Gym Getting Rid of Heavy Dumbbells

Off Topic
81

Actually, you should present him with the Planet Fitness business plan, which is essentially broad appeal and commoditization.

Basically, he wants to get rid of heavy DBs to appeal to more people (be more mainstream and less hardcore). This will hopefully (for him) get more people into the door. However, what he has to consider is that fitness clubs in general have a 9% penetration rate in a given area. So you have all the gyms competing for 9 out of every 100 people.

Unless he plans on aggressively marketing to the other 91%, he isn’t going to make more money, he is going to make less.

Planet Fitness has no heavy dumbbells, and a non-intimidation policy, but because they are inexpensive and gear their marketing correctly, they average a 25% penetration rate in any area they open up in.

That means literally 1/4 of all local residents are members. They are able to achieve this because they spend the extra money and effort targetting people that have never been a member of any health club before. And it works, which is why those clubs average a ridiculous amount of money each month.

It is important to note that most people who are currently or have previously been members of health clubs generally are not intimidated by large dumbbells.

But he is not trying to get those members, he is trying to get new ones, so following his logic I can see why he thinks getting rid of the DBs is a step in the right direction.

Bottom line is, he is not going to get that new uninitiated clientele unless he drops the monthy rate considerably, and and gears his marketing towards people who have never been gym goers. Just getting rid of the DBs is not going to bring people in. It’s an exercise in pointlessness for him.

So you should tell him all that, and make it clear that is isn’t really a great idea from a management standpoint.

On the other hand, the only negative consequence is that a few members will be a bit annoyed. Most of whom will bitch for a while, but probably won’t quit anyway. Depending on the rate the gym charges, may or may not be a concern to lose one or two members.

Either way, explain things to him and tell him you’ll spot him if he needs help with the big boy weights. Okay, don’t say that. You can think it though.

82

Just wanted to add:

The reason the lower rate is important is because many people think health club dues should be counted as part of discretionary income. If that is the case, then you can understand why many people would not join something they have no idea how to take advantage of for like 60 bucks a month.

However, if you chage 10 a month, you have 1 out of every 4 people say, “eh, I’ll give it a shot.” And many of them dont come often, but even if they show up once a week they are getting their money’s worth.

Charging less also allows encourages the joining of exactly the type of members that gyms want: the kind that never come, but for 10 bucks a month keep telling themselves they will. This lasts, on average, about 15 months before they finally cancel. Average in gyms charging 40 per month or more is 4 months.

83

If he wants the gym to look less intimidating, he doesn’t have to get rid of the heavy barbells, he could just hide them by putting them on another rack in the corner of the gym or somewhere else where people won’t see them from the entrance.

84

yo dude pocket those 80 poundrs