Education & Fitness Professionals - A Dilemma That Requires An Answer

I am reading The 2011 ACSM Fitness Trend Survey this morning, which identifies the top 20 fitness trends. Interestingly, for the past 3 years the number 1 trend in the survey is "educated and experienced fitness professionals". Dr. Walter Thompson, author of the article on the survey, makes 2 important observations about this trend:

"According to the AKA, the kinesiology major grew by more than 50% from 2003 - 2008....and means that kinesiology is the fastest growing major in the U.S., as the market for fitness professionals becomes even more crowded and more competitive, the need for regulation, wether from within the industry or from external sources, is growing."

Thompson also alludes to the work of the NSF in establishing standardized facility practices.

During the past few months I've had the pleasure, with my partner Robert Dyer, to visit with leaders in fitness education including people from ACE, IDEA, Fitpro and many others. We all discussed the need for education and standards. Of course we talk with our over 600 fitness facility customers routinely as well and as a result I wonder; How will fitness professionals be able to pay more money for education requirements when their wages are actually stagnant or falling? I know a lot of trainers and group instructors and its hard for them to survive in the industry. IHRSA openly lobbies to prevent government regulation of personal training primarily to prevent the cost of government standards being passed on to facility owners. They do this because its getting more challenging to make a buck in the health club business. Yet, many in the fitness industry agree that better education is necessary to promote and progress the business. But who is going to pay for all of this when health club dues have declined on an inflation adjusted basis ? Do we believe that more educated professionals will result in consumers agreeing to pay more for services ? This is the dilemma that requires an answer.

I think a key problem is the business model of how exercise expertise is delivered to customer members. The prevalent one on one, face to face, modality is inefficient and can be augmented and improved with technology and new delivery systems that will enable exercise professionals to reach more members more effectively.

What do you think ? Contact me Bryan O'Rourke, and share your views about the fitness industry and educational requirements for professionals. What should happen to improve the professional prospects for fitness professionals and why, given that it is the number 1 fitness trend in 2011 according to the ACSM survey.

The Fitness Industry's Digital Divide - Leadership Should Embrace The Future

I visited with a well respected health club owner and fitness industry leader recently.  During our meeting the person commented that IHRSA "wants to remain a bricks and mortar association"; this in response to my many calls for the extant fitness industry to open its eyes to the opportunity new business models and technologies will offer, enabling it to reach its promise.

In this person's defense, the facility orientation of the industry is not uncommon; I speak with many health club owners and leaders who share this view. Change is hard and I know of many good people with good intentions who work hard at IHRSA and in the fitness business in general to forward the cause of prevention and wellness. However, this "bricks and mortar" emphasis is the same view many leaders in other industries had, before the future happened to them - think clothing and entertainment to name a few. It is the reason, I worry, that some existing business models in fitness are going to have increasing difficulty surviving.

To illustrate my point, think of the retail industry by comparison. From 2000 until 2007, online retail sales grew at an annual 20% clip. From now until 2014 sales will grow at a slower 10% rate, still well exceeding the "bricks and mortar" counter part. However the important thing to note is that by 2014 53% OF ALL "RETAIL" SALES WILL BE DELIVERED VIA THE INTERNET according to Forrester Research. You see it isn't about bricks and mortar; its about delivering things customers need the way they want them and doing it in a sustainable fashion.

Reading the WSJ article today, on my IPad none the less, I came across Eileen Gunn's article titled, "A Personal Trainer in the Palm Of Your Hand." By my estimation, now over 3 million people in the U.S. alone are using mobile technologies to guide them as personal trainers could or used to. Similarly, consider the explosion of wellness platforms and devices that provide low cost means of enabling people to improve their health. Point is: there is a lot changing and the customer is at the center of it - not bricks and mortar.

As with all businesses, leaders need to open their eyes to what is happening and prepare by driving innovation and evangelizing the benefits of an unavoidable future. The fitness industry is no exception - less we fail to reach the promise of making a real impact on health via prevention.

