{"id":16205,"date":"2016-06-20T12:35:59","date_gmt":"2016-06-20T19:35:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/medicalfitnessnetwork.org\/public\/?p=16205"},"modified":"2016-10-10T09:08:42","modified_gmt":"2016-10-10T16:08:42","slug":"5-ways-to-differentiate-your-fitness-business-in-todays-crowded-market","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/medfitnetwork.org\/public\/all-mfn\/5-ways-to-differentiate-your-fitness-business-in-todays-crowded-market\/","title":{"rendered":"5 Ways to Differentiate Your Fitness Business in Today\u2019s Crowded Market"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Recent research compiled by IBISWorld shows there\u2019s over 100,000 fitness studios in the continental United States.<sup>(1)<\/sup> 100,000!\u00a0 Further, the studio market represents over $22 billion in revenue, is the fastest growing segment of the fitness industry AND is larger than all the health clubs, YMCAs, JCCs, corporate, college\/university, hospital-based, military, park &amp; rec., senior living, and physical therapy locations <strong>combined<\/strong>!<\/p>\n<p><strong>What\u2019s driving the growth?<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>It\u2019s easy to say the low overhead &#8211; and sometimes that\u2019s the case.\u00a0 Fitness professionals only need a few essential pieces of equipment, a credit card and BOOM you\u2019re in business. From the consumer side, they\u2019re willing to pay a premium for experiences, cutting-edge workouts and the attention of rock star instructors.<\/p>\n<p>Simply walk down any urban street and you\u2019ll find a variety of personal training, Pilates, yoga, cycling, and other types of fitness studios. With that much variety, owners are left to differentiate themselves from the competition.\u00a0 But doing so isn\u2019t as easy as it sounds.<\/p>\n<p><img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignright size-medium wp-image-16217\" src=\"https:\/\/medfitnetwork.org\/public\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/06\/leve-article1-235x300.jpg\" alt=\"leve-article1\" width=\"235\" height=\"300\" srcset=\"https:\/\/medfitnetwork.org\/public\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/06\/leve-article1-235x300.jpg 235w, https:\/\/medfitnetwork.org\/public\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/06\/leve-article1.jpg 496w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 235px) 100vw, 235px\" \/>In AFS\u2019 <a href=\"https:\/\/member.afsfitness.com\/content\/afs-2016-marketing-best-practices-report-coming-soon\" target=\"_blank\"><em>2016 Fitness Studio Marketing Best Practices Research Report<\/em><\/a>, we surveyed hundreds of studio owners across the country, from 500-10,000 square feet, and asked them numerous marketing related questions. One key area contained in the study was about differentiation.\u00a0 Several of the takeaways were:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>67% provide an intimate physical environment<\/li>\n<li>65% providing personalized coaching and instruction<\/li>\n<li>57% have a tribal-driven community among their clients and;<\/li>\n<li>45% see themselves as specialists and offering a highly specialized form of training<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>So how do you capitalize on this research?\u00a0 If you look closely, the theme is and always will be customization and personalization.\u00a0 Here are my top 5 insights to differentiate yourself from the competition.<\/p>\n<ol>\n<li><strong>Oversaturation can mean opportunity. <\/strong>If you\u2019re just starting out, just because a market is full of studios doesn\u2019t mean to look elsewhere. In fact, many times it can be just the opposite. Secret shop the competition, conduct a SWOT analysis, and identify your niche. Find the weaknesses and then do what you do better.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Don\u2019t reinvent the wheel. <\/strong>Your training style, your education, and your drive is all unique to you. However, there are pricing strategies and commonalities that can save you valuable time and effort. Seek out a <a href=\"https:\/\/member.afsfitness.com\/content\/roundtable-discussions-0\" target=\"_blank\">roundtable group<\/a>, attend business education events, and learn from your peers to avoid costly roadblocks.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Price yourself accordingly. <\/strong>What you charge says a lot about you and your business. In fact, in AFS\u2019 <a href=\"https:\/\/member.afsfitness.com\/content\/2015-fitness-studio-operating-financial-benchmarking-report-0\" target=\"_blank\"><em>2015 Financial &amp; Operating Benchmarking Report<\/em><\/a>, we found the average cost for a one-on-one training session was just over $63.