How Soon Will My Marketing Work?

Aug 18, 2025

It’s the first question we get asked after a campaign launches:

“How soon will this start working?”

What they usually mean is:

“When will the calls start coming in?”
“When will the tours pick up?”
“When will we feel it?”

Fair questions.
But behind them is a deeper misunderstanding of how marketing — real marketing — actually works in the club world.

So here’s the truth, as plainly as we can put it:

The longer the decision cycle, the longer it takes for your marketing to show results.

And club membership isn’t groceries.
It’s not a gym trial. It’s not a click-to-buy purchase.

It’s a life decision — shaped by identity, timing, referrals, and trust.
Which means you’re not just marketing to this week’s leads.
You’re marketing to next year’s member.

And maybe the one after that.

Let’s zoom out.
There are five factors that shape how long it takes any marketing to work:

1. Your Share of Voice.

What percentage of the “membership conversation” in your market is yours?
If 90% of what prospects are hearing comes from other clubs — or worse, no one at all — then you’re not in the conversation yet.
And if you’re not in the conversation but your competitors are? It’ll take a while.

2. The Membership Purchase Cycle.

Clubs don’t have short buying cycles.
Some people will join next month. Others are two years out, still lurking.
But the truth is: they’re all in your audience.
And when they’re ready, they’ll go with the club they feel best about - the one that’s been showing up all along.

3. Relevance Over Reach.

Being seen doesn’t matter if what you’re saying doesn’t matter.
The club that speaks to who I am will always beat the club that brags about what it has.
Clarity > Creativity. Relevance > Repetition.

4. Your Market’s Attention Span.

If you train your audience to wait for discounts, they will.
If your only levers are urgency and promotion, people start asking,

“When’s the next deal?”
Or worse.
“What's wrong that they need to discount?”
Marketing becomes less of a message, more of a markdown.

5. Your Competitive Context.

Are you the only club trying to grow? Doubtful.
Are your competitors telling a stronger story than you are?
Are they clearer, more consistent, more compelling?

Because your marketing doesn’t live in a vacuum.
It’s a conversation in a crowded room.

No items found.

Here’s the good news:
Marketing is not magic. It’s math.

Share of Voice × Relevance = Share of Mind.

If people hear from you and what they hear matters to them,
you’ll become the club they think of first — and feel the best about — when the time is right.

That’s not just a marketing campaign.
That’s a brand building campaign.

So next time you ask, “When will this start working?”
The real question is:
Are we willing to show up long enough, and meaningfully enough, to matter?

Because the clubs that do — win.
And the ones that don’t?
Well, they keep asking that same question.

Until next Monday,