Imagine launching a business that seems too good to be true, looks scary, and that many of us need, but few of us understand. It’s a marketer’s dream (or nightmare) depending on how you look at it, on episode 559 of The (12 year-old, award-winning) Small Business Big Marketing podcast.
A little more about SpeedFit’s Matej Varhalik …
Slovakian-born, Perth-based entrepreneur Matej Varhalik is one courageous and inspiring business owner.
You see, in his late 20s, with English as his second language and coming from a relatively poor background, he came to Australia and launched the SpeedFit franchise.
Where it gets interesting is that SpeedFit is a tough proposition to get your head around.
Put simply, it’s a strength building program that you do in 20-minutes per week, and that professes to be the equivalent of hours of exercise without having to lift a single weight.
Sounds too good to be true, right? But wait, there’s more.
In one of SpeedFit’s 21 boutique studios, you get changed into a garment that has you looking like a Navy Seal, then wired up on to a machine that uses electronic muscle stimulation to activate your muscles.
Now I’m not for a minute questioning Matej’s technology … that’s not my business. My interest in interviewing him is to understand how he’s gone about marketing something that seems too good to be true, looks scary, and that many of us need, but few of us understand.
From a business perspective, he’s doing well, growing a $4.4M turnover last year to a $10M turnover this year. Not bad given his marketing challenge and how badly the fitness industry has been affected by COVID.
A couple of things before we start … Matej has a thick accent, but it won’t take you long to become familiar with it. And as I expected, Matay doesn’t have all the answers, he’s just the classic, relentless entrepreneur having a red hot go. So every now and then I give him some constructive feedback and ideas.
Enough from me, let’s meet SpeedFit’s head franchisor, Matej Varhalik …
Timbo’s Top 3 Attention Grabbers from his chat about how to market a difficult service with SpeedFit’s Matej Varhalik …
- I love Matej’s never-give-up attitude. It’s that kind of attitude that I’m so in awe of when I chat to business owners like him.
- To that end, I love the fact that when the business looked like it was going to close, he pulled out all stops and rang every media outlet he could in order to get some exposure … good or bad!! And believe me, that Today Tonight opportunity could have gone either way! But as Matej said it really was “the last roll of the dice”.
- I love how he flipped his clients’ attitude from one of SpeedFit being their little secret that they chose not to share with others (meaning the brand got no word-of-mouth) to repositioning the clients’ perception that they’re the smart ones … an attitude that they would be much more likely to share with others.
Other episodes of The Small Business Marketing Podcast you’ll love …
How to write effective marketing copy with Copy Hackers Joanna Wiebe
How to choose a perfect business name
Last Week’s Episode of The Small Business Big Marketing Podcast
How to build a deeply engaged community with Andrew Griffiths
Additional resources
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Grow your business niche and reach with Neon Ambition
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How to build an engaged community for your business with Andrew Griffiths
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Leave a message for Timbo on his Hotline – +61 480 015 150
Thanks for tuning in. May your marketing be the best marketing.
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