What you choose to offer your members depends on what your members want. The most common types of distraction for exercisers are televisions; background music whichincludes radio, CDs, or customized tapes or CDs that contain a mix of music; cardio entertainment systems that offer a variety of options, including cable TV, workout programs, radio, an Internet connection and fitness software; and tracking software, either integrated into cardio consoles or available at a kiosk or computer within the facility.
Television. Television is one element that your club may not be able to survive without. From its beginnings when one TV was located in the corner of the club with the volume turned way up, television systems have evolved into entire entertainment systems, complete with wireless, individual headphones, walls of TVs tuned to
different channels, customized exercise programs, and programming options that allow clubs to profit from local commercials and pick what programs they broadcast.
What your members want depends on your clientele and even what time of day they work out. The lunch crowd may be happy watching their soaps or a talk show, while the evening crowd will probably be bigger, necessitating a larger selection of programs, and maybe an entire wall of TVs all set to different channels. Says Craig Garza, executive vice president of BroadcastVision in Agoura Hills, Calif., “Exercisers plan workouts so they can watch their favorite programs. [This helps] healthy exercise patterns [to] develop, and positive fitness results [to be] achieved, which helps build facility loyalty and referrals.”
Music. Almost everyone has an opinion about music, and that opinion is as varied as your members. That is why deciding what music to play in your club can be difficult. One way to handle this is to play different types of music at different hours when your membershiptype changes. Whatever you decide to play, it should be upbeat. Most people don’t want to workout to love ballads or easy-listening music. Also, your members don’t want to hear the same music over and over again. Even if you play a CD mix that contains a variety of songs, your frequent members will start to recognize that those songs are repeating, and may even memorize the order in which they are played. Just think of how you feel during holiday shopping when you keep hearing the same songs played; it may make you go home and do your shopping online.
Not only is the type of music you play important, but the quality of sound is as well. Rob De Hart, owner of AV Now, Fitness Sound Experts, in Santa Cruz, Calif., says, “Sound can have a large impact on how people perceive their workout. If the [music] sounds scratchy or stops working, if
a speaker is too loud or too soft, or if there is not enough bass emanating from the whole system, [your club] may
not be as well attended the next time…. If [your members] have a great time, they will tell a friend, and the referral
circle starts.”
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