A Strong Bottom Line By Keeping Your Customers in Good Shape

A Strong Bottom Line BY KEEPING YOUR CUSTOMERS IN GOOD SHAPE

By Christopher Conner

I love the fitness market. It’s one of the businesses that you can truly have it all. You are in the business of helping people look, feel, and be the best versions of themselves. If you have caught the fitness bug personally, you probably can’t imagine a way to make a living that would be more fun and would be easier to have passion doing every day. Fitness has become a big business globally, generating almost $30 billion annu- ally in the US alone. A consumer can see it in the franchise industry with an explosion of new brands, market segments, and cat- egories within the fitness market. One of the current trends in franchising is the transition to customized, more personal interaction between the brand and the consumer and between the consumer members of each facility. It is a huge transition from the days of fitness in years past, where the building was large, obnoxious, full of members who worked out one time every three months, and there was very little interaction with the member outside of a monthly membership charge on their account.

Today, people want results. Consumers want to accomplish their fitness goals, and they are willing to spend to get there. This includes weight loss, adding muscle, better health, nutrition, and a variety of other health and wellness accomplishments. Customers pay much higher membership fees to get customized, focused attention from the service provider. Franchises such as RockBox Fitness, which has sold more than 50 franchises since 2018, has monthly membership fees in excess of $159 and has had enormous success across the US. Other brands such as Crew Fitness, a rowing franchise system out of Alabama along with Level Red Boxing, based in Erie, Pennsylvania, all offer member-focused group training programs. Burnrate Fitness out of Burlington, North Carolina, brings the model to an entirely new level with nutrition counseling along with endurance, flexibility, and strength training all under one roof. Today’s customers want specific, tailored services that fit their interests and personality and are willing to pay for boutique fitness programs over big-box retail programs.

This transition to customer-centric fitness has done a variety of things to the fitness franchise market; most notably, it has improved unit level economics with a shorter ROI and lower overall investment range.

Brands such as Title two models where you can find members who interact with one another like they are family and create bonds with one another that are fun, personal, and help hold everyone accountable to a good workout.

What seems to be the key to a strong fitness franchise brand in today’s market? Personalized attention and customer-centric focus is a big deal; people expect this in a gym today, but they are not as sensitive when it comes to what they are doing during their workout. Rowing, boxing, cycling, and weight training have all been well received in a variety of fitness franchise brands. Have a strong, simple, and sexy brand. The successful fitness franchises all have one thing in common, their brand is exciting, easy to remember, and creates a following quickly with bold coloring, great digital presence, and a very cool look and feel. All of these fitness success stories definitely “get” marketing. They know

The education and children's services market has quickly become a massive market segment in small business globally creating opportunities in virtually every market around the world.

how to drive traffic into the locations, create awareness, and convert interest into paying members. Fitness is a big market segment right now and only getting bigger. If you have passion for the space, I’d advise a deeper look into some of the amazing fitness brands available today in franchising. w

For more information on fitness franchises,contact Chris Conner with Franchise MarketingSystems: Chris.Conner@FMSFranchise.com

Christopher Conner started his career in franchising in 2002 working for a franchise consulting firm in Chicago. He founded Franchise Marketing Systems in 2009 after seeing a need for full service franchise development services for new and start-up brands. Today, Conner's team has expanded to 27 consultants between the US and Canada and has worked with over 200 brands to support successful franchise development strategies. For more information on Chris Conner or Franchise Marketing Systems, visit www.FMSFranchise.com