The Ultimate Guide to the
MALAYSIA Fitness Industry 2015
Member Insights
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The respondents The majority of members were from Selangor (32.6%), followed by Kuala Lumpur (24.8%), Penang (7.9%), Perak (5.8%) and Johor (10%). 3.7& came from Kedah and Sabah each while 2.9% each were from Negeri Sembilan, Sarawak and Terengganu. Close behind, 2.5% were located in Pahang, 2.1% were each from Putrajaya and Melaka, 1.7% Kelantan and 0.4% were from Perlis. 56.1% of the respondents were female while 43.9% were male. The majority of the respondents were within the 21 to 25 age bracket, and 25.3% were 26 to 30 years old. 13.6% were 36 to 40, 11.1% were 31 to 35, 8.1$ were 17 to 20, 3.5% were 46 to 50, 2.5% were under 16 and a mere 1.0% were between the ages of 41 to 45.
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Members experience
Out of all the respondents, 56.4% had NOT been a member of a fitness club in the last 24 months, while 43.6% had. 37.4% were currently a member of a fitness club, while 62.6% were not. For members currently a member of a fitness club, 31.3% had been there for more than 12 months, 25.3% for 3 months or less, 21.7% for 4 to 6 months, 14.5% for 7 to 9 months and 7.2% have been there for 10 to 12 months.
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Type of fitness club Members were mostly from a privately owned club (26.0%), franchise club (20.6%) and a university club (13.9%). Some were a member of a privately owned club with more than one site (10.8%), 3.6% were part of a council owned and managed club and another 3.6% were from Other. 3.1% of members who part of a council owned and not council managed club and 0.9% were from a licensed club/RSL/Catholic club. A further 17.5% did not know what type of fitness club they were part of.
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Reasons for joining According to the results, there was a wide range of reasons why members joined the clubs they did. Unsurprisingly, the main reason was because of location (20.9%), followed by cheaper rates (15.5%), no joining fees (12.3%), value for money (11.8%), equipment – up-to-date/new or nearly new equipment (10.9%) and no contract membership (8.2%). Other reasons for joining included different type of exercise (6.8%), other (5.0%) and more or better classes (4.1%). An equal amount of 2.3% of respondents joined because they were looking for a 24 hour club and the staff – customer service you received during tour or phone calls.
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Leaving The Club For the respondents that had left their club, the majority left because of time – work commitments (37.1%), and 20.2% left because of time – family commitments. 11.3% started a different activity/exercise, 10.5% loved the club but couldn’t commit, and another 10.5% moved locations. 9.7% had other reasons for leaving, 7.3% had a change in financial circumstances and unfortunately 6.5% did not achieve their goals. 5.6% of respondents were left disappointed as their club did not meet expectations, 4.8% left because of an increase in membership fees and 3.2% left because the equipment was never working, customer service was very poor and the club was dirty. Following a bad experience at the club, 2.4% left, and a further 2.4% didn’t like the music. The remaining 1.6% left because of pregnancy.
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Length of membership Regarding the length of their memberships for those who had left, an overwhelming 61.3% were part of a fitness club for only 3 months or less, while 16.1% were there for 4 to 6 months. 13.7% remained for more than 12 months, 5.6% for 10 to 12 months and 3.2% for 7 to 9 months.
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Rejoining An overwhelming 63.7% started that they would rejoin a fitness club in the future with 33.1% being uncertain and 3.2% would not. In terms of the conditions in which a member will rejoin the same fitness club again, the majority would only do so if a friends joins as well (26.6), on a no contract membership (25.8&), or with a no joining fee offer (23.4%). Only under the circumstances that they would receive a free personal training session(s) would 16.9% rejoin, followed by 14.5% who would only rejoin at the same rate as when they left. If 8.1% of member’s old fitness clubs opened 24/7, then they would rejoin, with 7.3% claiming that a change in facilities at the club and a change to services provided at the club would influence them. A further 7.3% started that they would not join the same club again, 4.8% would under a change of management while another 4.8% had other reasons.
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Satisfaction A big number of 45.8% were somewhat satisfied with the fitness club while 32.5% were only OK. A disappointing number of 8.4% were very satisfied, with 7.2% somewhat unsatisfied and 6.0% were very unsatisfied.
