Blair’s POV: IHRSA Recap and Emphasis on the Member Experience

Each month Blair McHaney, the CEO of MXM, sits down with Rachel Zabonick-Chonko, the editor-in-chief of Club Solutions Magazine, for a frank discussion on the current state of the fitness industry.

BLAIR MCHANEY’S POV SHOW NOTES

Top Takeaways from IHRSA 2021:

• There was a huge advocacy push at the event and it was great to see the importance being noticed.
• The IHRSA event confirmed we are more serious as an industry now.
• Clubs are more open to sharing their experiences now more than ever before.

Trends from IHRSA:

• Member experience was at the center of everything people talked about.
• The pandemic has created a new awakening around what member experience truly is.
• Human-to-human interaction isn’t going away.
• Data is more important than ever, but it will never replace human interaction.
• People need to see other people working hard.

Tips for Providing the Optimal Member Experience:

• Adopt technology and it needs to be operational.
• Feedback must come in continuously.
• You must interact with your members.
• If you aren’t improving your facility and consciously thinking about how it will impact your member experience, you won’t ever succeed.
• You can’t operate without understanding your member experience.
• You can’t fly blind.
• Great staff helps.

Top of Mind Items

• Around 4.3 million Americans have resigned in the last 12 months. People are leaving jobs they are no longer passionate about; they are not leaving planet Earth. Blair predicts in the next six to eight months the industry will see an influx of new trainers, coaches, nutritionists, etc. because these individuals are passionate.
• Among the 10 happiest companies were Adobe, Peloton and Medallia. Take a deep look into the questions the study asked the employees at each company and then ask yourself how do you fit that?
• Ask yourself, “What can our company leverage? More pay, benefits, time-off? That’s a great starting point for being a great employer.
• High hopes for Q1.

For more insights from Blair McHaney and to learn more about MXM, the world’s leading experts on Operational Member Experience Management, visit mxmetrics.com.