Bill McBride, the president and COO of Club One, said the question club owners should be asking themselves in 2013 is, “How will I respond to changes in how members consume information?”
According to McBride, members are consuming information differently — facts about clubs are more readily available via websites, mobile apps and consumer reviews, and if you don’t stand out, you’re going to get lost in the crowd. “What used to be five data points to make a decision, is now by virtue of information availability, 10,” explained McBride. “Third-party information is dramatically more relevant than a business’ propaganda. If you aren’t relevant and transparent you will be dismissed. Member knowledge is a game changer in how we communicate. Simple, clear, objective relevancy wins.”
In 2012, Club One communicated its objectives and message clearly with members via a newly optimized website, a user-friendly mobile app, a strategic social media presence and a streamlined focus on the brand’s core. However, McBride said technology shouldn’t be where clubs start to build their brand. You have to begin with a clear message. “Technology without clarity and strategy makes little sense,” said McBride. “It all begins with objectives, core competencies, messaging and leveraging your brand with technology.
“Be clear about your objective,” continued McBride. “Learn all you can about technological tools and platforms that can achieve your objectives. Don’t be afraid to jump in, as this is a very iterative process. If you know referrals work, find a way to amplify your referral network with technology. If you know that testimonials affect your SEO rankings and results, find technological solutions to help drive online testimonials. If you know that your advocates/net promoters generate business for you, find ways to leverage their ambassadorship.”
Billy Malkovich, the CEO of Mountainside Fitness in Arizona, said the 2012 post-recession landscape has changed the health and fitness industry for the better, by providing clubs with more opportunities in areas such as market expansion, and increased-revenue possibilities, including small group training. “For someone seeking to grow market share via expansion, I would recommend second-generation space,” said Malkovich. “Circuit City, Best Buy, Linens and Things, and so on, have vacated some great boxes on solid retail corners. The last few years have also seen a shift from fitness being a personal and isolated activity, to a group and social setting. Group fitness and group training numbers continue to climb and much can be leveraged from that.”
Malkovich also suggested that independent clubs raise their prices in 2013. “Yes, this increases the barrier to entry, but a higher-dues structure will allow you to provide a better product,” he said. “A better product will improve the member experience and strengthen your brand. Retention comes from being loyal to a brand. People are only loyal to a low price until someone else offers a lower price.”
If you want members to stay loyal to your brand, you must stay loyal to your true goals as an organization as well. Malkovich encouraged clubs to change and grow with the economy, but not to lose sight of their true vision. “The greatest advantage that independents have is the ability to be nimble,” said Malkovich. “Their smaller size makes them better equipped to respond quickly to changes in the industry or consumer behavior. The risk of course is that they respond too often, and lose their true north.”
In October 2012, Anytime Fitness opened its first club in Spain, in the city of Sant Cugat del Valles, near Barcelona. This marked the seventh country that Anytime Fitness has expanded to, outside of the U.S.
Chuck Runyon, the co-founder and CEO of Anytime Fitness, had some suggestions for clubs considering taking their brand overseas. “Regardless of size or style, fitness clubs that help their members get desired results, and provide them with perceived value, will succeed wherever the clubs are located,” he said. “Expanding overseas involves all sorts of challenges: language, cultural, legal, currency and other differences. Brand consistency also must be maintained. But the potential rewards are big. If your model works in the U.S., then certainly you should consider expanding overseas. But it requires a tremendous amount of planning, resources and capital, and you certainly must hire the right people to represent your brand from home.”
However, if you’d like to keep your brand firmly planted in North America, Runyon suggested that health clubs could have a big impact on the American population in 2013, especially when it comes to the obesity epidemic. “On a club level, owners and managers need to get out of their facilities and participate more frequently in community outreach programs designed to create excitement around group and employer efforts to improve individual health,” said Runyon. “Exercise doesn’t have to be boring and we need to reframe the conversation to talk less about weight loss, body fat and six-pack abs, and more about the overall lifestyle benefits to feeling healthy.”
Additionally, Runyon suggested clubs partner with the medical community. “We need to convince medical and public health officials to refer obese and overweight individuals to fitness clubs more frequently and work with health insurance providers to create reimbursement programs to reward healthy behaviors,” he said.
“There has never been a better time to be a health club consumer. We have clubs that save people money, other clubs that save people time and big, gorgeous facilities that offer everything.”
Peter Taunton, the CEO of Snap Fitness, recognized the impact clubs could have on the American population in 2013 as well, especially through corporate wellness programs. Snap Fitness’ corporate wellness program provides its consultants with a free fitness assessment, online meal planning, a vitamin and nutrition profile and membership discounts or reimbursements.
