Today I wanted to talk about the recent Filex event or conference in Sydney on April 19th.
The Business Summit really focuses on the business side of the industry so there’s a lot of managers and club owner’s in
The format of the show comprised of four keynote speakers and who all spoke for about an hour and then four TEDX style speakers who spoke for about 10 to 20 minutes on various topics.
I’m going to focus on the four major speakers as obviously, they were the ones that presented the most content.
The first speaker was a woman named Emma Barry and she was an expert in trends in the fitness industry. She’d worked at Les Mills and Equinox for many years and she is now living in the US.
Her focus was on all the trends in the industry. She clearly had a strong understanding of the various offering in the industry ranging from Cross Fit Boutiques to Cycling studios and all kinds of differing fitness options.
She went big into that side as well as other trends in the industry.
She also touched on some emerging trends like AI and Virtual reality.
She was probably my least favourite speaker because I felt there wasn’t a lot you could take and implement as a club owner or manager. It was more about what other offerings were emerging in the market.
It is important to know the market and what innovations are taking place, however, the volume of information was overwhelming more than anything.
The second speaker was a dude named Todd Durcan and he was a real American style kind of guy.
As soon as he came on stage he was full on!!
He was revved up! Like Tony Robbins on steroids!
He was really pumped up but behind all the hype and energy his content was really good.
His core message focused on business fundamentals such as goal setting, building and managing your team, ongoing learning and improvement.
He talked about the importance of providing coaching to members and building a sense of community with your members.
I think it was mentioned in his bio his gym is one of the highest performing or highest revenue generating per member in the industry.
The third speaker after lunch was my favourite and her name was Amanda Stevens and she talked about customer experience and creating an exceptional customer experience.
When someone says they are going to talk about customer service you typically think “wow this will be pretty boring” no one really loves talking about the customer experience and customer service but surprisingly she was extremely entertaining. She used a lot of storytelling and humour to make her point which made her talk very engaging and enjoyable.
The whole essence of speech is that we need to really think about the customer experience and work to create an exceptional experience. To look for opportunities where you can create a memorable experience for your customers or members.
When we create a great experience for the customer that’s more likely to lead to a positive word of mouth.
She gave examples of a hotel she’d stayed at where people had remembered her name and the name of her dog.
So the core of her message about the experience that we create often becomes a talking point when people catch up with their friends and family and that’s a way to build a really strong brand and business.
The final speaker was an 30-year industry veteran and his name was Thomas Plummer
His session was LONG.
He went for about two hours, so to finish the day it was a bit of a drag on towards the end.
However, his content was good.
His crude personality and constant swearing did add an entertaining element.
He talked about how as an industry providers are trying to be all things to all people.
For example, offering some functional training, some yoga and mindfulness as well as other services and they’re all things to all people but he really highlighted the importance of focusing and creating a high revenue per member.
He was strongly opposed to the low-cost model which I tend to agree with because it’s a game you can’t win when you know others are lowering their prices so low and cutting their margins so thin that it’s just impossible to run a profitable health club and service your members. You’re much better off focusing on providing a higher level of service and charging a good amount for that.
He also talked about social media marketing. He said that the ideal spend is around $3000 dollars per month and he said that ensures that everyone in your area is hit with your content or advertisement a couple of times each month which optimises conversion.
He was focused on getting the right type of customers and not worrying about trying to get every single opportunity.
His message was – “like attracts like”
You want a high calibre of member who is willing to pay more because they’re more likely to stay longer and attract the same quality of members that are going to maximise your profitability.
Overall the content of the event was very good and certainly, if you’re a health club owner or manager would have provided you with some ideas to really drive your business forward.
