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Biography Dr. Axel Gottlob
Born in 1960, Axel Gottlob studied both physics and law before he graduated from the
University of Stuttgart with a diploma in mechanical engineering. Following projects in
ergonomics and occupational physiology at the Fraunhofer Institute, he specialized in
biomechanics. Having practically grown up in gyms, the fitness industry has been his
main profession for more than 25 years. He has worked as a fitness trainer and gym
manager for many years and was the 1982 German Bodybuilding Champion. Since 1983,
he has been active in the research and development of professional training machinery
(he has four patents in his name and is the inventor of multi-motion technology) and
differentiated exercise kinematics. Furthermore, he works with elite athletes, physical
therapy groups, fitness facilities and associations and holds a teaching position at the
University of Heidelberg. In addition, Axel Gottlob is the author of the book
"Differenziertes Krafttraining" (Differentiated Strength Training) and a frequent speaker
at both national and international conventions. He is considered the leading strength
training expert in Germany. After several years as head of distribution and general manager, studies in psychology in the United States and a one-year EU management
training in Japan, he also specialized in motivational and management training as well as
customer-oriented company management in addition to his strength training expertise.
He is the company owner of Gottlob Seminare & Consulting. At the start of 2002, Axel
Gottlob graduated magna cum laude from the University of Heidelberg with a doctorate
degree in sports science.
Drop-Out
A challenge for fitness facilities
Every year, fitness facilities in both Europe and the United States are faced with drop-out
rates (the percentage of people who quit) of 30 to 50 percent on average [Brehm 1995,
Rampf 1999]. In Germany (the United States) alone, about two million (9.4 million)
members drop out of the more than 6,500 (14,000) commercial fitness facilities, which
corresponds to an economic loss of about EUR 1 billion (USD 4.5 billion) [Kamberovic
2001, McCarthy 1999]. If this fluctuation could be reduced by only 10 percent (e.g. from
35 to 25 percent), the membership of a 1,000-member gym would increase by 100
members by the end of the year with a resulting increase in membership fees of about
EUR 60’000.00 plus additional facility-specific sales, an improved image and better
advertising by word of mouth. Of course, a considerable "compounded interest effect" would occur in subsequent years (after two years, there would be 175 additional
members, etc.). These numbers/effects are well known. Why then is it so difficult to achieve lower drop-out rates?
The drop-out phenomenon was examined for the first time at the beginning of the 1970s
with regard to the regularity of pharmaceutical application by patients and physical
therapy groups [Oldridge 1984]. The success of long-term therapy plans and training
programs primarily depends on their regular execution. The identification of high drop-
out rates was the beginning of drop-out research [Pahmeier 1994]. Used in the fitness
industry during the 1990s, it provided more precise factors than just the repeatedly stated reasons for termination by the individuals who dropped out.
Asked for the reasons for terminating their membership, most drop-outers mention that
they don’t have enough time anymore and/or that the membership fees are too high
[Wingenfeld 1999, Rampf 1999]. Rampf and Brehm rightly assumed that these are superficial arguments. What happened instead seems to be a shift in priorities. The
cost/benefit and time/benefit ratios, which were assessed favorably at the start of the
membership, came to be assessed unfavorably [Brehm 1995, Rampf 1999]. However,
even people with little money and little free time pursue fitness training, if they assign a sufficiently high priority to this endeavor and put other activities on the back burner.
Now, many facilities invest a large share of their energy and budget into soliciting new
customers. Spring, summer, fall and winter promotions are coming up periodically, as are
"open house" campaigns, member referrals or 30-day trial offers. Existing members get
little benefit out of these promotions, and if no additional staff is assigned during
promotion times, these existing customers get too little attention on a regular basis. The
drop-out carousel can gain momentum! A large share of the acquired new customers
serve the sole purpose of compensating for the high drop-out rate. By the way, most
drop-outs do not return to the gym at a later point in time either, so it is only a question
of time until the potential target groups in a given business area are "exhausted" [Brehm 1999].
Many fitness facilities are not aware of the fact that a membership needs to be sold not
only during the initial signing of the membership agreement but also "re-sold" during a
every member visit, or at least they don’t act accordingly! However, some customer
service efforts do take place in part, but these are often interpreted in an activity-oriented manner by the facilities and the consulting firms by organizing barbecue nights,
joint jogging sessions, joint excursions, sweepstakes or point-reward travels. The
members like these activities very much - even though only a very small percentage
participates in them! According to my experience, this only yields a minimum drop-out
reduction effect. Very few customers will maintain their membership simply because of a
great party twice a year, and it is only a handful of members that will participate in any
outdoor activities.
