Valerie Applebaum's Articles

Your club has cardiovascular equipment, free weights, fitness classes, experienced personal trainers: everything anyone could desire for achieving an optimal physique. That's ...

The United States is experiencing profound demographic changes, and if fitness centers want to remain successful they must take these changes into account. Minority groups are...

Peak exercise times occur both seasonally and daily. How do you keep your members happy during these busy periods? Seasonally, the most crowded times are from January through ...

We’ve all seen it. The eye-rolling, the foot-tapping, the loud sighing as the member who is waiting in line for the much-sought-after cardio machine stares at the cloc...

We all understand that accidents happen. Unfortunately, in the fitness industry, lawsuits happen as well. And it takes only one small incident to put you out of business. As o...

The high turnover rate among fitness industry staff is not news. In many cases, staff seem to be coming and going through a revolving door! Having a high-end fitness center wi...

Fitness centers invest a significant amount of their budgets in maintaining the pool, but they do not necessarily receive an adequate return on this investment. In some cases,...

We all understand that accidents happen. Unfortunately, in the fitness industry, lawsuits happen as well. And it takes only one small incident to put you out of business.

Look around your facility. All fitness center operators want to keep pace with advances in our industry and, in doing so, operate a diverse facility that appeals to a broad de...

As fitness professionals, we must provide our members with the best and most innovative environment in which to achieve their health goals. This mission means keeping current ...

Business competition is at an all-time high, and traditional marketing isn’t getting the response rate it used to. The good news is that guerrilla marketing can help. It...

Marketing: one of the most crucial aspects to the long-term success of your fitness facility. But where do you start? There’s direct marketing, consumer marketing, B2B...

No, this is not another run-of-the-mill article about how indispensable customer service is to the success of your fitness facility. It is, however, an article regarding creat...

To achieve success in today’s competitive market, you must focus on increasing retention and generating greater revenue per member. Consumers today are seeking more than jus...

Thousands of people with health conditions or chronic diseases do not know where to find exercise programs that meet their specific needs. Designing specialty programs for ind...

Hone in on these four strategies to keep members loyal.

Your facility has it all—cardiovascular equipment, free weights, fitness classes and experienced personal trainers.You provide everything anyone could desire for achi...

People loudly chatting on cell phones, empty water bottles left on equipment and used towels littering the locker room floor. These are just three examples of members showing ...

People loudly chatting on cell phones, empty water bottles left on equipment and used towels littering the locker room floor. These are just three examples of members showing ...

These days it seems everyone is discussing “going green,” and many individuals are taking significant steps to make their homes eco-friendly. So can an entire fitness faci...

Orientation should not be viewed simply as a nice gesture to new members, but rather as an important transition between recruitment and retention. A well-structured program pr...

Fancy television ads, colorful magazine spreads, eye-catching direct mail pieces: what do we truly hope to achieve with our ongoing marketing efforts? The answer: satisfied pa...

Fancy television ads, colorful magazine spreads, eye-catching direct mail pieces. What do we truly hope to achieve with our ongoing marketing efforts? The answer: satisfied ...

According to the Kiplinger Business Resource Center, “The United States economy in 2008 should limp along, with little or no growth in some quarters and a lousy feeling to m...

In recent months, we have all heard these unnerving terms in the media: economic downturn, recession, weak market. The fact is, we are hearing these phrases so often because i...

Bacteria. Germs. Superbugs. These are some of the countless terms for the hazardous micro-organisms that can be found in your business at any time. The fact is, any crowded co...

Adopting a holistic approach to health can attract and retain members. How can you expand your wellness offerings to address the physical, emotional/spiritual, intellectual an...

In today’s growing fitness industry, where new facilities are popping up constantly, how can you add value to your memberships? One answer: merge technology with fitne...

In today’s growing fitness industry, where new facilities are popping up constantly, how can you add value to your memberships? One answer: merge technology with fitne...

Treadmills, free weights, resistance training machines—your facility has it all. You offer everything anyone could want in terms of achieving an optimal physique. And ce...

Putting a new twist on traditional group fitness can increase member satisfaction and revenue. With this in mind, facility managers can develop, implement and ultimately p...

Retention, membership, sales, customer service—these terms are used frequently when describing the various aspects of running a successful fitness facility. One....

Retention, retention, retention. The fitness industry breathes and sleeps retention, continually pondering bigger and better strategies for holding on to members. Yet many fac...

The statistics on America’s childhood obesity epidemic are well known, but that does not make them any less shocking. According to the Centers for Disease Control an...

In the constant hunt for new members, you may be overlooking a prof...

marketing Making the Cross-Cultural Connection TARGETING DIVERSE AND TYPICALLY UNDERSERVED ETHNIC MARKETS CAN IMPROVE YOUR BOTTOM LINE. By Valerie Applebaum, MPH American Li...

Many directors focus predominantly on recruitment. While this is important, retaining current members is equally essential. Profits from a single customer can increase dra...