for free, monetised by ads, with optional upgrades to premium.

Spotify’s USP might be: ‘The thing we do that is different to everyone else is… free music access, anytime, anywhere, on any device.’

Fitness examples could be:

• Group Fitness Gym: Pay-as-you-go model, no memberships, priced per visit with tap-and-go access.
• Exercise Physiologist: Subscription model includes unlimited consults, plus remote health tracking via app.
• Online Coach: Offers $5 weekly challenges with leaderboard prizes, instead of long-term coaching packages.

Unique Problem:

Let’s move on to the next area of difference – the problem you solve, where you stand out by helping people fix a problem others ignore.

During the pandemic, the video call platform Zoom took a different route by solving a problem others overlooked. While competitors focused on corporate-grade video conferencing, Zoom simplified remote connection for everyday people, solving the problem of ‘video calling that just works.’

Zoom’s USP might be: ‘The thing we do that is different to everyone else is… make video meetings effortless for anyone, anywhere.’

I came up with three examples of this for the fitness industry.

• Pilates/Yoga: Focuses only on helping women with endometriosis manage pain through movement.
• Online Coach: Solves the “I hate exercise” problem with gamified home workouts requiring zero equipment.
• Martial Arts: Designed specifically to help neurodivergent teens improve focus and emotional regulation.

Unique Tools:

Our next area is the set of tools you use to solve a problem. This is where you can stand out by using unique tools or methods to help your clients.

Tesla shows what it looks like to solve a problem using entirely different tools. Instead of relying on existing automotive supply chains, Tesla vertically integrated everything from battery production to software, using proprietary tools to change how cars are built and upgraded.

Tesla’s USP might be: ‘The thing we do that is different to everyone else is… we build cars like software, not hardware.’

In fitness:

• Exercise Physiologist: Uses AI gait analysis to assess and optimise walking patterns for injury rehab.
• Group Fitness Gym: All programming built using heart rate zone tracking via wrist sensors.
• Semi Private Coaching: Coaches use VR visualisation tools to teach Olympic lifting mechanics.

Unique Location:

The next way you can make your business different is through a unique location – being based somewhere unexpected or delivering your service in a creative place.

The Burning Man festival is a great example. Few brands have made location part of their identity the way Burning Man has. Held in the middle of a Nevada desert, its remote location is not a limitation, but a feature, enabling an environment where radical creativity and community are pushed to the extreme.

Burning Man’s USP might be: ‘The thing we do that is different to everyone else is… create a city in the desert that disappears.’

If we apply that to the world of fitness:

• Martial Arts: A dojo on a restored train carriage in rural WA.
• Personal Trainer: Offers mobile training from a fully kitted-out fitness van that parks at beaches.
• Pilates/Yoga: Hosts sunrise sessions on remote clifftops only accessible by kayak.

Unique Experience:

Our next area of differentiation is one of my personal favourites – the experience you provide. You stand out by making the experience feel special or different.

When it comes to creating an unforgettable experience, Disneyland takes a different path. They don’t just sell theme park rides, they sell immersion in a magical world where every detail, from trash cans to character actors, is part of the show.

Disneyland’s USP might be: ‘The thing we do that is different to everyone else is… turn fantasy into reality, every step of your visit.’

In fitness, this might look like:

• Semi Private Coaching: Every session ends with a cold towel, smoothie, and gratitude journalling.
• Group Fitness Gym: Gym with themed workouts: ‘80s dance, jungle survival or a natural disaster scenario.
• Online Coach: Coaching via voice notes only.

Unique Specialisation:

The next way we can be unique is by having an area of specialisation, standing out by focusing deeply on one specific skill or type of client.

The online design software, Canva, does this really well. They offer a great example of what it means to specialise in a specific user. While design software giants catered to professionals, Canva specialised in democratising design for beginners, helping people with no background in design to make beautiful graphics quickly.

Canva’s USP might be: ‘The thing we do that is different to everyone else is… design tools for people who aren’t designers.’

If we transfer this across to our industry:

• Exercise Physiologist: Works exclusively with kids with cerebral palsy in regional communities.
• Pilates/Yoga: Specialises in strength-based reformer Pilates for ex-powerlifters and strongmen.
• Personal Trainer: Coaches amateur golfers on building rotational power and injury-proofing their swing.

Unique Technology:

Our next potential source of difference is the use of technology. You can stand out by using technology in a smart or surprising way.

Let’s look at Uber, who carved out a unique space through the way they use technology. They didn’t own cars or employ drivers, they used tech to connect people in real time, fundamentally changing how we think about transportation logistics.

Uber’s USP might be: ‘The thing we do that is different to everyone else is… turn your phone into your driver.’

There are a few ideas for how we can use tech in the health industry:

• Online Coach: Uses AI to auto-adjust workouts daily based on Apple Watch recovery data.
• Group Fitness Gym: Gym built around live hologram coaches delivering sessions globally.
• Exercise Physiologist: Remote consults conducted via interactive 3D body scans and motion capture.

Unique Cause:

Our final area of differentiation is the support of a cause, using your business to support something bigger than fitness.

Let’s look at the Aussie company, ‘Thankyou’, a great example of purpose-led business or what’s called a ‘social enterprise’. They don’t just sell consumer products, every product funds life-changing projects in developing countries, and their entire business is structured around giving.

Thankyou’s USP might be: ‘The thing we do that is different to everyone else is… sell products to end global poverty.’

Here are some fitness examples.

• Pilates/Yoga: Every membership funds trauma-sensitive yoga programs in domestic violence shelters.
• Martial Arts: Profits go toward providing free training for refugee kids to build confidence.
• Semi Private Coaching: Partners with Indigenous health orgs—every 10 sessions funds one rural health check.

Hopefully some of these ideas get your creative juices flowing.

I don’t have all the answers for you, and only you can find out what makes your business unique, but I hope this deep dive will help you in this journey into the blue ocean.

But what I do know is that business is hard. And if you’re trying to just be better than everyone else, you’re making it even harder. You either need to be different, or you need to be ten times better. And it’s easier to be different than it is to be ten times better. Maybe not at first, but once you’ve got your point of difference, once you’ve got your USP, there’s a much higher chance of your business becoming a runaway success.

Your action steps:

• Choose one of the nine areas of differentiation and brainstorm how your business can apply it in a bold, specific way.
• Write out your USP by completing the sentence: ‘The thing we do that is different from everyone else is…’
• Create a list of 20 consistent actions that prove your USP is real and not just a marketing slogan.

If you enjoyed this, you’ll also enjoy the following, they’re some of my most popular articles and podcasts on topics similar to this one:

• Episode 69: Delivering an Experience: The Strategy of ‘Being Different’.
• Episode 68: Your missing marketing strategy. The power of storytelling.
• Episode 59: The only 5 reasons your fitness business is failing.
• Episode 58: How to grow a fitness business WITHOUT more clients/members.
• Episode 55: The 19 ways to get more gym clients.