How Does The Fitness Industry Change Its Mindset ?

The facts are that while the fitness and wellness industry has grown over the past quarter century, obesity and health quality in the developed world have not improved.  Many argue they've gotten worse. The fitness industry still serves about 15% of the adult population while failing to broaden its appeal to the not yet fit. Something is broken because things have not improved and I fear the industry is failing to reach its promise and as a result, things need to change - but how ?

Innovation; as Vijay Govindarajan, Professor at the Tucks School of Business at Dartmouth and co-author of 10 Rules for Strategic Innovators , is about 2 major things. First, leaders must accept things ARE changing and figure out how to adapt accordingly. Second, leaders must understand change is NOT a technical problem its a MINDSET problem. Therefore to enable a business or even an industry to adapt one must introduce NEW mindsets.

In the fitness industry this means having the courage to bring in fresh voices from outside the industry. It also requires new performance measures, the embracement of collaboration, and developing a culture that tolerates or even rewards failure.

What do you think ? Contact me Bryan O'Rourke and share your views. How can the fitness industry change its mindset ? Is there a reluctance to bring in new voices ? Do you think the fitness and wellness industry should change its thinking if it is going to truly have a real impact on the quality of more people's lives ? Do you believe intiatives like the Weekly Fitness Challenge reflect new ways of doing things that can make a difference ? Let me hear your views !

Best Buys Foray Into Fitness Is Just The Beginning

Maybe you noticed during your holiday shopping back in December; I know I did. After testing a pilot program last year, Best Buy rolled out health devices and fitness products at 600 Best Buy stores and online at BestBuy.com. Products are on display in a 30 ft. long health and fitness presentation area, which enables consumers to sample devices before they purchase them. Available products include state-of-the-art heart rate monitoring watches, blood-pressure monitors, pedometers, scales and other products from leading manufacturers.

Chris Koller, VP portable electronics solutions group at Best Buy recently had this to say, “We clearly tapped into a desire for Best Buy to provide the latest and greatest technology to enhance health regimens, and to help people discover how they can integrate these devices with other personal technology to monitor and share their progress, and to stay motivated.”

What does this mean ? Its just the beginning to the new wave of wellness devices that will rely on cloud technologies to enable the collection of data for purposes of monitoring and motivating people to be healthy and the health club industry better take notice. As I've written before, wireless wellness is a potential threat to bricks and mortar delivery of fitness and wellness. As smartphone and cloud technologies proliferate we will see more product solutions emerge to fit this growing market.

A recent blood pressure device is an example of a new product in this category. French gadget maker Withings is launching a blood pressure cuff combined with the intuitive, feel-good design of an iPhone app. It's compatible with iPod, iPhone, and iPad; saves your readings automatically; connects automatically with cloud-based personal health tools like Microsoft HealthVault and Google Health; and graphically displays your measurements in context against recommendations from the World Health Organization.

As mobility and cloud trends come main stream, a new world of competition and opportunities for the fitness and wellness industry will result. Contact me, Bryan O'Rourke, and tell me what you think . Do you see the foray of Best Buy into fitness and these new series of products as a threat or opportunity for health clubs ?

The Fitness & Wellness Space Should Prepare For Change In 2011

I've written about the digital divide in the fitness and wellness industry before. Its the wide gap that exists between traditional fitness and wellness competitors and the elite few who are embracing the sea change of technology, consumer, and wellness trends that will surely reshape fitness and wellness organization's significantly in the coming years. As 2011 approaches I am paying closer attention to guessing when this impact is going to rear its head more clearly.

I recently reviewed Morgan Stanley's deck from the Web 2.0 Expo in San Francisco, "Ten Questions Internet Execs Should Ask & Answer" (its included below). You should really have a look at it.

Here is some notable content from the presentation on Commerce:"Wal-Mart in your pocket, location-based services……group buying power……flash sales…… deep discounts……transparent pricing……real-time alerts /ratings… virtual goods...immediate gratification…… Products must be fast + easy + fun. Have you ever seen constant improvement in products like we are seeing now? Is your business keeping pace? Do humans want everything to be like a game?"

Interesting questions huh ? I truly believe the leaders of the fitness and wellness business better start asking themselves the questions that Morgan Stanley is asking the leadership of Web 2.0. Afterall its about the customer and the customer is changing the way they consumer and interact: fundamentally.

What do you think ? Do you think Web 2.0 is going to impact the fitness and wellness industry increasingly in 2011 ? Contact me Bryan O'Rourke, and share your thoughts.

10 questions internet execs should ask & answer

View more presentations from Bryan ORourke.

The Top 5 Mobile Location Based Applications For Your Fitness Business

Location-based mobile apps and services have been around a while, but with the explosion of smart mobile devices 2011 is going to be THE breakout year. Big retail brands are starting to experiment with location-based campaigns and checkin rewards programs and the fitness industry will eventually follow. It does not seem, however, many in traditional fitness or wellness have attempted to explore this emerging solution, yet. I believe that will change and soon.

