The Club Insider Archives: May 2015
Mike Feitelberg and Team
The Future Begins At The Edge
By: Justin Cates
Justin CatesGet the right people on the bus, the wrong people off the bus, and then, figure out where those left should sit and where to drive the bus. In its most simplistic form, this is a key takeaway from Jim Collins' Good To Great. This month, Club Insider is pleased to feature Mike Feitelberg, Co-Owner and President of The Edge, a 6-club chain located in Vermont. Carrying the previous analogy further, Mike Feitelberg and his team have an incredible bus. They have filled the seats with amazing people. And now, they are driving it towards the future of our industry.
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"Insider Speaks"
Warning!!! ClassPass... The New Serial Killer of the Fitness Industry
By: Jarod Cogswell
Jarod CogswellYou've been in the club quite a few times now; when are you going to join?" I asked with a half-joking friendly tone... She answered, "Oh, I'm not interested in membership; I'm with ClassPass. It's cheaper, and I can workout here or wherever I want." My heart instantly sank, fear flowed through my veins, but finally, after two months of using ClassPass for my gym, my brain turned on. The Wolf in Sheepskin Clothing was revealed... ClassPass is not my friend; they are yet another fierce competitor!
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Serve More People, Make More Money
By: Donna Krech
Donna KrechZig Ziglar was not only an inspiration to multiple generations, but he also served as the mentor for many of our business and personal successes. His most famous quote was, "You will get everything you want out of life if you just help enough other people get what they want." While many of us have been moved by the concept of this statement, I wonder how many of us have actually embraced it to the degree that we apply it in our business.
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Try Before You Buy...
It's Not Just For Memberships Anymore!
By: Ron Alterio
Ron AlterioTrial memberships were started years ago to help eliminate one of the biggest barriers to joining a health club: RISK. The idea was to simply use the trial membership as a marketing tool to drive prospects through your door. The prospects would then try out your club for a pre-determined period of time. The goal was to get them engaged in your offerings and programs and then close them on a membership before the trial period ended. Fast forward and this same lead generating tool can now be a GREAT way to get more of your members engaged in Small Group Training (SGT) as well.
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Exercise: The Best Medicine for Doctors and Patients
By: Joe Moore
Joe MooreAlmost any doctor will agree that exercise is a great preventive and helps keep people well. Most will even acknowledge that regular exercise helps manage many chronic diseases, from diabetes to asthma. But, how often do doctors come right out and prescribe exercise, or even ask how much physical activity you get on a routine basis?
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Make This One Simple Change And Watch Your Gym Memberships Explode
By: Joe Imbrogno
Joe ImbrognoFor some health clubs, paid trial memberships seem like a no-brainer. Give people a low-cost taste of your product that goes beyond a complimentary workout in the hopes of their committing to a longer term membership when it ends. But, is your paid trial membership really helping to generate additional leads and full memberships at your gym, health club or athletic club? Maybe not! If your club meets any of the following criteria, it's quite possible that a paid trial membership is simply prolonging the buying process!
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The Fate and Fortune of the Health and Fitness Industry
Part II
By: Stephen Tharrett
Stephen TharrettThe health and fitness facility industry is an evolving entity, both domestically and internationally. While it is more of an accepted part of the American culture and lifestyle than it was 40 years ago or even a decade ago, the industry remains somewhat susceptible to the whims of evolving global demographics, trendy popular culture and macroeconomic conditions. The fate and fortune --or destiny if you like-- of the health and fitness facility industry, is now being influenced by these evolving cultural, demographic and economic forces.
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Fitness and Guest Reviews
How to Engage Members to Write Positive Reviews and Feedback
By: Maria Parrella-Turco
Maria Parrella-TurcoCustomer reviews are a hugely important factor in the health and fitness club industry. With Internet sources and word-of-mouth being top referral sources and another means of advertising, the potential for exposure is exponential. Research has shown that 61% of customers read online reviews before making a purchase decision, and 63% of customers are more likely to make a purchase from a site that has user reviews.
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ClassPass: The Joy and Guilt of the Digital Middleman Economy
Classpass From One Articulate Consumer's Viewpoint
By: Jenna Wortham
Each month, I pay $99 to a company called ClassPass for the luxury of taking an unlimited number of fitness classes in and around Brooklyn, where I live. In the depths of this winter, regular exercise, a key to calming my hyperactive and anxiety-prone brain even when it's less awful outside, has become crucial enough to maintaining my sanity that I find myself prioritizing my ClassPass bill over other splurges, like ordering in, taking cabs and expensive nights out.
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Programming For The "Fun Of It!"
Leadership For Small Group Training Management Success
By: Laurie Cingle
Laurie CingleSuccess with Small Group Training (SGT) is based on 7 Keys: (1) Leverage Your Offerings, (2) Hire and Retain Champion SGT Trainers, (3) Define Metrics, (4) Identify a SGT Manager, (5) Create a Space, (6) Outline a Marketing Plan and (7) Develop a Budget. This article discusses Key #4, Identify a SGT Manager.
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Molly Kemmer Selected as Chairperson of the IHRSA Board of Directors
PHOENIX, AZ - EXOS is proud to announce that Molly Kemmer, who currently serves as a Regional Director for EXOS | MediFit, has been selected as the Chairperson of the Board of Directors for the International Health, Racquet, and Sportsclub Association (IHRSA), the trade association that serves the global health and fitness club industry with a mission to grow, protect and promote the health and fitness industry, and to provide its members with benefits that will help them be more successful.
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World Gym Eastlake Hosts Grand Opening Celebration Benefiting The Challenged Athletes Foundation
LOS ANGELES, CA - World Gym International, the iconic global brand for bodybuilding and serious fitness, announced the grand opening of its Eastlake fitness center. The celebration took place on Saturday, May 9th, and hosted a 3-hour Spin-A-Thon benefiting the Challenged Athletes Foundation. In addition, World Gym also hosted a gently-used tennis shoe drive to benefit orphanages in Tijuana.
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The IHRSA Foundation Steps Up
BOSTON, MA - Most people agree that working out regularly in a fitness center provides tremendous, often life-changing, health benefits. And, yet, despite all the pounds lost and lives touched in health clubs, there's still a common misperception that gyms are for fitness divas or people who are already in shape.
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PTR Elects New President And Board of Directors
HILTON HEAD ISLAND, S.C. - Professional Tennis Registry (PTR) is pleased to announce the election of Roy Barth, of Kiawah Island, South Carolina, who will serve as President of the Board of Directors. Also elected to serve as Vice President is Karl Hale, of Toronto, Canada. Ajay Pant of College Park, Maryland, will serve as PTR Secretary; and Oivind Sorvald, of Oslo, Norway, will serve as Treasurer.
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AFS and Martial Arts Teachers Association Announce Collaboration Agreement
CHICAGO, IL and CLEARWATER, FL - The Association of Fitness Studios (AFS) and the Martial Arts Teachers Association (MATA), announced a collaboration relationship designed to enhance the value of membership in both organizations.
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Join The Movement To Make The World More Active: #WhyGetActive
BOSTON, MA - As an industry, we have set a goal for ourselves to be recognized as a primary solution to the global physical inactivity epidemic. #WhyGetActive is a social media movement born at the grassroots level to combat that crisis.
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Norm's Notes for May 2015
By: Norm Cates
Norm CatesHello Everybody! This is your Club Insider Publisher and Tribal Leader for 257 monthly editions since 1993 checking in!
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