About GOLD’S GYM

Gold’s Gym started in Venice California in 1965, and soon became the hotbed for the development of training techniques, equipment and nutritional concepts that formed the foundation for the modern fitness revolution. In 1975, Gold’s Gym received international attention when it was featured in the major motion picture, ‘Pumping Iron’. It was thus effectively established as the ‘Mecca of Bodybuilding’.

Today, Gold’s Gym has over 680 facilities. It is the largest international gym chain in the world recognized for its passion, unique heritage, and experience as the final authority in fitness and lifestyle.

The India chapter of Gold’s Gym started in 2002, when the first Gold’s Gym India branch was set up at Nepean Sea Road, Mumbai and now it covers various Tier I and selected Tier II cities. Gold’s Gym India has slowly and steadily carved its name in the Indian market and built a reputation to reckon with.

GOLD’S GYM : SEGMENTATION, TARGETING AND POSITIONING

Segmentation

Gold’s Gym segments its market on many dimensions. These include:

Psychographic (lifestyle) characteristics: Gold’s gym, being in the fitness industry, caters to the needs of health& fitness enthusiasts, athletes, sportsmen & body-builders and those for whom looking good is a pre-requisite in their profession (example: models, air hostesses).

Demographic: Based on age and working status, Gold’s gym targets mostly the youth, students, young adults and working population (15- 55 years of age). People in this generation are health conscious right from the beginning and think of joining a gym as a lucrative investment.

Benefit segmentation: Gold’s gym offers a healthier lifestyle and a better looking body. It boosts the self-esteem and confidence. Thus, it delivers social and positive emotional benefits to its members.

Usage-situation segmentation: Gold’s Gym offers special services under a personal trainer to those who need to lose weight quickly and urgently. For example, to-be brides who need to look good in time for their wedding, models/air hostesses who’ve just give birth, etc.

Under the VALS framework, the target segments are :

Innovators: Successful, sophisticated people with high self-esteem; having abundant resources and being receptive to new ideas and upscale, niche services.

Achievement-motivated segment- Achievers &Strivers who are goal-oriented people using products& services that demonstrate success to their peers

Self-expression motivated segment- Experiencers who desire social and physical activity.

Targeting

The target market for Gold’s Gym would be the youth segment (students and young adults) and the working population. These would fall in the 15-55 years age group.

For these individuals, looking and feeling good is a priority and they are willing to pay a price to achieve this. They view Gold’s Gym’s membership as an investment in a better lifestyle. The aspirational needs of acceptance and self-esteem are fulfilled.

For working professionals, joining a gym is also a way of socialising and busting stress. Plus professionals like models, air-hostesses &athletes, for whom being fit is imperative, are also targeted.

Positioning

Gold’s Gym has positioned itself as a very classy, expert and wholesome provider of fitness and well-being. It is not merely a gym but a provider of a better lifestyle. Their interiors are done tastefully with full-length wall mirrors, soothing wall paints, good music and plenty of space. They have different sections for different workouts (like cardio, free weight area, strength training), a swimming pool &squash courts, a massage room, steam room and a juice bar.

Everything is very scientifically planned ensuring pleasant customer experience. It’s revered the world-over for providing the finest equipment and fitness knowledge to help its members achieve their individual potential.

MARKETING MIX OF GOLD’S GYM

Gold’s Gym product strategy is to attract and retain business.   The main goal of the gym is to promote a positive atmosphere and unforgettable experience that helps their clients lead a healthy lifestyle.  

Gold’s gym has positioned itself in the market as a fitness centre for upper middle and middle class

Product

Gold’s gym offers exceptional product coupled with pleasing experience to promote repeat business. One of the ways to separate themselves in the product offerings such as providing

state of the arts exercise equipment, professional trainers leading exercise classes, and personal training helping with nutrition advice. By offering these products helps maintain high quality standards for the Gold’s Gym. Gold’s Gym primary focus is exercise, that is what their gym offers and thus their primary products are exercise equipment for aerobic & cardio.