The answer to the drop-out issue in fitness facilities is multi-level and needs to be viewed
from the perspective of both customer and fitness studio. For this purpose, various
surveys have compared the people that drop out and those that stay in terms of their
personality- and situation-related factors. With regard to the personality-related factors,
the only distinctions worth mentioning were the facts that the people sticking with their
gym membership exhibited a greater tendency toward self-motivation, set more precise
goals for themselves and increasingly demonstrated the ability to split up their goal into
smaller steps in a process-oriented fashion. In addition, their decision to join a gym was
made less spontaneously [Rampf 1999]. There were marginal or no differences at all with regard to profession, physical state or other lifestyle-related features.
What plays a key role are the situation-related factors, which are predominantly co-
determined by the facility itself. As central criteria, the individuals that dropped out
experienced a deficit with regard to training success, social context, emotional
experiences and direct facility environment [Rampf 1999]. There were smaller differences
between the genuine drop-outers that would no longer engage in any fitness training, not
even at a different facility, and the fluctuating customers who only want to change gyms.
For a complete drop-out, the lack of training success and the absence of social
integration were the predominant factors. Apart from the social and emotional factors,
the facility environment played a more important role when it came to a change of
facilities.
1. Training success
A large number of gym members terminate their membership, because they have
experienced little or no success. In this respect, the process of exact goal identification
and specification between trainer and customer is an indispensable measure at the very
beginning of the membership. The most frequent motive for joining a fitness facility is
clearly the goal of improving one’s figure. What figure improvement means for the
individual must be determined ahead of time, and the gym personnel needs to provide
information, e.g. if the customer has unfounded concerns with regard to strength
training. After all, there’s no such thing as a svelte figure without sufficient muscles,
since bones and fat would otherwise be the only figure-forming tissue! Furthermore,
muscles help eliminate fatty tissue more quickly and sustained fashion. Since a harder
training effort is required not just for figure improvement but also for many other goals,
all stops must be pulled so that fitness training will become fun and yield success in the
near future. Training plans should be designed to be fun. The great long-term goal must
be subdivided into process-oriented interim goals, such as two repetitions or 5 kg (10
lbs.) more for a given exercise. Success must be noticeable every single week! The
facility should establish sufficient information management. As a result, the participants
will develop a greater interest in their bodies. The more informed they are, the more
committed they will be to their training program and to a nutrition plan that supports
their training success. Information must be offered in an attractive, easily digestible
format and should be up to date. The difficult phase at the start of every training - the
first 5 to 10 minutes during which the individual must overcome his or her own weakness
- should be accompanied by encouragement from the trainer. Once the body has reached
"operating temperature," the remaining training becomes very easy. After a training
session conducted in this fashion, customers will feel better physically and eventually
associate the gym visit with a pleasant physical experience. No training plan can replace
the presence of a trainer. No aerobic video can replace the instructor! He or she must
encourage customers to perform, show an interest in the members’ goals and progress and courteously praise them for their commendable training progress and commitment.
2. Social context
At fitness facilities, many customers feel that they are treated like strangers and don’t
receive good customer service. Frequently, they feel like they are part of an anonymous
crowd. There is no personalized appeal. In this respect, everyday routines in the training
rooms, at the reception, during exercise classes and at the service counter must be re-
examined regularly. Do listless members who are just "hanging out" receive motivation?
Are client contacts customer-oriented and courteous when employees hand over keys
and customers purchase beverages or ask for a trainer, or are they handled with fake
friendliness, if even that? Do customers really feel welcome? Do the employees provide
assistance so that customers can get to know each other? If so, customers could find
training partners and the anonymity would be lifted to make room for some individual acquaintances.
3. Emotional experiences
Many drop-outers feel that their training is boring. With or without their training plans,
participants move from equipment to equipment and crank out set after set without incentive. The pauses between the sets get longer and longer.
The training sessions of the participants must be supported in such a manner as to turn
them into a noticeable experience or sometimes even an extraordinary event. Also in the
training area, interaction with the customers needs to be encouraging. Classes in
particular can provide this valuable aid, which is one of their superior strengths. However, when it comes to the most frequent objective of figure improvement, the
possibilities of classes are too limited. In this respect, one can not avoid incentive measures in the field of individual strength/cardio training.
4. Direct facility environment
If no lockers are available in the evenings on a regular basis, if the training equipment is
always occupied or if the sanitary conditions are poor, these are knock-out criteria that
must be corrected without delay. Other important factors include the atmosphere of the
fitness facility, the customer structure, the quality and accessibility of the equipment, the
quality of classes, the ambient lighting, air and music and the parking facilities. In
addition, the time factor is important: How quickly can customers check in or out, do classes start on time, are beverages quickly available and can the training equipment be
adjusted quickly?
Drop-out reduction is not a single, spectacular event but instead consists of many smaller
and medium-sized steps and measures that are required and must be implemented in a
systematic fashion in order to achieve a more attractive drop-out rate through their
committed application on a daily basis. If all four factors are met, the drop-out rate
should eventually reach a level between 10 and 15 percent or a maximum of 20 percent.
If one of the first three factors is met exceptionally well, this may partly compensate for
deficiencies among the other factors.
np. 77 / pp. 98-99