\u00a0 Yet who\u2019s to say you can\u2019t charge more \u2013 sometimes much more? \u00a0At the end of the day know your market, stand by your price points, and don\u2019t worry about what the guy across the street charges.<\/li>\n<li><strong><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignright size-medium wp-image-5251\" src=\"https:\/\/medfitnetwork.org\/public\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/02\/woman-stretching-with-trainer-200x300.jpg\" alt=\"Woman Doing Stretching Exercises In Gym With Trainer\" width=\"200\" height=\"300\" srcset=\"https:\/\/medfitnetwork.org\/public\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/02\/woman-stretching-with-trainer-200x300.jpg 200w, https:\/\/medfitnetwork.org\/public\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/02\/woman-stretching-with-trainer.jpg 283w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 200px) 100vw, 200px\" \/><\/strong><strong>Communication is key. <\/strong>Here\u2019s a secret, provide your team with the \u2018Why\u2019 from the start and your life will be much easier. Your team is a reflection on you. Don\u2019t let whispers turn into yells. Set up a sound on-boarding culture, having weekly or monthly meetings, set goals and keep your entire team in the loop.<\/li>\n<li><strong>The member experience trumps all. <\/strong>Try this exercise one day\u2026walk into any boutique business (fitness studio, nail salon, barber shop, etc.) and make a conscious effort to see how that business makes you feel. Are you greeting warmly?\u00a0 Is there water, reading materials, information packets in the waiting area? Or are you greeted with someone on their cell phone, making you feel like you\u2019re bothering him\/her? \u00a0With so much competition, it\u2019s imperative you set yourself apart from the rest. Go a step beyond and word will spread.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<p>Follow these guidelines and make them your own.\u00a0 If you do, you\u2019ll be on your way to finding the success you dreamed of in your business.<\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<p><em><a href=\"https:\/\/medfitnetwork.org\/public\/about\/industry-experts\/josh-leve\/\" target=\"_blank\">Josh Leve<\/a> is responsible for the strategic development and growth of the<\/em><em>\u00a0<\/em><a href=\"http:\/\/www.afsfitness.com\/\" target=\"_blank\"><em>Association of Fitness Studios<\/em><\/a><em>.\u00a0Josh brings more than 10 years of sales, consulting, advertising, marketing, operations, and retail experience to AFS and\u00a0has spent more than a decade in the fitness industry.<\/em><\/p>\n<p><em>1. IBIS World\u00a0Personal Trainers, Pilates &amp; Yoga, Martial Arts, Dance Market Research Reports &#8211; 2015<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Recent research compiled by IBISWorld shows there\u2019s over 100,000 fitness studios in the continental United States. 100,000!  Further, the studio market represents over $22 billion in revenue, is the fastest growing segment of the fitness industry AND is larger than all the health clubs, YMCAs, JCCs, corporate, college\/university, hospital-based, military, park &#038; rec., senior living, and physical therapy locations combined!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":129,"featured_media":9640,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[1],"tags":[198],"class_list":["post-16205","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-all-mfn","tag-fitness-professionals"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/medfitnetwork.org\/public\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16205","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/medfitnetwork.org\/public\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/medfitnetwork.org\/public\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/medfitnetwork.org\/public\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/129"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/medfitnetwork.org\/public\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=16205"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/medfitnetwork.org\/public\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16205\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/medfitnetwork.org\/public\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/9640"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/medfitnetwork.org\/public\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=16205"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/medfitnetwork.org\/public\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=16205"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/medfitnetwork.org\/public\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=16205"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}