1.0 Introduction
Joe Gold, a former bodybuilder and the US Marine started a gym in Venice, California, in 1965 for the sole purpose of training with his fellow bodybuilders and Marine buddies. Every bodybuilder worth their salt was invited to join Joe’s Gym for $60 a year, which Joe kept low by constructing his own sports equipment and cutting back on heating (Clark, 2016). TRT Holdings purchased Gold’s in 2004 for more than $150 million. TRT Holdings gradually but steadily helped Gold’s evolve into a cross-sector corporation that occurred to concentrate on fitness over several years. The company serves customers with fitness and health issues across the world. Anytime Gym, Snap Exercise, Better Than One, 24 Hours, Fitness, and LA Fitness are some of Gold’s Gym’s main competitors. Ld’s Gym comes second in gendered score on Comparably (Heffernan, 2015). Products & Services, Net Promoter Score (NPS), Pricing, Customer Service and overall culture score, Gender and Diversity scores are used to compare Gold Gym with its competitors.
The competitive edge of Gold’s Gym over its competitors is that Obese patients will be given specific memberships and pricing caps to target different age groups, such as 35 49-year-olds and 28-34-year-olds. With the proposed fitness center situated in the heart of each town, it will also be within easy reach of the town’s medical facilities (Wellman, 2018). One of Gold’s Gym India’s greatest strengths is that it provides its customers with the best equipment, top-notch fitness instruction, and individualized fitness plans. Following the mandates for each age group, the Gym’s exercise modules are built by industry standards. The trainers are qualified by international bodies and receive extensive support in the form of weight and fitness consultations. In addition, a team of nutritionists and dietitians offers guidance on the best diet for gamers. 2.4 million dollars are generated annually, with a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 8.7% (Wellman, 2020).
2.0 How Gold’s Gym Respond to External Changes
2.1 Covid 19
COVID-19 was the driving force behind Gold’s Gym International’s decision to close 32 of its business sites in April 2020, the initial leg of the company’s restructuring strategy, Zeitsiff the CEO said. He said that he doesn’t expect any more company-owned gyms to be shut down (Lipson and Powell, 2021). A more apparent conclusion for the company has replaced COVID-19 pandemic uncertainty through restructuring, Zeitsiff said. The company has developed a plan to mitigate the negative effect of COVID-19 & emerge as a better brand. It is the proper decision for Gold’s Gym, he continued, because the pandemic will be over soon, and the Gym will be a lot more sustainable (Killeen et al, 2020). Fiduciary duties require us to ensure a firm and brand are in place in the next 55 years or more for members, franchisees, and our community. Due to local, federal, and state regulations, Gold’s Gym Global will proceed to reopen currently closed clubs during the restructuring process. To keep its corporate staff happy and healthy during the restructuring process, Gold’s Gym will continue to pay their paychecks as usual (Kaushal et al, 2020). In addition, Gold’s Gym will continue to help its franchisees during restructuring, Zeitsiff stated. According to the Gold’s Gym International FAQ website, the corporation will be seeking court authority to keep paying suppliers and subcontractors in the regular process on a go-forward basis for vendors.
2.2 Technology
A body scan technology called Gold’s 3D is encouraging development. Gold’s offers a complete 3D body scan whenever customers sign up, powered by just a 3d digital scanning technology called Styku, to distinguish itself from the other competitive gyms in the theme pricing range (Federal and Retrieved, 2021). With the 3D body scanner, members may observe their progress in 3D, both numerically and visually, by tracking the changes to their body’s form, circumferences, composition, and more as time goes on. According to the scan, which takes less than 30 seconds, they can see where and how they lose weight. Ts is a fantastic tool (Wellman, 2020). They may quickly make any changes to their present training regimen to ensure they are as efficient and effective during their workouts, thanks to the abundance of information.
With Gold’s 3D, your body is scanned by an infrared laser beam while rotating 360 degrees upon this Styku platform. The surrounding invisible camera captures photos and sends the data via an aluminum stand to a laptop. As you take your measures, the software displays them on a virtual representation of your body on the screen (Maddox et al, 2020). Gold’s VP of Fitness, Aaron Cave, says that if a member does not buy training, the scan is a great way to interact if they aren’t hitting their goals. Because this is not the person telling them, however, the scan reveals them, providing them that comprehensive basis of comparison to see if they’re attempting to make any actual changes or not (Jenny et al, 2020). Cave says this method works for most members because it’s less intrusive than having a trainer come up and measure them or put tape around them.
