Agency comparison
Ground Standard vs FitClub Agency for martial arts schools
A side-by-side of Ground Standard and FitClub Agency for martial arts school owners: who each is for, what each does, and when each is the right call. What this page says about FitClub Agency comes from their own public site and can change; their site has the current terms.
Who they are01
About FitClub Agency
A neutral description based on their own public site.
FitClub Agency is a gym marketing agency run by gym owners, led by Rob Simpson, with offices in Austin, Texas and Chelmsford, UK.
Side by side02
How the two compare
Details about other companies come from their public sites and can change; their site has the current terms.
| Row | Ground Standard | FitClub Agency |
|---|---|---|
| Who it's for | Martial arts schools that want growth run for them by one team, on one standard. | Gyms, martial arts academies, studios and personal trainers; their site says more than 100 schools worldwide, served in English, French and Portuguese. |
| Services | Meta and Google ads, websites and SEO, lead follow-up and live concierge, operations (fractional integrator), retention systems and automation. | Facebook and Google ads, websites, local SEO, social media, CRM automation, reputation management and conversion optimisation. |
| Done-for-you vs coaching | Done-for-you, with weekly strategy calls. | Done-for-you: their site says they handle all the technology. |
| Software included | Runs with the school's existing membership software. Keppan and a Try A Martial Art listing are available from the same group. | A CRM automation service with virtual phone numbers; no product named. |
| Lead follow-up | AI follow-up by text and email starts the moment a lead comes in. From Starter up, live concierge: real people on calls and messages 8am to 10pm ET on weekdays, by message on weekends. | Automated responses by text, email, WhatsApp and social messaging. Human callers and hours are not described. |
| Reporting | Ad performance snapshots to Slack or email (spend, leads, cost per lead, what changes next), results reviewed on strategy calls, and an automatic monthly recap report. | Monthly reports and monthly calls. |
| Term | Six-month terms for Starter and the content tiers, twelve months for Standard. | Not stated on their site. |
| Pricing model | Tiered, priced on a call: Starter (managed lead system, Meta ads, live concierge), Standard (adds website and SEO, Google Ads, Slack, strategy calls, gear discount, storefront, Keppan plan) and the content tiers Signature, Studio and Spotlight. Clients fund their own ad accounts; the management fee is set in the agreement. | No prices listed; packages are discussed on a free discovery call. |
Choose FitClub Agency if
- You run a gym or studio outside martial arts
- You want service in French or Portuguese, or a UK-based team
- You want ads, website and automation handled by a team of gym owners
Choose Ground Standard if
- You want the whole system run for you, not a course to follow
- You want AI follow-up the moment a lead comes in and real people on your leads on weekdays
- You want ads, website, follow-up and operations from one team
- You want membership software and a directory listing from the same group
- You run a martial arts school, not a general fitness business
FAQ03
Questions, answered
What is the difference between Ground Standard and FitClub Agency?
Ground Standard runs the whole growth system for martial arts schools as a done-for-you service with a human follow-up team. FitClub Agency: FitClub Agency is a gym marketing agency run by gym owners, led by Rob Simpson, with offices in Austin, Texas and Chelmsford, UK.
Is FitClub Agency a good fit for martial arts schools?
Gyms, martial arts academies, studios and personal trainers; their site says more than 100 schools worldwide, served in English, French and Portuguese. Their own site has their current client stories and case studies.
Can a school use both Ground Standard and FitClub Agency?
Sometimes, when they cover different pieces. In most cases a school picks one team to run growth so that ads, follow-up and reporting are not split across vendors.
How should a school compare agencies?
Ask who answers the lead and how fast, what the reporting shows, what the term is, and whether the agency works with your membership software. Then ask for two current client references in your discipline.
More comparisons: All compare pages
One team. One standard. The whole system.
Marketing, operations, retention and automation for martial arts schools, run by one team on one standard.