So…you have a business you’re proud of. You have the right talent with the right skills to draw in your target demographic. And you’ve got an untapped market RIGHT under your nose…but you just can’t seem to get them in the door, even though you know they’d be hooked if you did.

What do you do now?

Let’s say your business is a kickboxing, boxing, and general fitness gym. It’s less than 5 miles away from the largest medical center in the world–the perfect target audience. And you’re marketing to them left and right, but they just aren’t coming in.

That’s what’s going on in for Leonard, a Houston-based entrepreneur who’s ready to expand the reach of his kickboxing gym. They have a boxing champ in the house–40 years of experience and 10 championships under his belt. And right now, their demographic breakdown is 95% women and their kids program is thriving, but they’re looking to broaden to attract a wider variety of clientele.

So what have they been trying that hasn’t worked?

Right now, their highest price point is $170 a month for an unlimited package, followed by $120 a month for 3 days a week of classes. They offer personal training, but it only accounts for about 10% of their revenue. They do lots of contests with their clients–Biggest Loser style, most of the time–where they give away personal training or once, Beyonce tickets, to the person who enters and loses the most weight. Their price point is affordable and they have the talent and interesting weight loss incentives, but they only have about 52 members right now. Their goal is to get to 110 by May.

Here’s what they gotta do:

Go for Groupon

Leonard says he’s tried Groupon before, offering 75% off a monthly membership, but only 3 or so members have come in as a result. The thing is…he’s doing it wrong. This is what he’s going to do next time: He’s going to promote the unique elements of his gym on Groupon and then once he gets people in the door, he’s going to make sure they stay and bring other people in the door too. It’s passive advertising that you don’t want to miss out on.

Turn Customers into Advertisers

Every month, Leonard is going to start a new contest, and the winner gets their money back–all of it. To enter, they have to be enrolled in unlimited classes and share their updates on Facebook, so other people are seeing it. That way, they’re not only super engaged themselves…they’re also engaging the people in their networks. Then, do a refer-a-friend deal, where both the person referring and the new member get deals when a current member refers. I’d go so far as to say that those people should get a month free on either end if the friend actually signs up.

Try Co-Branded Events

If this guy’s saying 95% of his audience is women…where is he marketing? He has to partner with Nordstrom or Saks…places where lots of women shop…and do a co-branded event. Nothing major, just call the general manager of the Nordstrom and tell him, “I have a list of clients I want to give you and I want to do some sort of cross branding thing. I’m going to use you on my advertising and on my fliers.” And maybe what you’d give away in the contest would be a makeover at Nordstrom–$500 worth of clothes, because they’re going to fit into new clothes once they lose those inches. Go beyond retail too…think about where your target audience eats, goes out, hangs around, and co-brand with them. You should be getting back 25% of the referrals that come in through you.

If Leonard does these things and does them right, I can guarantee that he’ll get to at least 110 by May. Let’s see what you got Leonard! If you have a similar business, try these things out and let me know how hard you crush it.

If you want access to more business advice, check out the full episode of the Business Whisperer episode that this came from on iTunes, Spotify, Stitcher, or right here.