Yesterday I was privileged to speak with Paula Neubert, the general manager and president of Greenwood Athletic Club. As a wealth of information, Neubert discussed the ins and outs of business at Greenwood.
However, among all the wonderful ideas she discussed, one stuck out among the rest. It won’t drastically change your business, and it might not help you increase sales, but it could potentially change how clubs think of competition and how people view exercise.
Neubert proposed a Colorado Fitness Week. During this week, her vision has all the clubs, fitness studios, yoga studios, Pilates studios, dance halls and any where else that might allow exercise, to open their doors to the public. This would be at no charge to anyone, and everyone would be welcome.
She believes that this one week could help spark a movement to get more than just 15 percent of the population to exercise. Because, as Neubert discussed, how active people in Colorado were, she said the reality was that the amount of people exercising in clubs was the same as the rest of the U.S. (about 15 percent).
This made me think about how the majority of clubs view local, or national, competition. Does your club view the club down the street as direct competition for your members? My initial thought would be: why are you attempting to sell the same demographic?
Maybe they opened after you and followed your lead. Although, regardless of whom opened first, it should be the better entrepreneur that can shift their business’ strategy and thrive.
Neubert doesn’t worry about the club three miles away, or six miles away. She knows that she has developed Greenwood in a way that would only appeal to Greenwood members. It’s by being so committed to the members that would allow clubs to “work together” to improve fitness nationwide.
During Colorado Fitness Week, Neubert has envisioned clubs advertising together and promoting the experience. During this week, potential members would be able to easily experience all types of fitness clubs and studios, to hopefully find the one that best fits them.
This movement, Neubert said, was one that she has dreamed of accomplishing before she leaves the fitness industry. She believes that the solution to getting more people exercising is by having clubs work together for a common goal.
How do you feel Neubert’s movement would work in your area? Do you believe that clubs could actually work together to get people moving? Can we ever envision a time when competition would be set aside, and two or more fitness companies could work together for a common good? How would you make this happen?
Tyler Montgomery is the Editor of Club Solutions Magazine. Contact him at tyler@clubsolutionsmagazine.com.
