Landon Burningham of Physiq Fitness shares five examples of resiliency in business gleaned over the last few years.
Although the COVID-19 pandemic is no longer resulting in the mandated shutdown of gyms across the U.S. at the moment, there are still a multitude of challenges facing club operators today. This includes hiring and staffing challenges, rising inflation and fears of a looming recession.
With this in mind, Landon Burningham, the founder, president and owner of Physiq Fitness, shared three examples of ways his club showcased resiliency over the last few years and his advice for other operators.
1. Be open to change.
“For us the last few years taught us to stay true to our roots while also embracing change,” explained Burningham. “This means that many of the same programs we used prior to COVID are still relevant but might have a slightly different approach within them. My advice is to stay true to your roots, but to find a new way to ensure that today’s members know what you offer, why you offer it and how it can help them.”
2. Consider your pricing structure. Small changes can have huge gains.
“I have to give a big shout-out to my friend Jared, the managing partner of Dynamic Fitness in Texas,” said Burningham. “He implemented a new pricing system at his clubs offering three tiers of memberships, all of which have a 12-month term and month-to-month option — charging $5 more per month for the month-to-month plans. Since implementing this model at our facility, our average membership amount per member has soared. The best part is this is occurring in conjunction with zero increase in attrition. Just like with other subscription models, whether it be Netflix, Disney, Amazon or subscription box models, people are willing to pay for flexibility knowing they can adjust as needed. The key to this is to continue to offer a great experience that keeps the customer coming back for more.”
3. Look for ways to serve the customer and increase value.
“A major focus of ours is creating a frictionless environment for our members and staff,” said Burningham. “While the members and our employees have always been at the very top of our list, it’s important to recognize just how different most of our consumers are now compared to two years ago. This also rings true for our employees. For my business, members now want flexibility, an engaging experience and to feel valued. It has also shifted to a much younger demographic and one that is heavier on club usage with more monthly check-ins per member. This consumer also doesn’t shy away from free weights, Olympic lifts and functional movements. So operationally, we have to focus on these individuals, the trends they are following and what will get them to pick our clubs over a competitor.”
4. Focus on the employee experience as well.
“Likewise, with our employees, we need to understand what drives them, what they like and how to engage them, and how we can make them feel unique and important,” added Burningham. “Essentially, our goal is to better the experience for everyone in a more streamlined environment that makes for happier employees and therefore far happier members. We can accomplish this by utilizing technology and the tools available to us today.”
Burningham shared a few examples, including:
- Going cashless.
- Online joins.
- Online cancellations.
- Automated lead follow-ups, drip campaigns and RVM.
- Digital and gamified onboarding solutions.
- Proximity members club and class check-in.
- Employee and member NPS.
- Virtual and in-person onboarding both for members and staff.
- Club app that allows for better member mobile experience and staff.
5. Don’t lose faith.
“It is through adversity that we grow and become better,” said Burningham. “This is no different than the way we stress our bodies to grow or how we stress our minds to learn. It is my belief that the same has to be true with our business. So, we can view adversity as something to set us back or something that will get us to heights never before considered possible. Have the last few years been hard? The answer is yes, and it will also continue to be hard with the things we are now facing. However, by implementing a few simple things we can make our businesses stronger than they have ever been.”