3.0 Analysis of the changes at Gold’s Gym
Gold’s Gym will implement stringent regulations to ensure the safety of employees and members (Fruchter, 2021). As long as these policies are in place, they will affect the club’s unit economics because they affect profits (e.g., limiting the number of people who can use the Gym at a given time) and costs. In the post-COVID-19 environment, Gold’s Gym has determined mainly their business models; discovering strategies to restore and rebuild the top line will be necessary. Some of these strategies that Gold’s Gym is using include;
3.1 Retention and reengagement of members on a long-term basis
Gold’s Gym has already begun implementing near-term initiatives to prevent membership loss. They will also need to re-engage members and participants through non-membership ideas (i.e., classes/other packages). They can accomplish this through various means in a post-COVID-19 world, including digital fitness & tiered membership models (Fruchter, 2021).
3.1.1 Health and fitness via digital means.
Peloton, for example, is a popular digital, at-home fitness option. Still, Gold’s Gym has been slow to adopt this trend because it fears that digital solutions may complicate the workout (Kopp et al, 2020). Interestingly, over 90% of people who use digital fitness claim that their inclination to use a traditional gym will be the same or higher than before they started using modern fitness. As a means of keeping members involved and earning money, digital offerings have the potential to bridge the gap created by social distancing (Levy et al, 2021). They expect digital experiences to play an even more significant role when it reopens. Some consumers will feel more safe staying at home, and others will have discovered how much they prefer an at-home model in general (Lyu and Wehby, 2020). There are various ways that Gold’s Gyms might include digital fitness within their business strategies, such as online coaching from Gym, fitness guidelines, or at-home courses or sessions even without equipment. These are all examples of digital classes and training that can be offered.
3.1.2 Membership models with levels
It may be beneficial for gyms to create a tiered subscription structure to boost member retention and growth. It’s no longer a one-size-fits-all approach to selecting the most effective cost/benefit solution for a particular consumer’s needs and budget (Kopp et al, 2020). After COVID-19, when most customers are likely to be reducing back on spending & minimizing financial responsibilities that don’t offer them considerable value, this will be especially important when trying to revive them (Federal and Retrieved, 2021). A small number of Gold’s gyms have already implemented tier-based membership options, including amenities such as multi-club membership and training and classes. To keep members engaged, these tiers must be expanded or reorganized.
3.2 Technology engagement in customers decisions making
Against the competition, Gold’s Gym has developed my PATH, a brand name for a mobile app and website where members can interact with their trainers to create fitness and nutrition plans, track their progress, and get workout advice and schedules for nearby facilities (Mason et al, 2020). Wearables like Nike’s Fuel band, Fitbit, and health applications like MyFitnessPal may integrate with the program via APIs, giving customers a central location to keep their fitness tracking data. Treadmills and other workout equipment can also be tracked using a mobile app set up by members. Those who go to the Gym without a plan or a coach cannot achieve the outcomes they desire. Gold’s Gym members might collect certificates or reward points for items by competing with other members and reporting their workout results, perhaps even in real-time. Since the introduction of my PATH, the number of gym members using it has grown to more than 20,000. More than 400 gyms in the United States are expected to begin supporting my PATH (Leon-Quismondo et al, 2020). The technology has helped customers to make informed decisions in their leisure activities as the technology is serving and matching their wants at Gold’s Gym.
4.0 Marketing mix of Gold’s Gym
The term marketing mix refers to a strategy that includes all aspects of a campaign. You can use it to develop your marketing plan for your goods or services. In addition, it focuses on the demographic you’re trying to reach. Some of the marketing mixes have been altered in Gold’s Gym due to the emergence of covid 19 but with time, the company is trying to adjust and ease as time goes by (Watanabe and Takahashi, 2021). Pricing at Gold’s Gym members will reactivate their account and begin charging customers again according to their usual billing schedule. When the closure period ends, all suspended membership bills will be reissued, and the termination date of the agreement and your membership will be prolonged by the same duration of time as the closing period (27 days) (Widayati et al, 2021). If your yearly club upgrade fee was due between December 23rd and January 18th, a draft would be made on January 19th. As of January 19th, 2022, recurring payments for personal training will also be reinstated.
Another marketing mix that has been affected at Gold’s Gym is Place, where their customer does their routines and fitness exercises. The company has put in place the measures to make the Gold’s Gym easier to avoid the spread of covid 19 by enhancing that their customers maintain their social distancing and the number of people who visit the Gym are limited at a given time (Fruchter, 2021). Promotion is another marketing mix that Gold Gym is trying to adjust by going online and even coming up with a way customers can do their fitness at home by sending a manual book that can guide them. People are those that run your business. For Gold’s Gym, the trainers of the members and customers at the Gym are the people that make the business run smoothly. As a result of covid 19, the trainers have developed ways and plans that Gold’s Gym can embrace, such as each member will still receive a spray bottle to utilize for pre-and post-use cleaning of their equipment (Widayati et al, 2021).