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Personal trainers 80.3% of respondents have not used a personal trainer, both previously and currently. On the other hand, 19.7% have or are using a personal trainer. The majority of members used a personal trainer for 3 months or less (45.0%), one visit (22.5%), 4 to 6 months (17.5%), and 7 to 9 months (7.5%). This is followed by over 24 months (5.0%), more than 12 months (2.5%) and 10 to 12 months (0.00%). The reasons for using a personal trainer was to get advice on exercise (32.5%), it was included in their membership (27.5%) to get better results (25.0%) and because they needed the extra motivation (25.0%). Others used a trainer to create an exercise program (7.5%), it was something they have always wanted to do/try (7.5%), and it was a group session (7.5%). 5.0% had other reasons, while 2.5% used a personal trainer because their friend was working out with a personal trainer and because everyone else was suing one (2.5%). The price of a personal trainer was too expensive for 44.1% who stopped using one for this reason. 14.7% however are still going and working out with their trainer while a disappointing 11.8% didn’t get the results they wanted. A further 11.8% moved away, while 8.8% of members learned the right technique and didn’t need the extra motivation. 2.9% of members achieved their fitness goals, didn’t like their PT’s style, found them annoying and found another fitness activity. Choosing the right or wrong, personal trainer could make or break your experience. Here, 35.0% chose their trainer based on referral and another 35.0% based on experience. 22.5% were chosen on availability, while 12.5% because they spoke to them, and another 12.5% because they looked good. 10.0% had other reasons while another 10.0% were chosen based on their qualifications.
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Long term commitment The reason for a member’s long term commitment to staying at a club was very widespread over a number of different reasons. Unsurprisingly, location was the main reason (37.9%), followed by value for money (33.5%), personal motivation (25.6%), overall atmosphere (22.7%) and achieving goals (20.7%). 18.7% claimed that their long term commitment was due to professional staff (polite, approachable, on-hand), an equal amount of 18.2% of respondents remained because of overall cleanliness and machines in working order, and 17.7% because there was no change in membership fees. 15.8% reasoned it was because of the latest equipment and technology, 14.3% because of a variety of Group Fitness classes, 11.8% for smooth entry and exit and close behind was because of 24hr access (11.3%). 9.9% appreciated the engaging staff (making conversation, not just greeting), 5.4% remained because classes started on time and another 5.4% because of competition. A further 3.4% specified other reasons.
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Staff Interaction An overwhelming number of respondents believe that staff interaction each visit was important (76.4%) while 23.6% did not.
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Investment If their club had more money to invest, 37.4% claimed that they should invest it on better equipment. 24.1% wanted a bigger facility, 17.2% want more group fitness classes, and 7.4% want staff training. A cleaner facility was the desire for 6.4% of respondents, followed by communication to members (3.0%), and 1.5% each wanted more staff, member bookings on their website and other.
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Fitness Gadgets When it comes to respondent’s dream fitness gadget, a digital body composition analyser seems to be the most popular one (17.8%), followed by sporty headphones (14.4%), fitness tracker app (12.9%), and a wrist/arm band with motion sensor (e.g. pedometer) (7.4%). 34.2% would like to work out with all of the above, while 13.4% prefer to work out without any tech equipment. In terms of the efficiency of these tech items in assisting members in staying fit, 33.2% answered apps – to track runs, log calories and find healthy recipes. 25.7% started music downloads – my phone is loaded with playlists, while social media – I keep up with diet and fitness blogs were effective for 18.8%. 10.4%liked tech accessories – I love gear that transmits my stats, while only 1.0% had other items. 33.2% did not use any of the above. Despite the myriad of health and fitness apps on the market, 56.2% of respondents did not use smartphone app for fitness, 39.8% used a free app while only a mere 4.0% used a paid app.
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Communication Unsurprisingly, 33.7% of respondents preferred to receive information from their club via email, followed by SMS (21.3%), online social media (15.8%), emailed newsletter (10.9%), via phone call (6.4%) and in person (5.4%). Only 2.0% of members preferred a posted newsletter and club noticeboard each. 1.5% wanted standard mail while 1.0% specified other. When it comes to club communication with their members, members believed that they should only do so once a month (58.7%), once every week (16.4%), once every two weeks (15.4%), three times a week (5.0%) and two times a week (4.5%). There was a widespread of answers when regarding the circumstances should a club communicate with its members via SMS. 42.8% found it acceptable to notify them of special promotions. This was followed by a reminder to renew membership (23.9%), reminder of a booking (21.9%), notification when a payment is received (20.9%), notification when a payment fails (20.9%), and to confirm a booking (20.4%). Other reasons included a reminder to come to the gym (17.4%), notification if membership prices increase (13.9%) and a notification if a payment is about t be processed (12.4%). 2.5% had other reasons, and 14.9% believed that under no circumstances should a club SMS their members.
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Social Media Predictable, Facebook was the most used social media channel with 91.5% of respondents. This was followed by Instagram (34.0%), YouTube (33.5%), Twitter (27.0%) and LinkedIn (6.5%). 5.5% of our respondents used their own blog, 4.5% used Pinterest, 3.0% had other channels that they used, 2.0% had their own website and only 1.0% used Flickr.