“More and more employers are realizing the benefits of having healthy employees when it comes to the bottom line — productivity, health insurance costs — which makes them far more likely to work with companies like Snap Fitness to establish a program that helps their employees get in shape,” explained Taunton. “In terms of how to capitalize on corporate wellness, it’s about creating a value-driven program that works for everyone. Plus, it needs to be attractive enough to make employees actually want to take advantage of it.”
Concerning online marketing, Taunton said Snap Fitness would continue to focus its efforts on online outreach. “The days of traditional fitness club marketing are dwindling, and reaching members online is where clubs need to be focusing their efforts,” he said. “Whether it’s an e-mail, a social media play through Facebook or Twitter, or through online marketing efforts like affiliate programs and banner advertising, we’re focusing our efforts in 2013 in digging deeper in the online space.”
Taunton believes 2013 will hold even more opportunities for clubs to grow, outside of the Web, as well. “Our industry is continuing to grow and evolve, so I do believe you’ll see club expansion inside the U.S. this year,” he said. “However, I think the real sweet spot right now is for fitness clubs that offer more value, along with a unique take on fitness.”
Jeff Skeen, the CEO and president of Titan Fitness, said focusing on results-oriented programming is how clubs can best position themselves for growth in 2013. In turn, providing wellness programs is an important factor as well.
“Wellness programs are absolutely important to the industry; however, ‘wellness’ has not been clearly defined in our society,” explained Skeen. “With that said, clubs should provide goods and services that focus more on proving that their products make a difference in the member’s overall well-being. Clubs that just offer a place to workout, without providing results-oriented programming, will find that they become less competitive in the marketplace.”
From Skeen’s perspective, the growth and buying power of individual clubs has changed over this year, and will continue into 2013. “Operators who have increased the size of their facilities and have done an effective job of selling goods to their membership base, have increased their buying power,” he said. “Operators that have smaller facilities — unless they operate multiple locations — their buying power is not as great.”
Mark Fisher, the CEO and president of Sport&Health, listed several assets independent clubs should capitalize on in 2013. “First, their people,” said Fisher. “Clubs should invest in their team’s education, create a culture where your team members love doing their job well and finally, reward their teams fairly.”
Additionally, Fisher discussed how independent clubs have the ability to relate to their local markets and move quickly on strategic opportunities, without having to deal with red tape. “The big players are typically not in touch with each market, and don’t understand the intricacies and dynamics of each social and geographic market they are in,” he said. “The size and complexities of the large players require standardization and consistency, which ironically is often a barrier to success when dealing with members’ specific desires and expectations. The distance from idea to implementation is incredibly fast for the independents, and often speed trumps brute strength.”
Furthermore, Fisher said the secret to independent club differentiation from big-box clubs in 2013, wasn’t much different from what the secret was for differentiation in 2012.
“The answer to this question of, ‘how can clubs differentiate themselves from big-box clubs in 2013,’ remains the same that it has for years — through outstanding member service and ensuring the members establish social connections in the club,” said Fisher. “At the end of the day everyone is buying equipment from the same manufacturers and using the same bricks and mortar for their physical plants. Ensuring that your staff is trained and motivated to improve your members’ lives will ultimately distance you from the competitors.”
In November 2012, Retro Fitness became the first club to partner with BeachBody to offer the popular P90X program in its clubs — instructed, “live,” by Retro Fitness instructors trained in the specifics of the program. According to Eric Casaburi, the founder and CEO of Retro Fitness, cross-training programs and classes, such as CrossFit and P90X, carved a niche of their own in 2012.
“We’re starting to see the adaption of some of the equipment to offer more cross-training options,” explained Casaburi. “We’re also bringing in new modalities into our clubs that might not be associated with equipment — such as accessories, including Kettlebells. I think cross training has a place in the industry, and rightly so.”
However, Casaburi said clubs shouldn’t be afraid of losing members to cross-training programs such as CrossFit. “I don’t think it will have a large affect on a club’s membership base,” said Casaburi. “CrossFit is really for the elite athlete. There’s no transition class for members to ease into, which can lead to the average member getting injured.”
Additionally, Casaburi was impressed by the role he saw social media play in the health and fitness industry, over the past year. “I think more attention is being paid to aspects of technology within our industry, such as social media,” he said. “Energies are being focused on technology-based communication. The things you can do now to get in front of your members on their devices — using Facebook and Twitter — it’s amazing what you can do now. People are looking for more ways to engage.”
By Rachel Zabonick
