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Why High-Tech Fitness Clubs are the New Trend in Health & Fitness & How to Set up One
Date: October 12th, 2021
Why the High Tech Fitness Club is the Next Trend in Gyming & Fitness
The high tech fitness club is the next normal in the health and fitness category thanks to the many changes in our lifestyles. Today, they register individuals from different walks of life who intend to improve or restore their health status.
Fitness clubs ensure customers enjoy the quality and unique services that they cannot find with other providers. Due to the cut-throat competition in this sector, your fitness club must stand out to retain as many clients as it attracts.
A fitness club’s primary goal is to leverage technology and innovation to deliver the best workout experiences to help its customers meet their physical and health goals.
The best fitness clubs ensure customers receive high-quality services with the guidance of a qualified training expert, an assistant, and many other experts like a diet expert.
They also employ an exercise physiologist who’s in charge of ensuring the clients carry out the right types of exercises for their health needs.
One of the unique features in high-tech gyms is they allow staff control over their daily operations. This independence makes workers confident and increases their ability to deliver with minimal supervision.
With that in mind, you must hire qualified personnel and design the entire business structure to achieve your pre-set objectives.
The Roles & Responsibilities of the Staff
The business owner should be the manager at the club. She is in charge of the whole company and making significant decisions that affect the brand.
You also need a competent accountant to take care of all the club’s finances, payroll, and tax compliance matters.
Your marketing officer should handle promotions. Their primary role is to market the business, attract more clients, and ensure its customer base expands.
The company also needs a qualified exercise physiologist to control the exercises offered. Their role is to plan exercise programs to be executed by the training officer (who works with an assistant training officer).
Next, the club should have a juice bar controlled by a diet expert; her role is to ensure that the customers adhere to a healthy diet to help achieve their fitness goals.
The health expert should prescribe the right diet for the customers; for example, people exercising to lose weight should be registered for various weight-loss routines.
To run a successful fitness club business, you must create an effective data management system. These systems also face various challenges that you must deal with to get the maximum benefit.
One of the challenges facing the business is inadequate personnel to work in the sector. Technology is a complicated sector; this means that only qualified personnel can take on these roles.
Central to a high tech fitness club is an IT crew that guarantees that all the business tech and software is up to date. The IT crew also ensures all the company data is stored safely.
Finally, the fitness club may need a customer representative to respond to all customer queries in real-time through chat platforms
Overview of Business Structure
Employees should be allowed freedom in a high tech fitness club; they should work without pressure from their supervisors.
One of the best ways to boost employee morale is to allow them control over their daily operations. This independence makes them confident and increases their ability to deliver with minimal supervision.
Despite the freedom given to the employees, the workers must report to their superiors and the company owner (who retains the top managerial seat).
The accountant, marketing officer, exercise physiologist, operations manager, juice bar manager, and IT expert are the second-level managers. They are answerable to the top-level manager, who is the company’s owner.
The trainer should head the training sessions as planned by the exercise physiologist. This means he and his assistant reports to the physiologist.
Finally, the juice manager should be in charge of the diet assigned to the clients; the exercise physiologist should help him determine the clients’ best nutritional needs.
Information Technology Needs in a High Tech Fitness Club
For better outcomes, the company should utilize unique technology to ensure that clients exercise according to their health needs.
New gadgets and equipment should be available for customers and the employees to enhance their experience. All these should be implemented to meet the technological needs of a high tech fitness club.
At the topmost management level, consider installing the computer software to oversee the company’s operations.
The day to day tracking of the member’s activities and other roles like billing should be done using computer software.
You also need to develop a unique system where the workers can sign in every morning when they report to work and sign out in the evening when they leave.
This system should make it easy to observe the time workers report to work and when they leave to ensure that everyone arrives to work on time and departs at the set time.
Also, it should simplify the tracking of employees who do not report to work and keep a record of them.
Next, develop a modern fitness club app that both your team and customers can access. Your team, especially the marketing officer, should use it to market your services. The customers can also make an appointment and confirm bookings through it.
Social media is another vital marketing tool to tap into; it can help your marketing department announce company services to the customers. These days, most people spend their time on the internet. This makes platforms like Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram handy marketing tools.
And thatś not all; your team can also use social media platforms to interact with each other.
Porter’s Five Analysis of a High Tech Fitness Gym Business
The 2008 Porter analysis consists of five forces that affect the management of the company. Below is a review of the five forces model and how they may affect your High Tech Fitness Club.
