Clubs & Studios
Tribal Fitness
We all want to belong to something. We all want to be a part of something bigger than ourselves. A group. A club. An association.
To reach our highest potential, we need to go beyond thinking of our “customer base” and our “employees” and start thinking of our tribe. You may have a group of clients or a number of employees, but that is not a tribe. In a tribe, people feel a deep affiliation with— and take pride in—your fitness business.
The Professional Development Conundrum
Experts agree that employers need to invest more in staff training and development to create stability, boost retention and improve the consumer experience. This is a particular challenge for many large-chain, membership-based fitness facilities. Rather than nurturing and training a newly hired personal trainer for exercise life- style programming and customer service skills, some fitness facilities orient trainers to be salespeople whose wages depend on commissions.
“What special promotions do you use to draw new training clients?”
I use flash sales, which consistently help me attract new clients. Offering a deep discount through a flash sale for customers who sign up within 48 hours always encourages even the most intimidated client. I normally hold a sale whenever I have space for a new person. The dis- counted price lasts for varying lengths of time (1 month, 3 months, 6 months, etc.). I advertise on my website, Craigslist and Facebook and even in “old-fashioned” fliers. This promotion hasn’t failed me yet; if anything, I have too many new clients. You definitely have to know when your caseload is full.
Inspired Service, Part One: A High Vibration
You want your fitness facility to be successful and to impact people’s lives positively. Plus, you want to grow, which means you need to sell. That means you must offer the programs, products, professionals and operations that customers want, and you must have a powerful website and marketing plan.
Insights On European Fitness Facilities
Are you curious about how the european fitness market is prospering? Here are some insights from The IHRSA European Health Club Report: Size & Scope of the Fitness Industry, which includes data from 32 “health club” markets.
Recruit Staff Like the NCAA
When college football recruiters started taking an interest in my son’s skills on the gridiron, I came to a useful realization: When it comes to attracting talent and developing winning teams, head coaches and group fitness directors have a lot of parallel priorities.
Phone Etiquette for a New Age
Proper phone etiquette is essential in a health club environment. Many people prefer to call ahead to ask simple questions, rather than physically coming in. It’s their way of getting a “feel” for your facility. As a manager/owner, you want that introductory phone call to translate into a new membership. However, phone communication has degraded among young adults working the front desk, and it’s easy to see why.
Analyzing Flash Deals
Fitness professionals around the world have jumped on the flash-deal bandwagon to try to generate more business and attract new clients. It looks like an attractive arrangement: Flash deals, such as Groupon or LivingSocial offers, put your business in front of a whole new audience, bring some new faces through the door and help you grow and expand your client base and revenue.
How to Set Goals and Build Your Business
You work with clients every day, helping them set goals so that they can see results. Do you give the same treatment to your business? If you’d like to improve your financial bottom line, use this six-step breakdown on now to take what you already know about setting goals and apply it to growing your business.
Opportunities for Fitness Facilities
Understanding why members remain loyal to fitness facilities may help managers and owners with their direct marketing efforts—and beef up retention rates. Here are the top reasons individuals stay members, says the most recent IHRSA Health Club Consumer Report: 2012 Health Club Activity, Usage, Trends & Analysis, produced by the International Health, Racquet & Sportsclub Association.
The Lure of Small-Group Training Programs
In the last few years programming has evolved, and consumers are looking beyond memberships to small-group training experiences for results and solutions. People are willing to pay top dollar for these programs. Let’s briefly examine some successful SGT programs, and then look at what the managers, directors and owners of multipurpose fitness centers can learn from them.
Facility Design and Construction 101, Part Two
In Part One of this series, we discussed the importance of researching users, space and programs before committing to new fitness facility design and construction. We also looked at funding and its effect on programming. The goal of this three-part series is to make fitness managers aware of key elements in the planning and building process, with a focus on group fitness and personal training spaces.
Upgrade Relationships and Upgrade Retention
Many fitness facilities focus on getting new members in the door, providing a basic orientation and setting them free—free to slowly lose interest in attaining their fitness goals and coming to the gym. This pattern occurs frequently, affecting the facility’s attrition rate.
Insurance Considerations for Fitness Professionals
When was the last time you took a hard look at the risks your business faces and the systems that you have—or don’t have—in place to safeguard yourself when disaster strikes? In this article you’ll learn how to manage the most costly risks to your business and how to stay ahead of the risk-management curve as your business grows
Fitness Facilites Are Enjoying Growth
It’s a good time to be working in the fitness industry. According to the International Health, Racquet & Sportsclub Association (IHRSA), 2012 proved profitable for fitness facilities.
“Improvements were recorded in all nine performance indicators measured,” said Jay Ablondi, executive vice president of global products for IHRSA in a press release. “Significantly, the greatest growth was achieved in non-dues revenue and EBITDAR
(earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, amortization and rent).”
Attrition: Your Business’s Biggest Expense
If you think your biggest expense is payroll, which is what I often hear when I ask fitness facility owners and managers, you’re wrong. In my experience, attrition—the number of members lost compared to the number of members overall—is the real financial sinkhole.
Mobilize Your Personal Training Staff
The fiscal year is coming to a close, and you have a chance not only for a successful final push but also to connect with your personal trainers in a way that inspires them. Use the following tips to build a cohesive team, empower your trainers and, ultimately, sell sessions.
Quick Tips for the “Barefoot Studio”
You’ve been asked to reinvigorate—or create—a mind-body program at your facility, and you have no clue where to start. In addition to being a freshman at this task, you run up against a few unforeseen obstacles. How do you create an amazing mindful program that supports membership and the bottom line?
Facility Design and Construction 101, Part One
Shiny, solid floors. An upgraded stereo and microphone system. Brand-new equipment. Many fitness facility managers look around their club and can rapidly envision what needs to be acquired or improved.
“Do you regularly analyze your competition? Why or why not? If so, how do you do it?”
?In the Clearwater/Tampa Bay, Florida, region, there are a large number of competitors in the Pilates industry. Competitors are other Pilates studios, gyms that offer Pilates mat classes and even personal training studios that offer other exercise modalities such as yoga, TRX® and CrossFit®. I feel it is part of my job as a studio owner to be constantly evaluating the competition. My assessment includes comparing services offered (privates, duets, trios, group equipment sessions, mat classes or other offerings, such as barre classes), as well as products and clothing sold on-site.