No matter how strong your brand is, your health club can always use a jolt of excitement. Keeping members engaged and stimulated, while preventing them from straying to the “sexy” competition, is an ongoing battle. And now you have to compete with home-based “connected” workout experiences from well-funded companies who are aggressively saturating media outlets with marketing pitches.
It’s hard to be the cool kid on the block these days. You aren’t just competing against other industry players, you’re struggling to keep up with rapidly changing consumer habits. To keep members happy and attract new prospects, you have to deliver diverse experiences to hold their attention.
That’s easier said than done. You can’t switch out equipment and change your club’s strategic plan every time a new trend takes hold. You need to be a change agent, but you need to do it at your own pace and within your budget.
Call it a “limited renovation.” Just as clubs are clearing space to install a boutique experience to complement their existing cardio and weight rooms, many club operators are experimenting with novel concepts on a small scale. It’s less expensive than a major redesign, and requires a modest investment in new equipment. You also get to test concepts before you invest more capital into them.
This is the idea behind a “green zone.” Creating a green zone means setting aside a portion of your floor for eco-friendly equipment that’s engineered to be powered by human activity. Done right, it can lead to a smaller carbon footprint and a better bottom line.