- The threat of New Entrants
With high-profit levels and few entry barriers, there is a possibility of new rivalry from new companies.
When many organizations manufacture the same products, the market share reduces, and the profit levels go down.
There’s high competition in the provision of fitness services today because many brands are emerging to offer the same services as your fitness Club.
To counter this competition, the company should invest in using modern technology to serve their clients.
Investing in creative ways to run and manage the company should also make it more profitable.
- Bargaining power of suppliers;
In many dealings, the supplier has the bargaining power. With good convincing skills, they may likely sell low-quality raw materials expensively or set a higher price for authentic products.
Entrepreneurs who dive in blindly pay expensively to acquire raw materials. The fitness industry is flooded with dealers; compare the various suppliers to find a dealer who offers high-quality products at a reasonable price.
This can help increase profitability.
- Bargaining Power of Buyers
Your customers, like suppliers, also have bargaining power. They want discounts, and this is likely to harm your brand’s profits.
With many companies providing the same services, your clients will likely move to the best providers in price and quality.
Your brand can use various strategies to counter these effects. The first one is to expand your customer base. Introducing new products and services is another way to reduce the influence of the customers
- Threat of Substitutes
Even with various products and services, there is a possibility of more risk when buyers can easily find other services at better prices and get satisfied.
To counter these effects, your fitness club should strive to offer unique services and products; this should involve providing specialized training programs structured for the needs of all groups of people.
The groups of people in need of training include those who want to build more muscles, those who wish to reduce weight, and those exercising according to doctors’ instructions.
- Rivalry Among Existing Competitors
Existing competitors have a significant impact on determining how competitive and profitable your company is. With many brands offering similar services, expect high competition for the current market.
And with high competition, the profitability is most likely to remain low. To outdo other companies in the sector, your high tech fitness club should use modern technology and prioritize the customer experience to increase their production.
Infrastructure and Information Systems Needs of the Company
- Information Technology Infrastructure Plan
Technology is a vital component in the running of all company activities. Installing sufficient technology ensures the smooth running of operations, proper utilization of company resources, information, and data.
To reduce time wastage and improve production, a modern fitness club should utilize data and technology in all sectors. The information technology infrastructures should run, hand in hand, with your companies strategies, goals, and operations.
To establish a stable working IT department, the business should begin by evaluating the level of infrastructures required and the brand’s goals. The second step is to analyze how much infrastructure is already available in the company. After this, it should be easy to tell what you need to acquire.
After the management has determined the essential infrastructure, begin searching for a reliable supplier.
To minimize cost, it is essential to search for sellers who offer the most recent technologies infrastructures at the lowest prices. The supplier should also be responsible for installing the infrastructure.
It is equally essential to determine the lifecycle of the new IT infrastructures. This can help you know the period it should take before replacing or renewing them. Consider installing machines that serve over a long period and require little maintenance.
Your company should also hire a technician who checks the installed infrastructures. He should check for any failures and update systems accordingly, or report any severe issues (that need special attention) to a higher authority.
Because technology changes by the day, it’s vital to update all business IT infrastructures from time to time. Going for wireless technologies increases accessibility via readily available tech like smartphones.
Increasing productivity is the primary goal of any organization. Installing IT infrastructure in your contemporary fitness club can help improve the output.
To be ethically responsible, your company should rely on infrastructures and other strategies that consume less energy. Using low-energy machines or tech also shows your brand´s concern towards the environment.
Lastly, it is essential to ensure the infrastructure is safe for both employees and clients. Updating critical company technology is one way to maintain worker and customer safety.
- Use of Functional Information Systems
A company’s functional departments include; production, marketing, personnel, operations, finance, and many others.
Your business’s functional information system should employ various methods to run the operations.
The information systems of the company are;
- Financial information system
- Marketing information system
- Operations and production information system
A High-Tech Club’s financial system should deal with all the money matters. The marketing information system should ensure that all company promotions are effective. Sharing info about your services and maintaining excellent customer relationships is the marketing department’s role.
The human resource department should be in charge of personnel management. Meanwhile, the operations and production department should oversee how exercise programs go on, among other company processes.
Internal Operations Analysis Against Porter’s Value Chain Model
To determine your fitness firm’s value, it is essential to observe its profit margin reached after its cost is deducted from the total value of the amount captured and created.
