On August 31st, Club Solutions hosted a webinar called “The Difference Between a Good Club and a Great One,” led by Brian Gagne, the recently appointed CEO of Les Mills U.S.
According to Gagne, there’s never been a better time to be in the health and fitness industry. He explained 79 percent of the population over 18 either exercises regularly or would like to; 61 percent of regular exercisers are currently doing gym-type activities; and 69 percent of exercisers who aren’t doing gym-type activities would consider it.
However, there’s a flip side to this — in addition to more people exercising than ever before, there’s also more competition than ever before.
To make your gym stand out and continue to be competitive, Gagne said clubs need to keep an eye on the things that actually aren’t changing in fitness:
- Retention continues to be a struggle.
- Fitness is hard work — many people don’t find it fun.
- Many gyms are in the business of selling memberships; not fitness.
“We’ve accepted this truth that members coming, members leaving, that’s just how it’s going to be moving forward and we’re always going to have this revolving door of members in, members out,” said Gagne. “What we’d like to do is change that parameter … and look at things a little bit differently. Focus more on being a great club, at the retention side, and what’s it take to keep a member in the long term? This would offer you the opportunity to not have to focus so much on the member acquisition side of things.”
At Les Mills, this concept is called “Relationships Beyond Memberships.”
To hear more of Gagne’s thoughts on member retention, success, and the difference between a good club and a great one, view the free webinar here.
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Rachel Zabonick-Chonko is the editor-in-chief of Club Solutions Magazine. She can be reached at rachel@peakemedia.com.
