The Buzz: Seizing 2021 Opportunity

Each month we ask club customers and managers of others fitness facilities what’s the biggest question on their minds. And do our best to answer it. QUESTION OF THE MONTH: Q: “How do clubs really seize the opportunities that are presented post pandemic?” A: Plan now for what members truly want: convenience, community and care.

1. Continue to provide a fully integrated and convenient experience for your members. There’s nothing more convenient than working out at home with streaming club classes but there’s also nothing quite like the breadth and depth of equipment, expertise and support members receive in their club. It will be important to ensure we all continue to offer members an integrated best-of-both-worlds hybrid experience. But also look for ways to integrate that experience even further. The goal will be a seamless workout and exercise program that blends in-class instructor-led participation with a similarly high-intensity workout at home.
2. Help members re-engage with their club communities in 2021. People missed their classmates, work out partners and social groups when clubs closed, opened and closed again. As we all get beyond that, look for ways to re-engage members with those foundational group experiences. Promote new group fitness classes, re-launch group runs from the club, and look for ways to integrate the Facebook and other social media groups members organized online to stay connected into the fabric of the club.
3. Show members that even as the pandemic ends, care for their health and wellbeing does not. Every club does an exemplary job of caring for facilities and the health of their members. But in 2021, it will be important to continue to demonstrate that. The tone of sanitization and equipment cleanliness guidelines might change, but cleaning stations shouldn’t go away and neither should our reiteration to members that their health and comfort is always a top priority. Share this message in meaningful ways in clubs, online and across your club’s social channels.