What are your thoughts on the fitness industry ? Contact me, Bryan O'Rourke, or share your views here and tell me what you believe about the bricks and mortar, IHRSA and the orientation of the fitness industry.

Marketing and Social Commerce

Consumer behavior is something you want to keep on top of as a business owner and technologies are having an impact here. One of my partners and founder of The Health Club for Women, Herb Lipsman. sent a note yesterday asking "Bryan have you heard about Groupons?" He was meeting with the Faust Group during the week and was curious to discuss the trend. I appreciate Herb's curiosity and his many contributions to the fitness industry.

He asked a good question and was touching on something that I've been researching and speaking about - particularly in the fitness industry. The "commerce of social media". Brian Solis recently touched on it as well in his article: The Rise of Social Commerce. As a big fan of Brian's - I want to thank him. The post it was more great content. Here is an excerpt:

500 million Facebook denizens are plotting their social graphs.

145 million Twitter users Tweet and ReTweet.

3 million people are checking-in on FourSquare.

Brands are flocking to social networks, some with strategies and others simply experimenting with community building. What’s clear is that the 3F’s (friends, fans, and followers) are not created equal. Those brands who examine the composition of their existing community will find that many are simply seeking access to exclusive specials and content.

According to a recent comScore report, 23% of Twitter users follow businesses to find special deals, promotions, or sales. 14% of Twitter users reported taking to the stream to find and share product reviews and opinions.  Earlier this year, Chadwick Martin Bailey published a study that showed 25% of consumers connected to brands on Facebook did so to receive discounts. But here’s where things get interesting, in the same report, comScore found that Facebook and Twitter visitors spend 1.5x more online than average Internet users. Herein lies the opportunity for brands looking to add yet another “C” to the many C’s of Community – commerce.

So how do you embrace Social Commerce to help achieve success given what Brian Solis observed ? Check out Groupon's video below and watch Brian Solis's terriffic video below with Phil Kaplan to learn more. In the interim - contact me, Bryan O'Rourke, and let me know what you think and if you'd like to discuss integrating social media into your strategic planning or marketing execution.

The Transformation of Customers and Organizations

Josh Bernoff just delivered his latest book Empowered, with co-author Ted Schalder, and its worth a read. Included in his writing are views on how customers of ALL industries have been transformed and more importantly how organizations must deal with it.

Technology has empowered individuals so that the manner with which organizations must interact and deal with them as customers has fundamentally changed. They have the power and so the world has shifted to a sort of "social chaos" and organizations must avoid being fearful and instead take advantage of these technology tools. Doing so, however, requires redefining leadership and control, among other dna of traditional businesses.

Watch this interview with Brian Solis as he explores the book's various themes with Josh Bernoff. Reach out to me, Bryan O'Rourke, to let me know your thoughts on Empowered.

"Wellness" - The Next Big Thing in The Fitness Industry

If you attended my recent IHRSA webinar on the changing bricks and mortar fitness industry you'll recall how I mentioned that a big opportunity for fitness facilities will be wellness.

Most fitness facilities and traditional gyms are not in the wellness business. These businesses and organizations generally provide recreation and fitness opportunities without offering proven means for achieving health outcomes . Initial health assessments, behavioral counseling and lifestyle monitoring combine to change the way people live and greatly impact their health. Often times, as research has shown, these programs can reverse diseases like diabetes. Check out this deck on the changing fitness industry to learn more.

The increasing availability of inexpensive technologies that enable the monitoring of activity are creating more opportunities for fitness facilities to realize the potential of wellness. The recent release of new technologies like Wahoo shown above are becoming quite mainstream. This combined with the surge of smart phone devices is creating the chance for fitness businesses to become wellness coaching businesses, thus changing the business models and the true role the fitness industry can play in impacting the health care crisis.

Reach out to me, Bryan O'Rourke, and let me know - "what do you think" about the fitness industry morphing into more of a wellness industry.