Oh No, FIT is Destined for Failure!
Hey you. Yeah, you. I have a secret for you. Come here real quick.
I have a confession to make that nobody else knows. Are you ready for this?
I think Planet Fitness has one of the most amazing business plans of all time. Really.
Why, you ask? It’s pretty simple really.
Their goal is to appeal to people who really have no idea what to do in order to, and to be honest, don’t really even have the desire to improve their fitness.
How the hell can that be, you query. They are a gym, their sole purpose is to help people get into great shape, right?
Umm, let’s see how I can best put this…HELL NO!
Their sole purpose is to have people pay them $10 or $20 per month and perpetually tell themselves that they will start tomorrow. Oops, I mean next Monday. Damn missed that one too. I’ll start on the first of the month. Shit! Really, I made a pact with my friend and we are both going to start using our memberships as our New Years resolution.
Sound familiar?
If you are one of PF’s ideal customers it probably does. Their goal is to have people pay monthly and NEVER set foot in the facility. Think about that for a second.
NEVER SET FOOT IN THE FACILITY!
Why would you say such hurtful things? you ask with a skeptical look.
Because it doesn’t cost anything to service a member that doesn’t use hot water, suck electricity, make a mess and heaven forbid take up staff time by asking a question.
Yup, their goal is for you to pay them money EVERY MONTH and never set foot in there again.
Ever think about the fact that they offer Free Pizza and Bagels to members every month? Ever notice the ever present jar of Tootsie Rolls on the front desk? This seems like it may be slightly counterproductive for a place that brands themselves as the easy way to get in shape.
I digress. Wasn’t I talking about them having a genius business plan? Right. Follow the recipe. Offer people no service or support whatsoever and sabotage them with free goodies to ensure that the people who actually do come in will never reach their goals. This in turn will guarantee that the $10 or $20 per month will keep rolling in so I can take all of that money and buy fancy things. Got it.
Wait. Now that I mentioned it I think I messed up. This is heading down hill really, really fast. Now that I think of it, FIT is kinda different than that in how we do things.
- Service fewer members
- Offer a high level of personal attention
- Lots of additional stuff for free
- Nutrition education and access to a Registered Dietitian
- Expect people to come in all the time
- Create a community of caring and support
- Push people to achieve their goals
Shit!!!!! I must have missed a step in the recipe book. This will never work…
So why the hell is our business plan the polar opposite of Planet Fitness’sss? That must make what we do destined to fail, right?
You tell us if taking a different approach works or not. If you think it does, please leave a comment to let us know your thoughts and then hit the SHARE button right down here
\/ \/ \/ \/ to tell your friends what you think.
Tags: Bootcamp, informational, Jiu-Jitsu, nutrition, Powerlifter, results, video
February 14th, 2011 at 6:05 pm
So, true. I was a PF member for over a year and only stepped in the facility to sign up (before the facility was ever even completed). Wish I lived closer to FIT!
February 14th, 2011 at 6:31 pm
I know I couldn’t do it without you guys!!