An article by Jennifer Van Grove titled the Top 5 Location Based Services Mashable Awards published in October listed the top five location-based services in a list that includes predictable names and lesser known upstarts.

Her list below serves as a countdown beginning at the fifth most significant service and arriving at her top pick for location-based innovation. Thanks Jennifer for a great assessment and article on the topic - the full article is available here.

Has your fitness business experimented with location based applications and services ? What is working or not ? What do you think about this in the fitness or wellness space ? Contact me, Bryan O’Rourke, and share your experiences or thoughts on location based campaigns and reward programs in the fitness industry as it relates to these new platforms.

5. Yelp for Mobile

Yelp is the original location-based service that redefined “local” for small businesses and their online customers. In 2010, Yelp continues to remain relevant with mobile applications that reach BlackBerry, iPhone, Android, PalmPre, Windows Phone 7, and most other smartphone users.

Yelp Mobile may not be the trendiest location-based service, but it’s arguably the most practical. Stats from September of this year show that Yelp Mobile generated 3 million unique visitors for the month and more than 1 million people created point-to-point directions to a local business. We’re not partial, however, to Yelp’s also-ran checkin features. The startup should stick to what it does best — convenient and replete location-based business listings and reviews.

4. Neer

Newcomer Neer brings ingenious innovation around personal and private automatic location-sharing to Android device owners. The startup launched earlier this year after incubating inside Qualcomm Services Labs. Creator Ian Heidt describes Neer as occupying “the middle ground between Foursquare () and Google Latitude.” That’s a technologically sound description, but we see Neer as the most practical application of location for actual real-world scenarios — like knowing if your kids made it to school.

Neer doesn’t bother with checkins, badges or other kitschy game mechanics. The service is designed so that you know where your loved ones and friends are, and vice versa. Since users have complete control over who can see their whereabouts — in place names, not physical addresses — there’s little to worry about on the privacy front. The application is also designed with the average user in mind, meaning the user interface is both slick and uncomplicated. As the space matures, location-based services will take inspiration from Neer and evolve past the pure novelty of checkins and location-sharing.

3. Loopt

Once the location app on everyone’s lips, Loopt has lost some of its luster to more buzz-worthy incumbents. But, Loopt continues to innovate around location and just last week updated its iPhone app to include deep integration with Facebook Places.

Loopt’s application is also the most aggressive of the big name players when it comes to automatic location-sharing, meaning it supports background location and proximity alerts for nearby friends. There’s also the branded-rewards Loopt Star application, which has already demonstrated that it can push users to take action and drive them to their partners’ physical locations. With this formula, there’s certainly real revenue potential beyond just advertising.

2. SCVNGR

In just a few months time, SCVNGR has gone from an obscure mobile app for iPhone and Android to a formidable player in the location space with upward of 500,000 users. Now the Google ()-backed startup is said to be making millions thanks to more than 1,000 paying enterprise clients, which include the likes of Sony and Warner Bros. As a service, SCVNGR differentiates itself with point-based challenges on top of checkins and interesting partners such as The Boston Globe, Minnesota Vikings, AT&T and the Smithsonian museums.

Just recently, the team redesigned the mobile apps to better surface user activity. Sophisticated Facebook Places integration also plays a significant role in the application experience and on the Facebook Place Pages for business owners. Perhaps more interesting than the service itself is the 21-year-old whiz kid at the helm (pictured left in the photo above). Princeton dropout and serial entrepreneur Seth Priebatsch is barely old enough to drink, but this youngster is one huge overachiever with a grandiose vision for SCVNGR and the passion to make it happen.

1. Foursquare

Despite the emergence of Facebook Places months ago, Foursquare is still very much alive with its 4 million registered users. We think it’s safe to say that this startup continues to thrive because it’s more about people and places than it is about location.

We could rattle off Foursquare’s numerous partnerships, highlight its quirky badges or talk about its battles for mayorship, but what puts Foursquare atop our list is the fact that the service has created a phenomena around checkins, badges and rewards that’s been copied and adapted by countless other web and mobile services all trying to emulate Foursquare’s magic.

Foursquare’s recent restructuring of its iPhone and Android apps to highlight tips and to-dos point to a not-so-distant future when, co-founder Dennis Crowley explained, Foursquare will “reinvent what happens after the checkin.”

In many ways, Foursquare already reinvents what happens both before and after the checkin. Just look at how Jimmy Choo employed a pair of trainers to inspire a three-week frantic offline shoe hunt in London — with shoe sales jumping 30% around the time of the campaign — as proof of the concept. It’s the one campaign that Tristan Walker, Foursquare’s director of business development, speaks most highly of, even though the startup didn’t directly participate in the sale.


Make Social Media Work For Your Fitness Business - The Super Influencers

Ben Straley had a great article in mashables the other day titled How to activate your brands “Super Influencers”. Fitness industry participants who are starting to leverage social media marketing need to pay close attention to this concept.