Gold’s Gym has changed and the way of doing things is different from before due to Covid 19. A digitized Membership Code of Conduct, committing to comply with Gold’s Gym Covid Protocols, will be required of all customers who have done so (Federal and Retrieved, 2021). All clubs are free-flowing. Therefore, no reservations are necessary. Use the club capacities monitor here to organize your workout and arrival. Anyone visiting the facilities must acknowledge that they have had no prior contact with or exposure to COVID-19 and must show NO SYMPTOMS associated with COVID-19 before entry. Before entering the facility, all visitors and employees must have their body temperatures checked and registered AS LOW AS 37.5 degrees Celsius. Wearing a mask is strongly advised for anyone entering the clubs (Borden and Mahamane, 2020). Upon arrival, they are given a disinfectant that they are expected to use to clean down all equipment and surfaces during each usage. Finally, the Performance of Gold Gym has decreased when the business that owns Gold’s Gym announced that it had registered for Bankruptcy protection. As it tries to rebuild during the coronavirus pandemic, which has shut down the entire U.S. economy, its 700 gyms worldwide will remain open.
Figure 1. 8P’s of the marketing mix (Federal and Retrieved, 2021).
5.0 Has covid 19 created a new normal for marketing strategy at Gold’s Gym
Discovery was an unexpected and uncertain time for most brands during the international COVID-19 pandemic. Inconsistent with the brand truth and the tone of Gold’s Gym. Activation uncertainty is not something strong brands talk about; instead, they gather behind a return (Dick, 2020). A temporary campaign, playbook, and gym signs with a unique visual & communication strategy were produced to break from business-as-usual advertising and give these critical messages the attention they needed. Early returns to gyms in states and towns that loosened COVID-19 regulations have been greater than projected because of creativity and copy tailored to specific audiences and consumer attitudes (Myers et al, 2020). To convey our social distancing ideas within our brand language, we creatively used “fitness references” to assist members in imagining a 6-foot gap.
Gold’s Gym and agency network LUP has created a new campaign, ‘Gym It Yourself,’ to encourage people to live a healthier lifestyle at home in the wake of the epidemic (Widayati et al, 2021). Step-by-step instructions on how to work out like you are at the Gym employing daily household objects are the focus of the Gym It Yourself campaign.
5.1 Customer Purchase decisions have changed
The emergence of the covid 19 pandemic changed the customers purchasing decisions. For instance, the closure of Gyms where they would go and exercise changed their buying decision where they t realized that they could steel do the same fitness and routine at homes without incurring more cost except for purchasing a gym guide (Ebada and Mahamane, 2020). Ignorance about the Benefits of Exercise, gyms and other fitness facilities, such as sports stadiums and morning walk parks, have closed down because of the rise in mental health difficulties. As the days passed, more and more people developed the flexibility to adjust to the epidemic more positively and helpfully. However, their perspective on themselves began to shift while their perspective on the issue remained unchanged. They began to believe that although they couldn’t change things, they could do it with themselves to cope with the problem (Widayati et al, 2021). People began to reevaluate their daily routines in light of the shift in their perceptions, and they sought out alternatives. Rather than relying on gym equipment, they began experimenting with moving their workouts outside of the traditional setting. Participant 20’s statement revealed that practicing yoga was excellent for dealing with the repetitive need for gym exercises. The emergence of covid 19 Led to remuneration being cut down. Therefore, people who used to go to Gym reduced since they did not have enough money to pay monthly gym subscription hence changing their purchase decision to essential things and considered doing their exercises at home.
5.2 Fundamentals of competitive advantage at Gold’s Gym
5.2.1 Differentiation strategy
When a firm creates something new or distinctive with their good or service, this method distinguishes them from their competition. Differentiation can take several forms, such as the design or the underlying technology (Siebert et al, 2020). For example, Gold’s Gym can employ the tech and equipment for fitness. Equipment-centric fitness concepts have the opportunity to market equipment that allows its members to participate at home due to the rise in at-home fitness. Now is a critical time for fitness studios and gyms to think about incorporating their programs into fitness tech gadgets. Using exercise technology to track one’s progress outside of the Gym has already been an increasing trend in the industry before COVID (Widayati et al, 2021).
