Praveen Ramarao shares three big rocks he and two other industry leaders took away from The HFA Show.
Roughly now about two months out from The HFA Show, I’m sure all who attended had some best practices and key mental notes that they walked away with. What you’ll find below are some key points shared by two very important leaders from my formative days in fitness, who also have became household names in our industry in their own respective paths — Ben Ludwig, the president of Colossians 3:23-24 Fitness Holdings, and Mario Tarquinio, the head of key accounts/verticals at Les Mills U.S.
Through our conversations, we centered around three big rocks, while drilling down among other supporting avenues as well. With my first question being on what are the three rocks that Ludwig took away as an attendee. He shared, “Education is becoming a major focus for our industry. Staffing, as now more than ever employees must have a comprehensive staffing strategy, otherwise they won’t carry the necessary competitive advantage, and that AI is here to stay.” When asked about what he means by this, Ludwig further shared that brands must use technology to stay ahead of the curve and stay relevant. There are so many tools to leverage data, employee tasks and member experience, and due to this the brands that don’t adapt will be left in the dust.
The rise of AI should not be a surprise to us. Simply by looking at the our current workforce and academic worlds, we truly can encapsulate why AI is becoming so integral to us. What is definitely notable however is the sense of appreciation shared by the masses. When asking Tarquinio about this, he echoed some of the same sentiments, in that AI and the rise of digital in the fitness landscape is here to stay. Tarquinio spoke briefly on how programs like Les Mills digital can help keep brick and mortar members engaged on the days that they’re not in the gym, allowing thus for a more broader fitness landscape. Further bolting onto this was the evolving trend as tech as a whole. Ludwig added here, “Now more than ever there are more options for CRM, member experience tools, rewards systems, and marketing firms.” With this being the case, competition in this space will force evolution of user experience, making it easier for gyms to be effective in follow up, touch points, and member experience. All in all, the rise in tech and its competitive landscape in fitness will force our industry to level up.
Another notable avenue we dove into were trends. Walk into any fitness facility across the country in todays world and odds are that they carry either hydro beds, red light or some form of therapy service. With this being said, the three of us believe there’s a need for more physical forms of recovery. What we mean by this is embracing moves such as on-site recovery by way of deep-tissue massage or chiropractic, as well as newer forms of active recovery such as Pilates. It’s easy to understand how each of these can play a pivotal part in member recovery options both from an operator and members standpoint.
The last area we discussed was how employee experience can lead us to success. I deeply believe we all understand why culture is important, but do we all truly know the best way to build it? Ludwig shared the following, “Culture is hard to build, and owners need to find ways to be diligent in developing proper onboarding process, employee engagement strategies, and value for team members to want to be a part of your company vision. The fitness industry is notorious for almost 100% turn over rate. Companies that are breaking the mold are the ones that find ways to give staff the best experience through mission, vision and values.”
Reflecting on this piece, I believe even if we apply one or two things form the shares above to our studios and gyms we can collectively grow as an industry. After all, technology will only keep adapting and modern recovery trends will age out just as fast as the juice bar concepts in the early 2000’s. My hope is that we’re able to take from this and grow 1% better as a collective industry. I know I will.
