Gym Business Marketing Strategy Analysis in London

3. Target Market Analysis

In the middle of an epidemic in obesity, Britain is (This is London, 2011). At least 60 percent of the population will be obese by 2050, according to experts (London Assembly, 2010). The target demographic is young people and adults of both sexes. According to a survey by the London-based Multinational Obesity Taskforce, 28 percent of boys and 36 percent of girls in the UK are either overweight or obese (Dobson, 2006). A UK government study predicts that 12 million adults and 1 million children will be obese in England by 2010 (Medical News Today, 2006). Adding to the issues is being physically healthy and consuming more junk food. The target demographic for the fitness centre will then be the 16-40 age range of both sexes.

4. Problems and Opportunities

The residents of Mayfair were not yet aware of the launch of the fitness centre. Individuals should be concerned about the quality of operation, facilities and coaches. However, the potential may be used to enter the market with the correct approach, as demand exceeds supply. Fitness campaigns are also funded by the government and obesity is at an all-time peak.

5. Marketing Strategy

Customers are searching for value for money and the fitness centre can also recognise the facilities it should offer in return for cash by understanding the target audience to which the services are guided. In the early stages, market growth is the target. Knowing the target audience would encourage the critical elements to be included in the fitness centre. The fitness centre’s key attributes need to be clearly shared. Different considerations in designing the marketing campaign would be taken into account in ABC Health health centre’s brand campaign.

5.1 Product Positioning

A high-growth sector that encompasses wellness, fitness, sports and entertainment facilities is the leisure industry. This field contributes 13.5 percent to the United Kingdom’s overall employment. There are two reasons for the sector’s growth. The awareness of staying fit has grown as health issues have increased, which has increased the need for improved services and spaces for exercise (20th Century London, 2010). In comparison, people have been urged by sedentary lifestyle to search for suitable places to workout. Thus, Mayfair London Sports Fitness Centre should site itself as a fitness and health club.

5.2 Marketing Mix

The essentials of the marketing mix must be analysed in order to formulate the marketing approach.

• Product Mix

A need or a desire should be fulfilled by the commodity. The need at this moment is to live healthily. Various practises such as participating in athletics (football, basketball, badminton, tennis), bodybuilding activities such as gym aerobics and exercises should be used to achieve healthier living. However, the new age fitness therapies also include yoga and meditation which is equally beneficial. Yoga and meditation help to de-stress the body and are great ways to increase health and total well-being (May, 2011). Yoga and meditation also provide psychological benefit as it makes the practitioner more conscious of the self, makes them aware of their own potential. Meditation lowers oxygen requirement and reduces the respiratory rate. Moreover, squash and badminton have become unfashionable and people look for new age products/services to fitness. This differentiation can come from the inclusion of yoga and meditation as part of the fitness program. Another differentiating characteristic of the centre should be to tailor the product to suit individual needs. The fitness program should have a holistic approach where nutrition guidance is also provided. Nutrition is an important part of weight management. The centre should also include a massage room and spa area. Spa has gained popularity as a means to relax and this could be an attraction.

• Price Mix

Price is the sum of values consumers’ exchange for the benefits of having or using a product (Briohny, 2006). Pricing is a rigorous process as it has to take into account the specific circumstances into consideration. The pricing objective is to initially make a market penetration. This require taking into account the demand, the costs, the competition prices on offer and the financial status of the people in the vicinity. The consumers would be attracted to the product only when the benefits outweigh the costs. Mayfair is upmarket vicinity but people diverse backgrounds also come to Mayfair. Pricing cannot be universally applicable and would depend upon the activities engaged in and the equipments used. The Centre can engage in differential pricing based on services used. Besides, there could be promotional benefits by way of discounts for the first 100 that register at the Centre. Seasonal discounts could also be offered because products and services would also be tailored for the young adults (16-22). Hence during the vacations prices could be reduced to attract a larger number of students.

• Place Mix

Mayfair, London is very strategically located and densely populated. Mayfair is an area in central London which is the main commercial district featuring some of London’s best hotels, restaurants and shopping districts (Jeremy, 2011). The area has several sports fitness centres and the competition is intensified as hotels too have started offering fitness facilities to non-residents (Santander, n.d.). The area has easy access through the entire transport system and hence good participation and registration is expected.

• Promotion

Promotion involves strategies and processes that help the business engage with the target market (Briohny, n.d.). The aim is to develop recognition, separate the product and company from rivals, to explain the advantages of the product, to create and sustain the organization’s general brand and credibility, and eventually to encourage consumers to purchase the service. They must satisfy the needs of the business they are joining. Four different practises include the marketing of goods and services: advertisement, personal selling, promotion of revenue and public relations. The success of the promotion campaign relies on how the marketer is able to connect to the consumer segment about the product/service.

• Advertising

Advertising in the popular local dailies and the television should start at least a month before the actual opening date. Outside the centre also details of the services offered should be put up and someone should be available to answer personal queries for walk-ins. With prior permission of the principals of schools, advertisements could be put up on school notice boards as the objective is to attract and educate the young children. Flyers can be inserted in school newsletters. These would help to build awareness of the service at Mayfair both among the children and their parents. Since the area also houses commercial centres, flyers can also be distributed through the shopping malls.

• Personal Selling

This would entail visiting schools and giving presentations on ill-effects of obesity, of the ill-effects of the sedentary lifestyle, of the benefits of keeping fit and the methods that can help them maintain healthy living. Individual attention would be given both at the time of selling the product and when customers come in to register. The fitness chart and the nutrition chart would be tailor-made to suit individual requirements.

