Hitting the Target Joeri Nanov shares key tips on growing your fitness business Joeri Nanov. Credit: Virtuagym.
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he fitness industry has been transformed over the last 12 months. Digital technology and software has taken centre stage to help fitness businesses survive, and in many cases thrive, through one of the most challenging periods the industry has ever experienced. Due to this digitisation, the confines of physical gyms are no more. Fitness providers can now connect with their clients at any time, in any place. Those wanting to stay healthy now have more flexibility in tailoring plans to their needs, from the wealth of options available at their digital fingertips. And if the nature of fitness businesses has changed, so have the ways in which owners can grow them. After the past year, you might assume that growing a fitness enterprise has become a more daunting prospect. However, fitness technology and the changing attitudes and desires of consumers have created opportunities to help operators engage and appeal to clients and open-up new revenue streams. Here are some of the key ways to help take your fitness business to the next level. Embrace a hybrid offering The silver lining to be found from the closures of the past year is that both fitness enterprises and customers realised the range of digital content that they can respectively provide and consume. And, even as gyms finally reopen for good, many of the latter will be looking for those diverse and flexible experiences as part of their gym membership. It is therefore important for those building a fitness business to understand that the pivot to hybrid fitness offering, combining the physical and the digital, is not temporary. It is here to stay.
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To appeal to new members and retain existing ones, owners should look to show that their brand offers more than just a space with fitness equipment. Through a hybrid offer, you can provide members with a place to work on their mental strength, the opportunity to try out new workouts, a means to track training and nutrition and a way to be connected within a wider gym community. For example, at Virtuagym we have launched PRO+, a digital membership that offers more than 1,000 workout videos as well as features such as a library of audio meditations. The use of fitness technology is now a longterm investment for your business.