Furthermore to expand on Gold’s Gym's product strategy it includes supporting services such as tanning, hydro massage, sauna, and steam rooms they offer. The product levels are core benefit which is buying the right to exercise.

Price

The pricing of the various products varies from franchisee to franchisee depending upon the variation in the infrastructure and the location. However, the base price is set by the company below which a franchisee cannot go.

The pricing of the Gold’s gym is fairly competitive and the gym offers a variety of lucrative packages to choose from suiting according to the specific need of the customer.

Place

The Gold’s gym serves its customers through a large network of over 700 branches spread across the world. It also gives the facility to the travelling customer to go and workout in any of the branches worldwide by showing the travelling card issued by the home branch. However, this facility can be availed only 14 times per branch per year.

Promotion

The company promotes its brand through advertising. Advertising is a critical component in promoting any business, and an area that Gold's Gym has excelled in for nearly 43 years. Their track record of effective, award-winning advertising campaigns has established Gold's Gym as the most recognized name in the fitness industry worldwide. They are proud of their advertising and encourage all franchise owners to take advantage of this important aspect in gaining a competitive business.

The gym also gets into various king of associations with movies and brand to promote its brand through various channels. One such latest campaign was that of association with sony pictures movie ‘Karate Kid’.

People

The gym’s staffs for administrative work as well as the fitness trainers are appointed by the franchisee only. The gym has various certifications and training programs which each of the employee have to go through for their respective job.

In fact, Gold’s Gym India has launched India’s very first International Fitness Management Institute-Gold’s Gym University (GGU). It offers certificate courses in Fitness Management, Personal Training and Group Exercise Instructing. Covering a spacious 400 sq feet area at the

Gold’s Gym, Nepean Sea Road locality, Gold’s Gym University covers a range of subjects to comprehensively address and ensure the best international brand practices in India. 

Thus, it can be seen that the company lays great amount of emphasis on training its employees and its training is one of the best offered in the country.

Process

The process followed by Gold’s gym is standardized to a certain extent with some customization to address specific requests of customers. Once a new customer visits the gym, he/she is first asked to fill a ‘Guest Courtesy Form’ which contains basic information, fitness goals, past gym experience (if any) of the customer, seriousness to achieve the fitness goals., etc. Then a body composition analysis is done in order to understand the body structure and provide specific or customized programs/guidelines to achieve their desired goal. Following this, the customer is shown the various facilities at Gold’s Gym and explained the benefits that could be derived out of it. Also, information is provided to the customers regarding the certified trainers, world class equipments and other facilities which differentiates Gold’s Gym in the market. After the entire process, once the customer is prepared to join Gold’s Gym, he/she is asked to fill up the membership form and payment for the same is accepted.

Physical evidence

The first and the most important physical evidence is the gym itself, i.e., the facility. Other physical evidence are the various equipments the gyms offers like treadmills, elliptical machines, stationary cycles, and stair-climbers, free weights and strength equipment. Also, the employees and the trainers are also part of the physical evidence of the services.

SERVICE BLUEPRINT

Learns about gym, visits website

Line of Interaction

Customer Actions

Physical Evidence

Onstage Contact Employee Actions

Backstage Contact Employee Actions

Line of Visibility

Line of Internal Interaction

Support Processes

Gold’s Gym’s website, ads.

Maintenance of website, issuing ads

Arrives at Gym

Gym’s exterior, Building, Parking lot,

Neighbourhood

Gym’s Entryway, Doorman

Receptionist, Lobby Area

Enters the GymGoes to reception/

Help desk

Parking Assistance, Valet

Proper seating arrangement,

Maintain clean desk

Proper training of

staff

Open the door, Greet

Maintenance of parking lot,

gym’s building

Ensure presence

& training of doorman

Greet, answer queries & give

details about service

Equipments, training area, trainers, other members, juice bar, spa/steam bath, etc.

