Why The Fitness Technology Council Is So Important To The Fitness Industry

Getting competitors to work together is hard. However, a lack of collaboration and the failure to create standards can result in missed opportunities for all. You know the adage, "rising tides lift all boats". The health club and fitness industry yearns for the potential of wide spread exercise prescription, physician referrals and truly integrated wellness which could lead to new business models and a greater impact on the health of our society in the future. Unfortunately without more standards that ideal future is going to be harder to achieve.

The importance of standards can be illustrated easily by looking at other industries. For example, prior to the advent of the nearly ubiquitous Internet of today, a few people in the computer industry got together to establish something called a Wi-Fi standard. The Wi-Fi standard (also known as IEEE 802.11) was created through the collaboration of several big  technology companies, including 3Com, Cisco, Nokia, Apple, and Microsoft. It took only a few years for Wi-Fi to become the biggest standard in wireless communications, and its domination continues to this day. The collaboration of competitors to create a standard makes a fine example of how technology companies can work together to create new markets, provide new services to customers, and still put plenty of money in the bank. Without the standard, the explosion of mobile devices, PC's, tablets and Internet adoption in general would have been severely curtailed.

On Wednesday February 22, 2012, FIT-C will offer a free webinar on its mission and share more details about how players in the fitness and health club business can come together to help create a brighter future for all participants. I hope you will click on the image below and register. Let's work together to make the future of our industry better for everyone.

About the author:

Bryan O’Rourke is a health club industry expert, technologist, financier, and shareholder and executive in several fitness companies. He consults with numerous global brands, serves as a member of the GGFA Think Tank is Chair of the Medical Fitness Association’s Education Committee and a partner in the Flywheel Group. To learn more contact Bryan here today .

The Disruptive Low Cost Health Club - Thoughts On Ray Algar's Global Report

Oxygen Consulting 2011 Global Low Cost Gym Sector Report

At IHRSA and via Skype calls during the past year or more, I've had the chance to collaborate with colleague Ray Algar , principal of the firm Oxygen Consulting, about the changing health club market. I first mentioned Ray's research in December of 2009 and have subsequently shared my views on the changing marketplace and club business models since. I'm a fan of Ray's work and his report is included above. Many thanks to him for his kind acknowledgements of my contributions throughout. Visit his web site to share your views on the report here.

So what are gym or health club competitors to do as a result of the trends Ray's report and my research have outlined ? While many things can be identified, I am advising operators to focus on two key issues. The first I borrowed from leading marketing expert Denise Lee Yohn who says "Customer Experience Is Marketing". When it comes to how health clubs are going to survive the disruption of Low Cost High Value competitors, operators better get their hands around creating differentiating experiences or as Denise puts it "Operationalizing the Brand." The reason that low cost models are increasingly taking market share is that the general experiences members receive are not special or memorable and therefore price is becoming an overriding driver of choice.

The second thing to focus on is innovation. Health club brands desperately need to innovate by blending the digital and physical customer experience simply and seemlessly. Our culture is becoming digital and members seek experiences digitally and physically 24/7. The era of Digital Darwinism, when evolving consumer behavior resulting from advancing technology and a changing society are moving faster than competitors can adapt to it, is here today. The term was coined by author Brian Solis and is a concept health cub and gym executives should pay close attention to. Competitors that can figure out ways to elegantly blend personal and digital experiences well will create a competitive advantage.

So what do you think about Ray Algar's research report and the disruptive nature of the low cost high value health club and gym market ? Please share your thoughts with me, Bryan O'Rourke. Thanks again Ray for another great piece of research.

About the author Bryan O’Rourke:

Bryan O’Rourke is a health club industry expert, technologist, financier, shareholder and executive in several fitness and health club business service companies. He is also a partner in The Health Club For Women and Chairman of the Medical Fitness Association’s Education Committee. To learn more contact Bryan here today .

