On this week's Fitness + Technology podcast, Bryan O’Rourke joins us direct from the 2019 IHRSA Conference for a member roundtable entitled “Club Technology: Trends, Opportunities & Threats.” IHRSA is a global community of health and fitness professionals representing 8,000 member clubs in over 70 countries, whose goal is to grow, protect, and promote the health and fitness industry. This year, IHRSA members flocked to San Diego to learn from and network with the best and brightest in the industry, and Bryan, after a brief presentation, takes questions from club owners and operators in the audience, while other participants and audience members chime in with their own experience as club owners and operators.
One Powerful Quote:
7:00: “Every business is now a global business. I don't care if you have one studio in Hoboken, you can serve a customer in Hong Kong if you choose to.”
4-10 Bullet Points (w/ timestamps) - Highlighting key topics discussed:
2:00 The roundtable kicks off with Bryan telling conference attendees that the roundtable discussion will be on the F+T Podcast. If you were one of the attendees, we're glad you came back to listen!
3:12: Bryan goes over a quick rundown of some high points from a presentation he led the previous day at IHRSA, “The 5 Drivers of Competitive Advantage for Health Club Business Models.”
9:00 Bryan welcomes the first of many questions from the crowds. Chantel, from Washington, works for a member-owned club with a mix of young and old members, and she wonders how best to service both groups of clientele without upsetting the other.
16:16: An audience member asks if other IHRSA attendees have experience implementing AI in their clubs to find and extract meaningful data.
26:20: Michael, an independent club owner from Arizona, has been dealing with the growth and popularity of chain gyms in his area, and offers his advice to a club owner dealing with a similar situation.
28:22: Jane, from Texas, operates clubs in many different states, and is having trouble integrating the various mobile apps and technological resources she uses into a single system.
44:58: Johnny, from North Carolina, asks if other club owners feel pressure from their customers to buy every new piece of technologically advanced gym equipment that comes to market.
51:54: Ryan, from Tennessee, is in a big marketing battle with other clubs in his town, especially boutique outfits, and is interested to hear if anyone else has advice or suggestions when it comes to attracting new, young clientele through digital marketing.
Bullet List of Resources:
https://hub.ihrsa.org/ihrsa-2020
https://www.bryankorourke.com/
https://www.ihrsa.org/about/board/Bryan-O%E2%80%99Rourke/
https://www.bryankorourke.com/
https://www.linkedin.com/in/bryankorourke/
http://www.fittechcouncil.org/
https://www.youtube.com/user/bko61163