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The Ultimate Guide to the
MALAYSIA Fitness Industry 2015 Club Insights
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The respondents Out of 22 respondents, the majority attended an Anytime Fitness club in Kuala Lumpur (40.9%), followed by Selangor (31.8%), and Negeri Sembilan (9.1%). Penang, Sabah, and Sarawak each had 4.5% of respondents attend one of their clubs. 42.9% of respondents were from Administration/ Customer Service/Reception role. We had 14.3% of respondents that were each owners, sales, personal trainer and fitness instructor.
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The Clubs 33.3% of respondents were from a privately owner SINGLE club, and a another 33.3% were from a franchised club. 167% of respondents described their club as a privately owned MULTI-SITE club and university club. 16.7% of respondent’s clubs had been operating for 3 to 6 months, 1 year to 18 months, 2 to 3 years, 3 to 5 years, 7 to 10 years, and 15-20 years each. The majority of respondent’s clubs were NOT open 24 hours a day (83.3%) while 166.7% were.
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Facilities Cardio machines came out on top with 100.0% of respondents stocking them in their club, a further 83.3% had free weights, 66.7$ had a stretch area, personal training area, CrossFit area, and a Group fitness studio no. 1. 50.0% stocked fixed resistance machines, boxing area, and a group fitness studio no.2. A further 33.3% had an outdoor training area, and a spin/cycle studio. Pilates studio, cafĂŠ and members lounge had 16.7% each. Regarding the number of cardio machines each facility had, one club had a number of 6 treadmills, 2 clubs had 3 treadmills and one club had 2. One club had a big number of 15 bikes in their facilities, another had 5 and two more had 3. An Anytime Fitness Malaysia club had 5 steppers, while another 2 clubs had 3. In terms of cross trainers, clubs had 5, 4, 3 and 2 cross trainers each. 4 was the highest number of grinders stocked in a club, with 3 grinders and 2 grinders following close behind.
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Membership Numbers 50.0% of respondents had a significant change of over 10% while a further 50.0% had no change. 50% of respondent’s retention rate ranged from 31% to 35% while another 50% had a membership retention rate of 66% to 70%.
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Minimum TERM contract The majority of respondents had a minimum term contract of 12 months, 25.0% had a minimum of 6 months while 25.0% did not have a minimum term contact.
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Significant Issues (1 = Most significant and 12 = least significant) The most significant issues that clubs faces was government legislation (ranked 3.67). This was followed by obtaining finances (4.25), marketing (4.50), and staff retention (5.00). Finding good staff and competition were followed closely (6.0 each) with an effective software system (6.25), motivating staff (7.25), managing staff (8.50) and membership sales (8.75). The least significant issue clubs were was communicating with social media.
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Significant Growth Areas
The majority of respondents (75%) labelled personal training as the most significant growth area, while 50.0% listed ladies only clubs, boxing/fighting clubs and swim school. 25.0% answered adult obesity, online bookings for classes and online membership signups.
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Staff member salary Only one respondent answered that the position of a receptionist earned an annual rate $360, 000 to $40, 000. Regarding Group Fitness instructors, one generous club paid their group fitness (freestyle) instructor, group fitness (prechoreographed instructor), yoga instructor and Pilates instructed over $100 per hour.
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Personal trainers 100.0% of respondents stated that their personal trainers were a mixture of both employees and contractors. 100.0% of respondents had a mixture of rent of space and percentage of income in their payment agreement with their personal trainers. The main reasons why 66.7% of respondents chose their personal trainer for their club was because of experience and availability. A further 33.3% decided on their personal trainer because they looked good, based on referral, qualifications and personality. 33.3% of respondents claimed that members worked with their personal trainer for guidance on diet and nutrition, focused on weight loss and provided extra motivation.
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Communication The most preferred channel of communication with members was through online social media (66.7%) while 33.3% preferred to communicate in person. 33.3% said that members preferred to be contacted by their fitness clubs via e-mail, in person or online social media.
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Marketing
(1 being the most successful) Overall, the most successful form of marketing was through building signage (1.00) and the national newspaper (1.00), followed by social media sites (1.50). Door drop leaflet (2.00) and referral campaigns (2.00) were both seen to be equally as effective while others found that their own website (3.00) and billboard/outdoor advertising (3.00) were the least effective forms of marketing.
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Social Media Out of all the respondents, two clubs found Facebook useful while one found it very useful. 2 clubs did not use LinkedIn, Twitter, YouTube, Website, and Flickr. However, in contrary, one club did find each of these social media tools useful.
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Investment 100.0% of respondents claimed that they would invest in the following areas: • • • • • • • • • • •
Cardio equipment Weight equipment Audio equipment Computer/IT equipment Club management software Staff training – sales Staff training – customer service Staff training – management Attend an industry conference – local Attend an industry conference – overseas Website
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