Coronavirus pandemic has caused a great deal of damage to the fitness industry around the world. Hundreds of thousands are left unemployed while the gyms are closed.
On 27 July 2020, the International Health and Racquet & Sportsclub Association sent a letter to the US Congress. The letter described the rise in unemployment and long-term effects the pandemic is likely to bring to the fitness industry.
Moreover, the letter mentions that the industry is estimated to have already faced a loss of seven billion dollars in the revenue as of July 1.
MANY PEOPLE HAVE TURNED TO HOME WORKOUTS DURING THE CORONAVIRUS PANDEMIC, LEAVING GYM OWNERS WORRIED ABOUT THE FUTURE
People are increasingly finding virtual trainers for themselves during these times. This major shift towards virtual gyms and at-home fitness by people has left gym owners anxious and wondering what this could mean for the future of their business.
A HYBRID FITNESS BUSINESS
In simple words, a hybrid fitness business is a facility that offers both onsite and online services. What you offer within the four walls of your premises is onsite. What you offer through live streaming or on-demand content is online.
THE COST OF SETTING UP A VIRTUAL GYM IS VERY LOW AS COMPARED TO SETTING UP AN ONSITE GYM
To provide an onsite gym service, you need to have a premise. A massive chunk of your capital goes into arranging a premise and buying all the necessary equipment that your gym members would need to exercise. Some equipment may also need regular maintenance that just adds to your expenses.
Installation of security cameras, electricity consumption inside the premise, water consumption inside the bathrooms, and the list of expenses goes on as we think of setting up an ideal gym.
However, think about going virtual and providing fitness training to your members online.
ONSITE GYM FACILITY COMES WITH THE DRAWBACK OF LIMITED CAPACITY INSIDE THE PREMISE
The inside of your gym is surrounded by four walls that allow only a limited number of people to adjust inside it and exercise comfortably. This is not the case with virtual gyms.
Online class platforms like zoom allow as much as 100 participants per session. Each coach hosting a session can entertain 100 members of your gym online at a time. These sessions could be great for discussing diet plans, exercise plans, and for the Q&A.
MEMBERS CAN AVAIL SERVICE FROM THEIR PREFERED COACH ONLINE IF NOT ONSITE
There are some fitness coaches famous in their towns for their service and hiring these at your gym may bring you plenty of memberships. However, the coaches at your onsite gym can only entertain a limited number of members due to their hectic schedules.
With the availability of an online facility, members who do not get to interact with their favorite coach can connect with them online. These may save you memberships as these members would not have to look for other gyms where they could connect with their preferred coach.
A GLOBAL REACH WITH DIGITAL PRESENCE
When you open an onsite gym, you are likely to receive most members from the nearby areas and a few from regions further from your location.
In order to make your service available in other regions and gain more memberships, you would have to invest equally large capital to open another branch of your gym in some other region.
Investment of so much money to open multiple branches of your gym may not be possible for every gym owner. However, why let money be the hurdle when you can provide a form of your gym service online?
It costs a lot lesser to set up a website for your gym than to buy all the assets to set up another branch of your gym. By offering an online service, you become available for subscription to every person with an internet connection, no matter in what part of the world they are!
MEMBERS TRAVELLING OUT OF CITY OR COUNTRY FOR A FEW MONTHS WOULD NOT HAVE TO CANCEL THEIR MEMBERSHIP FOR THIS TIME PERIOD
Fitness enthusiasts do not like skipping their workouts, and they never do it unless they are forced to.
Members leaving your service temporarily may never come back since this temporary disconnection could allow them an opportunity to look around for even better service on returning to their permanent residence.
Staying connected with such members online would keep them tied more firmly to your business. Online subscription means you can keep updating such members with your online training programs, workout reminders, and sessions.
Your constant availability, even when they are not at your premise, would keep them interested in your business for a much longer period and would strengthen their relationship with you.
This is only possible when you are connected to your members on their cellphones that they carry with themselves wherever they go.
BUILD A NAME AROUND THE GLOBE BY HIRING FAMOUS FITNESS COACHES FROM DIFFERENT PARTS OF THE WORLD
There are fitness coaches on platforms like Instagram and YouTube who have earned a name around the globe because of their highly effective workout plans and fitness advice. These coaches have millions of viewers and subscribers around the world. However, these coaches may not have a proper platform where their regular viewers could interact with them like in an online session.
Hiring these coaches to do a few online workout sessions with your members can attract the attention of fitness enthusiasts towards your brand. People could be subscribing to your gym from a completely different part of the world just to connect with their favorite athlete they have been following on social media.
You could also hire a coach from a different part of the world and make them available to people of your region for online interactive sessions.
PROVIDE FREE TRIALS TO POTENTIAL MEMBERS
It may be risky to allow free trials to the general public inside an onsite gym, as it can get overcrowded. At the same time, it may not leave a good impression of your business to people who have traveled a long way to arrive at your location for a free trial just to get denied entry because of the gym’s limited capacity.
By setting up an online version of your gym, you can effectively handle this problem and allow people to experience your services and the guidance of your fitness coaches free of cost for a limited period. The algorithms of your website can manage the number of free participants per session.
This would allow you to make a positive impact on people’s decision of choosing to pay for your services onsite or online.
THE CONCLUSION — SOFTWARE COMPANIES ARE ALREADY WORKING TO SOLVE THESE PROBLEMS FOR GYM OWNERS
Software companies are quick to identify and address any change in the trends and the business problems that arise.
Inqline is one such company that is quick to address business problems and come up with easy-to-implement solutions. During these times, when gym owners around the world are worried about the future of their business, Inqline has launched its Inqline Fit platform.
This pandemic has brought challenges for every one of us. Make sure that by the end of these times, you emerge with a revolutionized version of your fitness business with more lines of revenue than before.