What's Happening In The Fitness Business ? Panel Shares Their Views At Club Industry 2011

It is wonderful to be here in Chicago for Club Industry ! A real treat was being on a panel with my partner Robert Dyer, my friend and colleagues Michael Scott Scudder and Bill Rodriguez of Snap Fitness and Mike Grondahl of Planet Fitness, who I met for the first time today. We were talking about where the fitness industry is headed. It was really interesting and the room was completely full. To give you an idea of how entertaining and real the discussion was,  I'll quote Mike Grondahl, who in describing the Planet Fitness Model said:

"I don't know what customer satisfaction really means. How can you measure it ? At Planet Fitness we say hello, goodbye and provide a clean club. Its busy so just deal with it."

I think hat kind of honest feedback to a room full of health club industry players went over well . I found Mike Grondahl to be very funny and insightful as were the other participants. A lot of thanks and credit goes to Michael Scott Scudder for putting together such an eclectic group of participants and for crafting a lot of interesting points for discussion. Michael Scudder continues to elevate the conversation about the industry.

Bill Rodriguez of Snap Fitness spoke about how new technologies and location opportunities (like their recent Flying W deal for Truck Stops) are going to make the Snap brand continue to grow and be viable.

Robert Dyer commented on a variety of topics including understanding customers, health club business models, and how group fitness programming can be and should be leveraged in certain facilities.

I repeatedly talked about bifurcation trends and how technology is going to remake business models. Mike Grondahl was very interesting in a variety of ways. He attributed much of the success of Planet Fitness to atmosphere, the "judgement free" zone and characterized his model as a "$60 club being offered for $10".

There was general agreement that mom and pop operators need to be very careful and that low cost high value competitors will take increasing market share.

So tell me, Bryan O'Rourke, what do you think about where the fitness industry and health club industry are headed ? Did you enjoy Club Industry this year ? Were you able to attend the session? Let me know your thoughts please and thanks to all the panel members for a great session and a great time.

About the author Bryan O’Rourke:

Bryan O’Rourke is a health club industry expert, technologist, financier, shareholder and executive in several fitness and health club business service companies. He is also a partner in The Health Club For Women and Chairman of the Medical Fitness Association’s Education Committee. To learn more contact Bryan here today .

The End Or A New Beginning For The Health Club Industry ? Whether Its Good Or Bad All Depends On How You Look At It

"Change" the term is now cliche. I've touched on the topic of radical change in the fitness and health club industry since 2008, over 3 years actually. My recent post about "Digital Darwinism" and its implications to the health club and fitness business, calls for people to take notice as to what is really going on. Brian Solis , whom I credit with defining the term "Digital Darwinism", defines it as "the evolution of consumer behavior when society and technology evolve faster than our ability to adapt."

Imagine this: At the current rate, over 70% of all Fortune 1000 companies in existence in 2003 will be gone by 2013. This according to Forbes Magazine. Do you think health club or fitness businesses will experience less turnover ? I don't.

So what does Digital Darwinism really mean ? Its survival of the fittest. If you follow technology closely, you'll admit that the degree of advancing technological change is unprecedented and nearly unimaginable. As this technology creeps into our lives and consumers begin to use it, fundamental behaviors start to change and that's when disruption takes hold. I won't even touch upon changes being brought on by globalism or shifting demographics. My hypothesis is that how people manage their health, and how they engage in fitness is shifting at a rate that is largely going unnoticed. Who will survive when many organizations wake up to late to react to this change ? Think I'm being overly dramatic ? I don't. Watch the video from Brian Solis below. How consumers ultimately manage their health and fitness is going through a seminal change just as it has in other industries. Are you prepared for the implications ? The end is rapidly approaching for many in the fitness and health club business but a new beginning is also emerging for others especially those that can adapt. Whether its good or bad depends on how you look at it. Tell me Bryan O'Rourke, do you think the health club and fitness industries are going through disruptive change and how ?

About the author Bryan O’Rourke:

Bryan O’Rourke is a health club industry expert, technologist, financier, shareholder and executive in several fitness and health club business service companies. He is also a partner in The Health Club For Women and Chairman of the Medical Fitness Association’s Education Committee. To learn more contact Bryan here today .