Five ways to up your game in the fitness business

In an unorganised fitness industry like that of India, it is imminent for brands to stay up in the competition. With the Indian consumer turning more curious about fitness, meeting the consumer’s expectation in every aspect is the need of the hour if you want to survive in this industry.

Wellness India has been speaking to the leaders in the industry on how they manage to cut through the competition. Based on what some of them have to say, here are five ways that can help you up your game in the fitness industry:

Innovate. Repeat.

Being creative in your approach towards providing fitness services proves you are actively involved in your business. The millenials, who form a major chunk of consumers today, do not want mundane workouts. As a fitness brand, come up with newer ways of turning the same mundane workouts into something more fun. In the US, fitness players like Throwback Fitness take their clients back to their college or school activities to make them fit. In India, Zorba: A Renaissance Studio gives its clients services like Yoga with a basket ball or Yoga in the pool. Such innovations help your gym/fitness studio alive in the competition.

Work out the Flexibility

Flexibility today forms the core of the fitness business. With changing trends and newer workouts moving the market at regular intervals, inculcating them is unavoidable. From Zumba to Pilates and CrossFit, your fitness brand must ace them all to stay ahead in competition. Premium brands like Fitness First make sure they offer variety at their clubs. “We at an average in each club, conduct 90 classes a week, of 17-18 different kinds of classes per club. The right customer is one who has a core focus and the variety focus. Every format of exercise is very credible in providing you results. Variety is something good,” says Vikram Aditya Bhatia, MD, Fitness First India.

Promotional offers

Unlike the Food and Beverages industry in India, the fitness industry has consumers who look for better pricing. To make sure you attract a good consumer base, it is essential to come up with some promotional offers not just around festivities, but on a general basis too. Go for student membership discounts, couple packages and other such discounts to keep a regular inflow of new consumers to your gym.

Professionals

The first step towards organising an industry is to make sure the professionals are qualified, trained and certified. In fact, even certification is not enough today. As the consumer becomes more aware and cautious, it is important to train certified professionals according to the need of the customer and the brand. Make sure your service professionals go through a proper training before you have them on board as regulars.

Social media presence

There’s no ignoring the social media. With over 35 per cent of the Indian population now using the Internet and a huge number of people using smartphones, ignoring the social media is a huge mistake that any brand in any industry can make. As a fitness brand, you ought to make sure that your developments, your promotional offers, your new offerings and other achievements are announced well online for it to reach a wider consumer base.

Being fit in the fitness industry is an art not every brand masters. And, to be a brand in the fitness industry besides all the above things, what matters most is your presence in essential potential markets. Expanding, franchising are things that help you take your brand to more markets than just one. After all, it’s about the survival of the fittest!