Why Health Clubs are Missing the Weight Loss Opportunity!
By Casey Conrad
In my recently published article, “Diversify or Die,” I made the prediction that health clubs who do not begin offering a real weight loss solution to members will lose potential prospects who join another program or facility that has a nutritional based weight loss program. This may be in the form of a boutique weight loss/exercise program, a more traditional weight loss center or perhaps one of the many physician-based programs that are now being offered through family practice or bariatric doctor groups.
I knew that such a bold statement would not endear me to some but I was shocked to receive a flood of emotionally charged e-mails from readers; some applauded my bluntness while others argued about how their facility was offering a “real” weight loss solution and how dare I publish such a negative article. With such emotional and diabolical responses you would have thought I was discussing religion or politics!
The good news is that I got a response, something that doesn’t often happen from health club articles. To keep the discussion rolling and the subject of club weight loss programs on the top of readers’ minds, I decided to make this article somewhat of a Part 2. Therefore, I will explore the details of why and how many club operators today are either totally missing the weight loss market or squandering it when they try. This, of course, is a generalized discussion. I am sure that out of the 29,000 health clubs in the US there are some doing a great job at offering a successful (both in member results and revenue generating), nutritionally based weight loss program, but they are few and far between. If your club doesn’t have a formal weight loss program, perhaps you are making, what I call, one of the “4 Cardinal Sins.”
1. Not Understanding “Who Is” the Weight Loss Customer
According to American Sports Data, 87% of all people who join a health club site weight loss or weight maintenance as their primary reason for joining. A lot of operators, therefore, think that they must be serving the weight loss market. Wrong. A true weight loss customer is NOT a member who wants to lose 20 pounds because their eating and exercise habits have gotten off track. Rather, a weight loss customer is someone who would not traditionally think, “I’ll join a health club” as a solution to losing weight. A typical weight loss customer has been struggling with 30 or more pounds for a decade or longer. They have done numerous diet programs—both self-administered as well as commercially based—and have most likely yo-yoed with their weight.
2. Not Understanding a Weight Loss Customer’s Mentality
Although many club operators don’t believe me, a weight loss customer thinks differently than a typical health club member. Most certainly they think totally different than the average health club operator, employee or fitness trainer who is often a “fitness zealot.” What I mean by this is that their passion and personal love for fitness distorts their ability to understand the average person who is struggling with their weight. Club operators/employees often look at overweight people with disgust and believe they are lazy and undisciplined. They think, “Hey, push away from the table, get some exercise.” 8 years ago I thought this myself before I immersed myself in the weight loss business and surrounded myself with people struggling with their weight.
What I know now, and discuss in my book, “Winning the Struggle to Be Thin,” is that most overweight people want desperately to change their habits and take control of their weight. (Notice I did not say they wanted to exercise and get fit. In their mind the two are not necessarily connected.) Food, however, is seemingly controlling them. Like alcohol, it is an addiction that is merely symptomatic to the underlying emotional problem or concern. For example, the individual is under a lot of stress and turns to food as comfort. And, even when they are conscious of their food addictions they cannot break the cycle, which causes further “dis-stress” and “dis-belief” in oneself. This, in turn, results in a reduced self-confidence (even if it is only in the area of weight), which only exacerbates the problem.
Of course, the typical weight loss customer is exercise adverse. They may have had negative experiences in school gym classes or failures of their own as an adult. Regardless, the biggest challenge now is the extra weight is making it very difficult for them to move, let alone formally exercise. When they do, they tire easily. Trainers without experience in dealing with these types of customers can unknowingly set unrealistic expectations.
3. Not Understanding that a Weight Loss Program Must Have a Sales Emphasis
I say to club operators, “If you build it, they will come” only happens in the movies. This is really true for just about any business (except Starbucks where they line up on the opening day!) but it is especially true for an in-club weight loss program. Think about it, members pay $49 a month for the privilege of sweating and making themselves sweat. For many people—even many of our members—exercise is torture. By adding a weight loss program to the equation you are basically making it into a “torture and deprivation” experience that the member gets the privilege of paying more money for! Like it or not, with only 14% of Americans members of health clubs yet 66% overweight or clinically obese, this is the sad reality of the perception of our business. We have the best product in the world—one that basically guarantees a person will have greater energy, better health, a livelier, more experiential life, but very few actually buy and use the product.