5.2.2 listern to Changes in client mood and behavior
Consumer confidence in government and huge businesses eroded even before the coronavirus appeared. People are increasingly more intimately aligned with their communities’ friends, family, and small enterprises (Chouhan and Yakoub, 2020). Distrust in brands appears to rise in the wake of this disaster. Gold’s Gym may fight back against that wave by taking action to re-establish confidence with their customers. Your reaction should be well-balanced. Marketing for Gold’s Gym must support clients and protect customer connections while being realistic about what the business can and cannot do at this time (Siebert et al, 2020). Avoid short-term gains at the expense of long-term customer trust.
5.3 How should companies use technology in their marketing strategy
5.3.1 Emails
A quick, flexible, and effective way to get marketing messages through email provides companies. More than half of the population of the United Kingdom already has a mailbox (Darma and Noviana, 2020). Compared to telephone marketing, this route appears to be less intrusive. To make things easier for the buyer, the message can be linked to a specific product page to buy it right away, and they can either forward reply to the email. Customers are already overwhelmed with inappropriate mail, so marketers must exercise restraint when using this technique (Crick, 2020). Email is one of the most cost-effective ways to communicate with customers, and it is one of its most crucial advantages.
5.3.2 Telephone, texting, and short-messaging
SMS, or short message service, can be utilized as an additional channel to reach a customer further. More than 70 percent of Americans now own a cell phone, and the majority of those people have it with them at all times (Daries et al, 2020). Mobiles are a personal item, and individuals can react poorly to unsolicited texts. In addition, the reader can only be 160 characters long. The Multi Messaging Platform is another ground-breaking innovation, allowing users to send more engaging multimedia messages, such as photos, videos, and music, to their contacts hence reaching their customers (Alon et al, 2020).
6.0 Conclusion
It will take longer to get back to pre-COVID-19 membership and revenue levels. Although Gold’s Gym’s future is uncertain, the company’s CEO has been promoting franchising and licensing since he returned to the business in early 2019. On the other hand, Gold’s Gym will keep running its company-owned facilities and may even build more of them to safeguard its current market share. In other words, it’s about how the organization intends to expand through franchising, grow that business, expand our licensing business, and retain a strong network of company-owned gyms.
7.0 References
Alon, I., Jaffe, E., Prange, C. and Vianelli, D., 2020. Global Marketing: Strategy, Practice, and Cases. Routledge.
Borden, D.S. and Mahamane, S., 2020. Social marketing and outdoor recreational advocacy groups: Lessons from a rock climbing campaign. Journal of Outdoor Recreation and Tourism, 29, p.100262.
Chouhan, R. and Yakoub, J., 2020. How do gym brands differentiate in a crowded market?.
Clark, A., 2016. Battling the body capital: my experience of Gold’s Gym. Embodied Thought of the Month (ETM).
Crick, J.M. and Crick, D., 2020. Coopetition and COVID-19: Collaborative business-to-business marketing strategies in a pandemic crisis. Industrial Marketing Management, 88, pp.206-213.
Daries, N., Cristobal-Fransi, E. and Ferrer-Rosell, B., 2020. Implementation of website marketing strategies in sports tourism: Analysis of the online presence and E-commerce of golf courses. Journal of Theoretical and Applied Electronic Commerce Research, 16(3), pp.542-561.
Darma, G.S. and Noviana, I.P.T., 2020. Exploring Digital Marketing Strategies during the New Normal Era in Enhancing the Use of Digital Payment. Jurnal Mantik, 4(3), pp.2257-2262.
Dick, D.L., 2020. Bankruptcy, Bailout, or Bust: Early Corporate Responses to the Business and Financial Challenges of COVID-19. Bankruptcy Law Letter, 40(7).
Ebada, K. and Mansour, H., 2021. The Fitness Industry in Egypt. In The Global Private Health & Fitness Business: A Marketing Perspective. Emerald Publishing Limited.
Federal, C. and Retrieved, I., 2021. Al-alak, 2010 Al-alak, B.(2010). Impact of marketing actions on relationship quality in the health and fitness sector in Jordan and its implications for social marketing: A field/analytical study. Social Marketing Quarterly, 16 (2), 70–93. https://doi. org/10.1080/15245001003746733.
Federal, C. and Retrieved, I., 2021. Al-alak, 2010 Al-alak, B.(2010). Impact of marketing actions on relationship quality in the health and fitness sector in Jordan and its implications for social marketing: A field/analytical study. Social Marketing Quarterly, 16 (2), 70–93. https://doi. org/10.1080/15245001003746733.
