Marketing Plan – FFC Fitness Centre

Marketing Plan – FFC Fitness Centre

Focus Fitness Centre (FFC) is a local gym that helps residents maintain good health by working out. Excess weight is a serious public health issue, and awareness about fitness is gradually spreading. That means FFC stands a better chance of getting more customers if it employs appropriate marketing strategies. While most people are willing to join fitness centers, they are limited by a lack of low-cost fitness centers. Even though low-cost centers are available, there is a high likelihood that they could be overcrowded. On the other hand, high-cost gyms offer better facilities and are not crowded, but most people are limited by the high prices charged in these centers. FFC focuses on quality assurance and affordable pricing.

Although the fitness market may appear to be saturated, more opportunities are opening up. Gyms are now offering more than traditional cardio and weight training. As more opportunities open up, more customers come for diverse training regimes. Therefore FFC also seeks to incorporate the different workout regimes to cater to the modern market. The new full service Gym will start operations from next year.

Michael Porter’s Strategies

Porter’s strategies take the analysis aspect of a business away from just analyzing what the competitor does. In this case, Porter’s five forces show how FFC will attain a competitive advantage and sustain it in the long run. These strategies will enable FFC to attain a competitive advantage in the sports sector and the service segment.

Tackling the Threats of New Entrants

            Having new entrants in the fitness sector is an inevitable possibility. New entrants bring positive ideas and innovations that lead to new cost-cutting strategies, better pricing strategies, and value-addition propositions (Dabija, Abrudan & Postelnicu, 2015). A gym business can only survive these realities if it employs the right safeguards.

One strategy to prevent new entrants from pushing Focus Fitness out of the market is by constantly innovating new product offers beyond the traditionally available ones. Apart from attracting new clientele, new product offers will also give old clients a reason to stay (Dabija, Abrudan & Postelnicu, 2015). Focus Fitness Centre will also leverage economies of scale due to increasing client numbers to cut costs, which it can then transfer to customers through reduced ticket charges.

Moreover, Focus Fitness should focus on improving capacity by investing money in research and development. New firms are discouraged from entering an industry where current players are constantly innovating. There is a limited financial incentive to enter a technologically saturated fitness market.

Reducing Suppliers’ Bargaining Powers

Most fitness centers acquire their materials from a variety of different suppliers. A company like Focus Fitness Centre should avoid suppliers who are in a dominant position in their markets. Suppliers in a dominant position have higher negotiating powers and can negotiate for better prices to the disadvantage of FFC.

To avoid toxic suppliers, FFC will acquire materials from a wide range of suppliers to discourage domination. Another strategy is to try different materials on different products, such that if the prices of some of the materials go up, the company will resort to alternatives. FFC can also contract suppliers who will be responsible for the management of inventory. Nike and Walmart’s successes are a result of this form of contracting. The strategy takes away suppliers’ bargaining power since that will hurt them in the long run.

Reducing Buyer’s Bargaining Power

Customers who patronize fitness centers also tend to prioritize fitness centers and demand better services at the lowest possible prices. If FFC complies with such demands, their bottom line will be hurt. A smaller customer base has better bargaining chances. FFC should avoid a powerful clientele base at all costs.

To reduce the buyers’ bargaining power, the fitness center will regularly innovate new products. Customers tend only to demand price reductions on established products rather than new ones (Dabija, Abrudan & Postelnicu, 2015). FFC will also seek a larger customer base. A large customer base has limited bargaining power compared to a larger one.

Sustaining Rival Competition

There is a lot of competition in the fitness sector. The competition tends to drive customer prices down, something that will affect FFC’s profitability margins. FFC will effectively tackle the competition by building an effective differentiation strategy that makes its products unique. Besides, by enhancing its scale, the company will lower costs relative to those of its rivals. Finally, instead of competing for a small market, FFC can collaborate with rivals to access a larger market.

Market Segmentation

Focus Fitness Centre will segment customers based on the benefits approach. Although the general assumption is that people who go to gyms seek to get fit, that is an oversimplification of the client’s needs. Client needs differ based on age, income, occupation, and health awareness, among an array of other factors.

Sports People

Sportspeople are some of the most focused clientele for any fitness center. These are already involved in active sports. Their primary goal in coming to the gym is to bolster their strength, agility, and resilience (Voráček et al., 2016). The clients under the segment already have the knowledge they need about training. Athletes expect the gym to provide the right equipment, space, and activities to improve their specific sports. To serve athletes better, FFC will purchase equipment relevant to their specific sports if they can fit in the indoor environment.

Health Needs

People who go to the gym to improve their health are probably sent by their doctors, and the gym is their first stop. Health seekers have no prior knowledge about training and will need a lot of support and guidance. Perhaps they need a personal trainer and gym expert to take them through the process. Unlike regular gym-goers, health seekers will need a lot of attention (Voráček et al., 2016). FFC will focus on the segment due to the increasing number of people looking for fitness services due to health complications.

Peak Performers

Peak performers, the typical bodybuilders, go to fitness centers mostly to fulfill their personal goals. The clientele in this segment is highly motivated. The positive side of such clients is that they tend to be long-term clients since they focus on maintaining standards. On the flip side, however, experienced bodybuilders tend to intimidate new clients. The new Full-service center will incentivize the segment by providing discounts if they choose long-term plans.