Ben's comments are based on a very important notion: the 1% rule : just 1% of businesses social media followers are responsible for the majority of sharing. They share social media campaigns with their larger social network, passing on links to your contests, promotions, deals, and other marketing campaigns. These important influencers are more than just fans — they’re brand ambassadors. Fitness businesses need to identify who these people are, particularly members, and act accordingly to insure their social media efforts have greater impact for the reasons set out below.

Businesses that track and quantify word-of-mouth impact know that these important influencers drive from 20% to as many as 70% of all visits to campaign pages, beating most other advertising as the most efficient driver of traffic to their sites. That’s critical, considering social campaigns require no media buys and cost next to nothing to implement. The “Super influencers” drive an even higher share of conversion — on average influencing 30% or more of all conversions on marketers’ sites just by recommending a brand’s products, content, or promotions to their online communities.

When you understand this dynamic, you realize quickly that these super influencers are really important. If you can reach out to this 1% directly by offering them special promotions, thanking them for their influence, and rewarding them for loyalty, they will be motivated to share early and share often.

Identifying these people is fairly straightforward. As Ben points out, there are many social media measurement tools that enable folks to find the people who are talking most about their brand, see what type of content they’re sharing and with whom, and how they are sharing it (e-mail, Twitter, Facebook, and their own blogs). Once you find these influencers, the trick is activating them to share even more.

What are your experiences with social media in the fitness industry ? Contact me, Bryan O'Rourke, and share your stories about social media in fitness. I've included three tips Ben suggested you use to help you activate your top influencers. For the complete article visit here. Thanks again Ben for some great content.

1. Reserve Your Best Content for Influencers Only

Influencers love to be an inside source of information for their friends and followers by sharing contests, information, or deals with their social networks before other people have heard about them. Create exclusive content you share only with your key influencers, and let them know they were one of a select few to receive this special offer. This makes your brand advocates feel appreciated and provides them with exclusive information they can use to boost their reputation as a source of inside deals.

One of my company’s clients decided to engage its most ardent fans when planning a large industry event. The company reached out to these key influencers, inviting them to post a “register now” button on their blogs and websites, and offering them lower-cost VIP passes if they shared the event with friends. The result was a huge uptick in sharing that significantly influenced registrations for the event. People who found out about the conference from an influencer were 37% more likely to register than direct visitors, and influencers ended up driving more than $1 million in total registrations.

2. Mine the Blogs and Forums

When you’re looking for super influencers, chances are you’ve already determined who shares the most on Facebook and Twitter. But, in many cases, the people who really influence traffic and conversion on your site are the bloggers. One of our clients launched a social media contest and found that one blogger alone shared the contest with thousands of people and directly drove 42% of all traffic to the contest page.
To find and activate the people who are truly passionate about your products, services, or sector, you’ve got to carefully monitor the blogosphere, message boards, and forums. Once you’ve used analytics tools to find exactly which individuals are driving the most traffic to your campaign sites, you need to reach out to these people individually. Treat them like the real VIPs they are. Let them know you appreciate their loyalty and interest in your products. We’ve found influencers appreciate your attention and kind words even more than exclusive promotions.

3. Differentiate the Influencers from the Super Influencers

Your top fans are so valuable they are worth the extra effort of some special attention. But, not all influencers are alike. When you plot the influence of individuals, you’ll see a curve that looks a lot like the long tail distribution of search terms. Influence follows a “power law,” where a relatively small number of individuals influence the lion’s share of referrals. Those at the peak of this curve are the super influencers, and those in the tail are regular influencers.  Super influencers have large, loyal followings and audiences who trust their insights. The latter are people who pass along info to friends and family from time to time via e-mail and Facebook.

Understanding these differences is key to crafting your influencer activation strategy. You need to interact with super influencers on a one-to-one basis, but you could target the rest of your influencers a bit more broadly. For example, you will want to reach out directly to all your influencers by commenting on their blogs and syndicating their content via Twitter, Facebook, and your own blog. Thank them for their loyalty, and generally praise them. But, make sure to go the extra mile with your super influencers. Offer super influencers the opportunity to obtain and review your products before they hit the market, for example. Offer them after-hours shopping at your stores, a few free hours of your services, or invite them to a special VIP party. Be creative, and have fun. Remember, your super influencers, when treated right, can drive a huge percentage of your site’s overall traffic. Isn’t that worth throwing a party?

The Takeaway

Just identifying your key influencers is not enough in today’s market. Instead, you’ve got to find them and then motivate them to share. Over the long term, your goal as a marketer is to increase the size of your influencer base. By finding and engaging in a direct dialogue with your super influencers, you’ll get a clear idea of what motivates these brand ambassadors to share. Then, armed with that knowledge, you can begin reaching out to your influencers — and even your fans who never share — to offer the right kind of content and rewards to turn more “followers” into “sharers.”