Social Media & Influence - What Is It ?

You've got to love Brian Solis. I've read his books (love Engage) and really enjoy his great posts and thought sharing (its not just that we share first names although with different spellings). His latest article addresses Influence - and reviews interesting research that makes some important points. Here is one thing I'd like to share with those in my world who might not get it yet :

SOCIAL MEDIA WORKS ! TAKE A MOMENT TO UNDERSTAND WHAT IT REALLY IS !

Brian partnered with Vocus to run a formal study on influence. As a result, 700 business leaders, entrepreneurs, and marketing professionals contributed to the report, which is available now as a free download. Here's is what Brian says in closing:

"In the end, it’s our job to become “the influencer.” We owe it to our communities of customers, prospects and the people who affect their decisions to lead by example. Then and only then, can we master the ability to influence the influencer."

The fitness industry, as well as other industries I work with, need to understand and deploy this potential of influence via social media. In fitness if we are to truly impact the well being of people we should consider this important information. Look at the graphic below and read the report to discover more. One thing is already clear, influence is not popularity and popularity is not influence. Interestingly, according to research, size does not matter either.

How to Differentiate - Are YOU Different ?

My colleague Kelli Hatton of fitmarc  shared this video on the book "Different". The book addresses, in a unique way, how to differentiate your business. But its more than that really. Its about transparency, meaning, purpose and the essence of being and doing what is important.

XPLANE partnered with Youngme Moon of the Harvard Business School to create a powerful video that promotes the release of the book.

Moon’s book challenges us to consider the meaning of business differentiation and what it takes to be different in a way that actually MAKES a difference. Watch the 3 minute video to learn more and read it !

Fitness Industry - Low Cost Model Growth Continues

Things are heating up in health club global development and it seems low cost models are making most of the development moves. As Ray Algar's research on the UK market has reflected, there is a squeeze going on in health clubs and it isn't isolated to the UK. Ray's group Oxygen Consulting has some keen insights on this trend.

I recommend you check out Silverstein's book on consumer trends in trading up and trading down. What Algar's graphic above reflects is happening in all consumer markets and its impact on health and fitness is just starting.

Tell me, Bryan O'Rourke, what do you think of Algar's research and the market Bifurcation trend ? Here is a recap of recent developments in the global health club market.

Europe

Fresh Fitness, a new budget concept, has been launched in Denmark by Rasmus E. Ingerslev, founder of Fitness.dk, with SATS as a co-investor. The new chain offers monthly fees of DKK 99 (€13), reduced costs by excluding all luxury and free services. Many of the fitness classes, such as yoga and spinning, will have no live instructor but will be conducted with the help of video. The company will open the first two fitness centres in Copenhagen, but aims to become the cheapest fitness chain in Denmark.

Budget club operator Pure Gym opened a new site in Smethwick, West Midlands. The new gym will be open to users 24 hours a day, offering users full access for a £15 monthly payment and a £20 joining fee. There are currently six additional sites in the pipeline, with Aberdeen, Belfast and Derby among prospective Pure Gym locations.

United States

Crunch Fitness announced the appointment of Keith Worts, current COO, as its new president. The company also announced that they have started to offer franchise business opportunities as part of their expansion programme. The first franchise is due to open in Autumn 2011 in California and more than 50 franchise locations are also underway in the US and internationally.

Town Sports International released Q2 2010 results, with revenues for Q2 2010 down 5.2% from the same period last year and LFL revenues down 4.2%. Memberships also decreased by 3.8% compared to June 2009. Membership attrition averaged 3.3% per month in Q2 2010 compared to 3.7% per month in Q2 2009. Capital expenditure has been scaled back, with FY 2010 expenditure expected to be $26-28 million, down from $49.3 million spent in 2009.

Asia and Elsewhere

Anytime Fitness announced a number of deals that will see the chain expand into Benelux and Japan, as well as into the UK and Ireland. A master franchise agreement has been signed with Petro Hameleers of the Netherlands, with plans for 150 clubs in Belgium, the Netherlands and Luxembourg over the next 10 years. The company also announced plans to open 300 new clubs in Japan over the next 10 years, where a consortium led by Toru Yamazaki, former CEO of Megalos (the fifth largest health club chain in Japan), has taken on the master franchise. Fast Fitness Japan, will now do business as Anytime Fitness Japan. Anytime Fitness expects to open its 2,000th club by the end of next year.

The énergie Group has appointed Nathan Gardiner as its new general manager for the Middle East. He will relocate from Dubai, where he worked for Fitness First, and will join the énergie team in Doha, Qatar where énergie is currently planning to open a number of clubs. Gardiner started his career in the fitness industry in 2001 with Fitness Exchange. He has also worked for LivingWell Health Clubs and Fitness First.

Evo Fitness Personal Training - an independent, personal training-only facility in Cape Town, South Africa - is scheduled to open this month. Evo Fitness has aligned itself with adidas with an eye to joint involvement in projects going forward.

Australian fitness chain, Genesis Health Clubs, is to open three sites in Sydney. The company, owned by the Melbourne-based Belgravia Group, already owns 38 clubs in Victoria, New South Wales, Queensland, South Australia and Tasmania.

Vivafit, the women-only fitness chain, has signed its first master franchise deal to expand the brand into India. The master franchisee, Manisha Ahlawat, will open the first Indian Vivafit in Delhi in October 2010. The aim is to reach 25 new centres in 2011, and to open more than 1,000 gyms across India over the next 10 years. In the European marketplace, the brand plans to extend its presence to countries such as Italy and Germany.

How Can Fitness And Wellness Businesses Achieve Growth in 2011 ?

If you've followed me for long, you know I am a big fan of Rita McGrath. Well its that time of year for many of the companies I own and work in as well as for our strategic partners and clients - we are all planning for 2011 and we are all still reeling a bit from the economy while trying to figure out "how we could grow". Rita has an excellent view on planning for growth. Her notions are on point: so many companies don't plan for growth very well.

An important notion McGrath shares is one of the ratio of assumptions to knowledge. Often because an organization or its leadership has had success in the past leading there is a false belief that they will be able to replicate that success in new growth initiatives. Problem is there ordinarily isn't enough knowledge about the new growth area to succesfully create reliable plans from inception and a "dysfunctional" dynamic is created around planning for growth. Leaders plan thinking their plan will be right instead of realizing the high ratio of assumptions to knowledge and accepting their plans will more likely be wrong.

As a result most leaders need to rethink planning and strategy. Many leaders should stop thinking that planning is about being right. They should also stop thinking failing is bad. Low cost intelligent learning is invaluable and businesses have great opportunities to improve how they learn to create value but this thinking remains uncommon today. The implications of this thinking to organization's planning processes are significant.

Watch this interview where Rita and her esteemed co-author explain their concepts. It is an invaluable approach in this day and time and you should consider adopting it in your organization. Contact me, Bryan O'Rourke, and share - How is your fitness or wellness business planning for growth in 2011 ?

Park and Recreation Centers - The Colorado Annual Conference

Wanted to thank the Colorado Parks and Recreation Association for their invite to speak at their fantastic conference this year in Breckenridge, Colorado. Park and rec centers play a vital role in delivering exercise opportunities and quality of life to communities across the country. Our company Fitmarc is happy to support the leadership in their important roles. Colorado is one of the leading states in Parks and Recs so my hats off to them and their leadership.

I shared with them a vision of the future for Parks and Recs and how technology will impact it. You can learn more about the 4 key trends and predictions here . And many thanks to Levi for his description of how the talk went in the video below.