Weight Loss (Losing it)

The segment targets people who are looking forward to losing weight. It is common for people to visit gyms when they need to lose weight. Overweight people believe that regularly working out will help them lose weight. FFC staff will be welcoming and supportive of clients who are looking forward to losing weight. Overweight clients are afraid of visiting fitness centers where they are likely to encounter people who are already fit, which may scare them away (Voráček et al., 2016). The objective of the center is to support them in their weight loss journey.

Social Clients

There is also a category of gym-goers who go there to fulfill their social needs. The clientele base probably has previously engaged in some level of exercise, and they are mildly fit. The primary purpose when visiting gyms is to meet new people with whom they share lifestyle and life goals (Voráček et al., 2016). Since the primary goal of the segment is social interaction, FFC will serve them better by providing an extra room, such as a refreshment facility, to allow them to have a good time.

Consumer Decision-Making Process

Problem Recognition

The first stage in a consumer decision-making process is the identification of a problem. The problem may be conceived internally or be motivated externally. Regardless of the nature of the motivating factor, a problem causes want that ought to be satisfied. In a family dynamic, the leading motivator may be the parent, but diverse needs will guide every member in the subscription (Maffetone & Laursen, 2019). Based on the services FFC will provide, key motivating factors include health, weight loss, bodybuilding, and posture improvement. The new Full-service center in FFC will focus on all these segments.

Information Search

Once a client decides that they need fitness services, they search for a potential provider. Information search can be done physically or by browsing online sources. For this reason, FFC will establish a website that targets Google traffic. Social media customer reviews will also be encouraged to establish a solid online presence.

Alternative Evaluation

After identifying a potential provider, consumers proceed to evaluate them against alternative providers. In this case, the price and the range of services provided by FFC will determine whether the clients will choose the company over rivals (Maffetone & Laursen, 2019). Other attributes, such as personal training, will also be used to gauge FFC against rivals.

Purchase Decision and Post-Purchase Evaluation

A buyer selects the optimum choice after comparing choices. The post purchasing phase is equally important since the buyer reflects on the product’s benefits. FFC can ask for reviews from its current customers regularly to assess the efficacy of its strategies. Feedback will guide FFC’s future decisions.

Improvements Recommendations

The marketing plan shows a mix of diverse factors that influence a customer’s decision to use a fitness center. The factors that influence a consumer’s decision include location, nature of the equipment, and the overall readiness of the facility. The pricing aspect also significantly influences the fitness customer’s decision about the facility they will use (Liudmyla et al., 2020). The primary goal of a fitness center should be customer satisfaction.

FFC will use various techniques and tools to identify customers’ needs and investigate the target market’s needs and demographics. Opening a direct communication platform between customers and the Gym management will provide helpful business insights.

The fitness center should also adopt digital branding to facilitate noticeability by potential clients. Branding largely contributes to getting the image of the company out (Liudmyla et al., 2020). The goal is to position the company in a way that it is exposed to the target audience.

References

Dabija, D. C., Abrudan, I. N., & Postelnicu, C. (2015, June). Competitive strategies of fitness gyms in international business environment.   Empirical findings through observation. In Proceedings of the 5th International Conference on Management (ICoM 2015),      Management, Leadership and Strategy for SME’s Competitiveness, Szent Istvan University, Gödöllö, Hungary (pp. 102-107).

Liudmyla, D., Oleksandr, D., Andrii, H., & Olena, S. (2020). Consumer Behavior Modeling for Fitness Services Evaluation. Studies in Business and Economics, 15(2), 69–84. https://doi.org/10.2478/sbe-2020-0026

Maffetone, P. B., & Laursen, P. B. (2019). Decision-Making in Health and Fitness. Frontiers in Public Health, 7. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpubh.2019.00006

Voráček, J., Čáslavová, E., & Šíma, J. (2016). Segmentation in sport services: a typology of fitness customers. AUC KINANTHROPOLOGICA, 51(2), 32–47. https://doi.org/10.14712/23366052.2015.30

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Scenario 2: You are the owner of a small to mid-sized business. You are currently developing your marketing plan for the upcoming year. The marketing plan will include both the tactical and strategic plan elements. You will also discuss the implementation and evaluation of the strategic marketing plan.

In this paper, you will answer the following:

Summarize your selected scenario and details about the firm and/or product line.
Assess which of Michael Porter’s basic strategies you will use to market this product and why.
As you know from your reading, consumers have different product needs and use products differently. Segmentation seeks to group different demands and needs into clusters with similar demand patterns. Using the dimensions of market segmentation, determine and defend which markets you will target with your marketing plan. Outline your target market in detail.
Justify the stages in the consumer decision-making process for your selected product or service. Be sure to discuss how consumers evaluate alternatives and what mediums they use in the information search stage.
Conduct research to determine where improvements should be made to your product or service line. Discuss these improvements and the estimated cost of developing and launching these enhancements. This could be a product line extension, a service improvement, new packaging, Web site enhancements, etc. The purpose of this element of the marketing plan is continuous improvement. You should justify the need for these enhancements based on your research, such as a review of the competition, feedback from customers, or a review of the marketing environment.