What this all means is that whether you are offering a pre-packaged weight loss kit or a full-blown in-club program, neither will sell themselves. Operators must integrate their weight loss products and programs into the membership sales process. Therefore, if weight loss is one of a prospect’s goals, a specific process should be followed: needs analysis questions should be asked to uncover past history and goals, a discussion of the clubs weight loss program must be made during the tour, and the prospect must be presented with membership options that offer the weight loss as part of the package.
Sadly, many clubs that have some sort of weight loss program wait until the new member comes back for their fitness appointment before they present the weight loss options. This is a faulty strategy for several reasons. First, up-sells are easiest in the moment that the buyer is making a purchasing decision. The salesman doesn’t wait until you come back to pick up your new suit to sell you the shirts and ties—he does it before you get to the cash register. Second, when a salesperson sells an exercise only membership to a weight loss customer it sends the message that they don’t need a total solution to reach their goals. Once the customer is out of the buying mode, even when later presented with a supplemental weight loss program, most will decide to “wait and see if they’ll lose it with exercise alone.” By the time they realize that they won’t lose the weight with exercise alone, they are deflated and less motivated. Finally, taking a “wait to sell” approach can be detrimental to the rapport process because some new members feel mislead—i.e. why didn’t they tell me about “needing” this part when I bought the membership?” All of these made a strong case for presenting the weight loss program or product at the point of new membership sale.
4. Not Offering a Program that Meets the Weight Loss Customer’s Needs
Talk to any doctor who specializes in weight loss (called a bariatric physician) and they will tell you there is a distinct difference between a weight loss eating plan and a healthy eating plan. Understanding this difference is critical to choosing and/or creating an in-club program that will attract the typical weight loss customer who is not currently joining our facilities. A weight loss eating plan is initially more restrictive in food choices than simply a healthy eating plan and the reason for this has to do with satiation, which means feeling of fullness. People who struggle with their weight typically get more pleasure from food than those who have never had a weight problem. For some it is emotional pleasure, others it is physical and others it is both. This means that overweight people do not like to feel deprived in either a physical sense or a gustatory sense. Therefore, the eating plan must contain foods that have a high satiety but low calorie composition. This ensures that the individual feels full yet is consuming foods that will still result in a caloric deficit.
Emotional satiety is the more difficult issue to deal with, making it challenging for most dieters to stay away from the high calorie sweet and savory foods. This is where weight loss products become an extremely important component of a weight loss plan. Typical weight loss customers need to have bariatric snack foods available that are lower in carbohydrates and, most importantly, portion controlled. These products come in the form of bars, shakes, drinks and snacks and satiate an individuals desire for candy and chips while allowing them to stay in control when they are craving such items. Unfortunately, many fitness professionals and particularly trainers are adverse to such products. Their belief is, “Why can’t they use healthy snacks like nuts?” Such a comment confirms the earlier point of “not understanding a weight loss customer’s mentality” and is a perfect example of not understanding the difference between a weight loss eating plan and a healthy eating plan. My reply is blunt; “Yes, eating a single serving of nuts would be a great snack for some. But if the weight loss customer could eat just a single serving of nuts in one sitting, they wouldn’t have the weight problem to begin with!”
In addition to offering an eating plan designed for weight loss, most clubs do not realize the importance of one-on-one coaching to the typical weight loss customer. Regular and consistent accountability is a must for an individual struggling with their weight. Without getting on the scale they will quickly move into a state of denial. Therefore, the in-club model must offer more than just group meetings or the occasional visit with a dietician or nutritionist. Brief weekly or bi-weekly coaching sessions are much more effective than an hour educational session. When a program combines the right eating plan, the right support products and the right accountability, it achieves tremendous weight loss success.
Having been in the health club industry now for over 25 years, 8 of which that have been dedicated exclusively to commercial weight loss centers, I now know and appreciate the differences between a health club client and a weight loss client. Although they seem subtle on the surface, these “4 cardinal sins” clearly outline the significant differences that must be accounted for when designing programs that want to reach the weight loss customer.
As an industry our goal is to grow membership. Unfortunately, over the past several years, growth of new members has not kept up with the growth of new facilities, leaving most clubs struggling to maintain their membership numbers. If clubs are to not only survive—but thrive—in current market conditions, they must do two things; one, attract new customers. Two, increase the per member revenue generation. Adding a weight loss program to your health club can accomplish both those goals and enhance member happiness and satisfaction at the same time.