Fruchter, S., 2021. Section 363 Sales after the Covid-19 Pandemic. Am. Bankr. LJ, 95, p.367.
Heffernan, C., 2015. The History of Golds Gym. Physical Culture Study. Accessed.
Homonoff, T., Willage, B. and Willén, A., 2020. Rebates as incentives: The effects of a gym membership reimbursement program. Journal of Health Economics, 70, p.102285.
Jenny, S.E., Krause, J.M. and Armstrong, T., 2020. Technology for physical educators, health educators, and coaches: Enhancing instruction, assessment, management, professional development, and advocacy. Human Kinetics Publishers.
Kaur, H., Singh, T., Arya, Y.K. and Mittal, S., 2020. Physical fitness and exercise during the COVID-19 pandemic: A qualitative enquiry. Frontiers in psychology, 11, p.2943.
Kaushal, N., Keith, N., Aguiñaga, S. and Hagger, M.S., 2020. Social cognition and socioecological predictors of home-based physical activity intentions, planning, and habits during the COVID-19 pandemic. Behavioral Sciences, 10(9), p.133.
Killeen, B.D., Wu, J.Y., Shah, K., Zapaishchykova, A., Nikutta, P., Tamhane, A., Chakraborty, S., Wei, J., Gao, T., Thies, M. and Unberath, M., 2020. A county-level dataset for informing the United States’ response to COVID-19. arXiv preprint arXiv:2004.00756.
Kopp, P.M., Senner, V. and Gröpel, P., 2020. Regular exercise participation and volitional competencies. Sport, Exercise, and Performance Psychology, 9(2), p.232.
León-Quismondo, J., García-Unanue, J. and Burillo, P., 2020. Best practices for fitness center business sustainability: A qualitative vision. Sustainability, 12(12), p.5067.
Levy, J.J., Tarver, T.L. and Douglas, H.R., 2021. Examining the Impact of Gym Closures Due to the COVID-19 Pandemic on Combat Sport Athletes’ Mental Health. Journal of Clinical Sport Psychology, 1(aop), pp.1-17.
Lipson, J.C. and Powell, N.M., 2021. Contracting Covid: Private Order and Public Good (Standstills). Bus. Law., 76, pp.437-442.
Lyu, W. and Wehby, G.L., 2020. Shelter-in-place orders reduced COVID-19 Mortality and reduced the rate of growth in hospitalizations: study examine effects of shelter-in-places orders on daily growth rates of COVID-19 deaths and hospitalizations using event study models. Health Affairs, 39(9), pp.1615-1623.
Maddox, C.B., DeLuca, J.R. and Bustad, J.J., 2020. Working a third shift: Physical activity and embodied motherhood. Sociological Inquiry, 90(3), pp.603-624.
Mason, A., Narcum, J. and Mason, K., 2020. Changes in consumer decision-making resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic. Journal of Customer Behaviour, 19(4), pp.299-321.
Myers, K., Brown, M.B., Payne, S.C. and Rosney, D.M., 2020. The Reinvention of the Health and Fitness Industry During the Coronavirus Pandemic. CommonHealth, 1(3), pp.121-131.
Pantjoro, A., 2020. The Effect of Service Quality in the Formation of Brand Image: Fitness Center in Bekasi, West Java, Indonesia. International Journal of Multicultural and Multireligious Understanding, 7(11), pp.119-126.
Siebert, A., Gopaldas, A., Lindridge, A. and Simões, C., 2020. Customer experience journeys: Loyalty loops versus involvement spirals. Journal of Marketing, 84(4), pp.45-66.
Watanabe, Y. and Takahashi, T., 2021. The Health and Fitness Club Industry in Japan. In The Global Private Health & Fitness Business: A Marketing Perspective. Emerald Publishing Limited.
Wellman, M., 2018. Gold’s Gym as a” Home”: Exploring the Tensions Between Traditional Bodybuilders and Fitness Influencers in a Commercially Branded Space (Doctoral dissertation, The University of Iowa).
Wellman, M.L., 2020. What it means to be a bodybuilder: social media influencer labor and the construction of identity in the bodybuilding subculture. The Communication Review, 23(4), pp.273-289.
Widayati, C.C., Sinambela, S., Magito, M. and Ikhsani, K., 2021. ANALYSIS OF AFFECTING FACTORS ON PURCHASE DECISION OF SPORT SHOES” FAKE PRODUCT” OF GOLD’S GYM CONSUMERS IN WEST JAKARTA. Dinasti International Journal of Management Science, 2(4), pp.537-550.
write