Fitness facilities in the U.S. and around the world are small businesses serving the health of their communities. One thing that cannot be taken lightly as a fitness facility though, is the health of the financial situation.
Various types of people join a gym for all kinds of reasons, but like every small business, nurturing the community within is essential.
- Increase Your Group Exercise Offerings
It is not that your people do not like group exercise, it’s just that you may not be offering them enough. Be diverse and find proper class styles that benefit your demographic. Be careful not to judge too closely what you think they will or will not like. Be patient. Most good things take time to develop.
- Host Master Classes
There is no better way to establish your facility as a pillar in a region than to host various fitness leaders and their brand of exercise. This will also help you get to know what your clients respond favorably towards. Always look to promote these events to give yourself a clear picture of your clients’ interests.
- Find Group Exercise Formats Without Licensing Fees
Group exercise can get very expensive if your gym needs to be infinitely licensed in everything you put on your schedules. The world is vast and options are aplenty. Work smart.
- Hire Great Trainers and Pay Them Well
Use that money you saved on licensing fees to get the best group exercise trainers available to you, and pay them well. You will never get a good read on any class if your trainer is not phenomenal and desirable to your client base. Find leaders, pay them well, and they will attract the masses to your facility.
- Allow Your Trainers to Use Trainer Friendly Group Exercise Programs
A pre-choreographed trend today in group exercise stifles the ingenuity of terrific trainers and the progression of new clients. Allow your trainers to suggest programs to you that offer a class structure, but one with an open format. This gives group exercise trainers a chance to cater to your client base with open and modifiable movement. It also creates a group exercise trainer that has freedom from monthly mandatory choreography and music purchases.
When group exercise is more plentiful but requires less investment and caters to the expertise of the trainer, everyone wins. Remember to feature diverse fitness that welcomes men as well. When done right, group exercise will be your token that keeps attracting new clients and excitement outside of peak months like December and January.
Thomas Ascough is the national sales and business coach and fitness operations manager for PLYOGA. For more information call 732-213-0625 or visit http://www.plyogafitness.com/.