• Sales Promotion

Initially lot of efforts would have to be put in sales promotion. Bulk discounts could be offered to commercial organization, to schools and other institutions in the vicinity. Initially, free registration with skeletal facilities could be offered and when the clients seek higher benefits, membership fees could be levied. At the shopping malls, the Fitness centre could enter into alliance with some retail organization and offer free subscription to the shoppers against volume purchase of the retailers’ product. Once members are active and participate in various activities, to sustain interest, the fitness centre could give away prizes of choice to lose weight and to keep healthy.

New age social networking is an excellent platform to create awareness. Thus spaces like FaceBook should be utilized for this fitness centre. A page can be created and promoted among the residents of London and particularly, those residing or working in and around Mayfair area.

• Public Relations

 Being a new organization they need to sponsor some sporting events. They could approach some commercial organizations and sponsor their employees’ annual sports, school annual sports. They could even sponsor some charitable events in the locality. They need to have a localized approach because the customer base would be local. Hence local events and functions should be sponsored which would give the maximum mileage to the project.

• People

People are an important part of service delivery. The right people have to be selected and trained. These are the customer contact people and the delivery of service depends on their psychological well being, merely technical knowledge is not sufficient; they should be able to live up to the image of the organization.

• Physicals

The ambience of the centre should be soothing in areas such as the meditation room and where people would relax after workouts. However, it should be vibrant in areas where the mood has to be given a push, when they need to be energized to get started with workouts. Colours and lighting should match the process because different colours vibrate at different frequencies and impact the mood of the people (Biopulse, n.d.).

• Process

Free weight machines, performance training equipment, exercise studio equipment and Easy-Lock flooring must be borne by the centre. They must have the latest, tested equipments and also provide sauna and Jacuzzi. Operators must be well trained in not only using the equipments but also in guiding the clients in its usage.

6. Implementation and Control

Implementation of this strategy would require identification of the schools and other educational institutions, of the retail stores and shopping malls in the district, of large commercial house in the area. Staff would have to be appointed at least a couple of months in advance for all functions such as marketing, operations and strategy. Those with prior experience in the sector should be taken in operations as this would enhance the image of the centre. In marketing and salespeople with no prior experience should be taken so that new ideas can be generated and originality could perhaps lead to better marketing efforts.

Tie-ups with schools could be demanding on time and hence efforts should start at an early stage. Parents too may have to be convinced to send their children. Press releases should be sent out to local dailies at least a week before the actual opening.

Monitoring and control become challenging for new projects. Hence, a checklist should be prepared listing all activities, complete with dates and responsibilities of each individual. This should be communicated to all involved.

Any venture should be able to meet the legal and ethical parameters. An organization should be able to distinguish between the short-term needs of the society and the long-term benefits (Wiley, n.d.). The centre should think beyond making money and evaluate to what extent they are contributing towards the benefit of the society. Profitability should be integrated with the needs of the society. The society needs awareness on the health issues and hence guidance should be provided appropriately. The organization should not mislead the clients into purchase of some service that is not required by them.

7. Conclusion

Marketing analysis for a Sports and fitness centre suggests that this centre would have locational advantages as it is in the commercial district. Obesity is an epidemic in London and hence this is the right time to launch the fitness centre. Government too encourages and supports such initiatives. The target segment would be the age group of 16-40 of both sexes. This centre should position itself as Fitness and Health club. To create differentiation products should add meditation and yoga in addition to the standard products offered by most such centres. Initially the price should be kept low to attract and interest the customers. Promotional offers should be launched and schools and commercial organizations should be offered special rates. A checklist would help in effective implementation and control. The project is viable and the marketing objectives can be achieved.

References

• 20th Century London. (2010). Sports Centres and Health Clubs. Accessed 16 April 2011 http://www.20thcenturylondon.org.uk/server.php?show=conInformationRecord.213
• Biopulse. (n.d.).  Color Therapy. Accessed 16 April 2011 http://www.biopulse.org/color.html
• Briohny. (2006). Briohny’s report, Accessed 16 April 2011 http://www.monash.edu.au/lls/llonline/writing/business-economics/marketing/3.3.2.xml
• Dobson, R. (2006). Diet: 700,000 children in UK are obese. Accessed 16 April 2011
• http://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/health-and-families/health-news/diet-700000-children-in-uk-are-obese-472453.html
• Jeremy, K. (2011). Hotels Near Mayfair in London. USA Today. Accessed 16 April 2011 http://traveltips.usatoday.com/hotels-near-mayfair-london-22347.html
• Johnson, B. (2011). Beating obesity in London. Accessed 16 April 2011 http://www.london.gov.uk/priorities/health/focus-issues/obesity
• London Assembly. (2010). Major boost for London’s grassroots sports facilities. Accessed 16 April 2011 http://www.london.gov.uk/media/press_releases_mayoral/major-boost-london%E2%80%99s-grass-roots-sports-facilities
• May, J. (2011). Benefits of Yoga Meditation Relaxation. Project-Meditation.org. Accessed 16 April 2011 http://www.project-meditation.org/a_bom2/benefits_of_yoga_meditation_relaxation.html
• Medical News Today. (2006). England To Have 13 Million Obese People By 2010. Accessed 16 April 2011 http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/50541.php
• Santander. (n.d.). Industry Sector: Fitness Centre. Accessed 16 April 2011 https://www.alliance-leicestercommercialbank.co.uk/bizguides/full/fitness/parkes-sector_trends.asp
• This is London. (2011). Government to beat obesity epidemic by PAYING fat people to lose weight, Accessed 16 April 2011
• http://www.thisislondon.co.uk/news/article-23433848-government-to-beat-obesity-epidemic-by-paying-fat-people-to-lose-weight.do
• Wiley. (n.d.). Scope of strategic marketing. Chapter I. Web. Accessed 16 April 2011 http://media.wiley.com/product_data/excerpt/51/04708498/0470849851.pdf