When a company can create more value, it means that it should have more profit. With a high-profit return, your club is likely to have a competitive advantage.
According to Porter, all business activities are similar; the difference is that these activities need a distinction between primary activities and supporting activities.
Your brand must ensure that all the departments coordinate to provide the best services.
Management of Data and Knowledge
- Use of Data Management System in the Company
Your modern fitness club should employ Cloud-based data management to enable the storage of resources as needed. The systemś structure should be according to the clubś mission.
The technology used in the company should help produce high-quality programs, store company data, and help manage the organization.
The data management system helps to keep all your brandś records. Furthermore, the system can help store the firm’s financial documents and the information of the employees.
- Data Management Challenges
To run a successful fitness club business, you must create an effective data management system. These systems also face various challenges that you must deal with to get the maximum benefit.
One of the challenges facing the business is inadequate personnel to work in the sector. Technology is a complicated sector; this means that only qualified personnel can take on these roles.
With that in mind, your brand must spend more time and resources to hire and train more IT experts. Your company must employ a permanent IT expert who should help manage the system.
And because technology changes from time to time, you must regularly update your IT systems to compete favorably against rivals.
Your fitness club must ensure that all systems are up to date. This is achievable with a reliable IT expert. You may also need to train more employees to work in the technology sector.
Another challenge your company will likely face is the absence of a reliable backup system. Most companies are using modern data management systems, and others are still making plans to implement these systems.
The primary mistake most of them make is failing to develop a well-established backup system; one of the reasons they do not come up with the backup is the cost associated.
The Use of the Internet
- Tap into the Digital Economy
The world today is a global village; the advancement of technology has caused this. Your customers can connect and communicate with people from anywhere in the world.
One of the smartest moves your business can take is to make the most of the internet. Your fitness company should strive to use the internet to achieve its goals.
You should also open a company website to market your products and services; all the firmś functions should also be made public through the internet.
Using social media can also help market your company because many people today connect to the internet through social media.
- Messaging and Web Technology Software
All companies use this software to better the efficiency at which data is transmitted. Companies use messaging software to store the messages it receives daily.
The business should utilize the software to store the messages it receives from its customers for future references.
Through this software, the customers can know the schedule of their training sessions. The company should also use the software to set plans on how to improve their products and services.
- Use of E-commerce Technologies
Leverage SEO to diversify its visibility over the internet. E-commerce enables organizations to connect with their customers through the internet. Customers can easily order goods through the internet and make the payment through electronic transactions.
You can also utilize e-commerce to ease transactions and reach out to more customers. With the advancements in technology, this technology should be beneficial; many people today have access to the internet through mobile phones and computers.
IT Planning and Analysis Processes
- Information Technology and Planning Process
To run a successful high tech fitness club, it’s essential to study these processes. Through this, the company can learn how these processes affect the activities and profitability of the business.
Leveraging information technology and planning adequately allows the company to increase its customer base, improve customer services, and multiply its productivity.
Your fitness company should access the needed tech and compare it with what it can afford and then compare it with the customers’ requirements to develop the most effective planning process.
To End Things Off
The high tech fitness club is the next normal in the health and fitness category thanks to the many changes in our lifestyles.
In the modern-day, people take their health very seriously; they have understood the importance of exercising; this prompted the start of the high tech fitness club model that provides various training programs.
Your company should leverage technology to satisfy customer fitness goals. It should also use highly qualified personnel to work in the information technology department to ensure it runs smoothly to benefit the business and its customers.
Remember, your clubś primary purpose is to make a profit and to achieve this, it must ensure that all customers are satisfied with the services offered.
Next, expect competition in a cut-throat market. And to have the upper hand, invest more in IT and innovation.
Relying on more than one supplier should ensure your club gets the best IT infrastructures, at the lowest cost and with a low maintenance cost. The suppliers should also be in charge of the installation.
To counter the bargaining power of the customers, strive to maintain a stable customer base and, at the same time, come up with new products and services. You can also utilize technology to improve service quality and convenience.
Your company should also leverage automated and interactive hardware and software to develop a comprehensive technology plan. The technology you choose should help boost service quality and attract more profits.
Lastly, develop an intuitive fitness club app that both your team and customers can access. Your team, especially the marketing officer, should use it to market your services. The customers can also make an appointment and confirm bookings through it.