Line of Interaction

Customer Actions

Physical Evidence

Onstage Contact Employee Actions

Backstage Contact Employee Actions

Line of Visibility

Line of Internal Interaction

Support Processes

Select suitable membership scheme, Fill registration form, make

paymentVisits the training rooms & facilities

Decides whether to avail service or not

If YES

Registration form, membership card

Provide Assistance in filling form

Issue membership card, prepare work-out schedule for new member according to his preference, allot trainer

Quick preparation of membership card, give

information on unoccupied trainers

Registration System, Member Database

Work-out area, Equipment, Locker

room, Trainer, Lighting, Air quality, other

members, Music

Line of Interaction

Customer Actions

Physical Evidence

Onstage Contact Employee Actions

Backstage Contact Employee Actions

Line of Visibility

Line of Internal Interaction

Support Processes

Visits the Juice bar

Bar setting, decoration &

seating

Begins training & work-out,

Manages locker

Maintenance of hygiene,

equipment, music system, ACs

Greet & talk with member, Prepare

course chart, advice on weights, cardio, give demos, select music, etc.

Studying the member’s details,

decide some work-out routine

Take order, Prepare, Give

order to backstage

employees, deliver the order

Maintain Menu card, clean the

utensils & fruits & vegetables

Billing and purchase records

Give instructions for sauna, give massage and

provide soaps, towels, shampoo

Maintenance of hygiene, training staff, Inspecting

supplies, Usage & Billing details,

Inventory status

Prepare room, refill

soap/shampoo, dry the floors

Uses other facilities like shower,

massage sauna, swimming pool

Rooms, Towels, soap, oils, water quality, therapist, temperature and

attendants

Finish session and leave

Gym’s Exterior,

Parking Lot

Say goodbye, Get the

member’s car

Process completion of

session

Maintenance of facilities,

Parking lot, etc

DEMAND AND CAPACITY MANAGEMENT AT GOLD’S GYM

The gym works proactively in the process of matching the fluctuating demand with the fixed capacity. Generally, the demand for the gym goes up in the month of May, June, and July. This pattern is because of the summer vacations, when a lot of students go for gym.

Such spurt in demand is handled by the gym by giving attractive packages and heavy discounts during the lean hours, so as to make use of capacity available in an optimum manner. For e.g., the gym normally offers 20% - 25% discount for the membership of one month whereas in case of lean hours, it offers hefty discounts as much as 35-40% which is referred to as ‘silver hours package’. Thus by varying the pricing of the packages the demand is matched with the capacity.

The organization follows a breakshift system where maximum floor trainers are allotted in the 4 hours slot in the morning, i.e. from 6am to 10am, and 4 hours slot in the evening, i.e. 5pm to 9pm.

ANALYSIS & INTERPRETATION

Customers Profile:

Demographic Segmentation:

13%

42%27%

18% Less than 1818-2526-35Above 35

Age

45%

42%

13%

Student

Working

Not Working/Home Maker

Occupation

70%

30%

Gender

MaleFemale

Membership Status:

61%

39%Current/Past Members of Gold's GymNever a Member

Customer Expectations and Buying Behaviour

Reason for Joining a Gym: (Demographic Segmentation, Values in percentage)

Cardio Main-tenance

Lose Weight Body Tone General Fitness

Muscular Size and Strength

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

0

50

0

25

75

18.2

36.4

45.539.4

42.4

33.327.8

44.4

61.1

44.4

50.0

33.3

25.0

75.0

8.3

Below 1818-2526-35Above 35

Cardio Main-tenance

Lose Weight Body Tone General Fitness

Muscular Size and Strength

0.0

10.0

20.0

30.0

40.0

50.0

60.0

70.0

80.0

29.8

17.0

36.2

59.653.2

20

75

55

40

0

MaleFemale

Interpretation:

The reason for joining a gym varies across different age groups where people below 18 years of age give maximum preference to losing weight and increasing muscular size and strength. People in the age group 18-25 years have diverse requirement with priority given to body tone and increasing muscular size and strength followed by losing weight and general fitness. On the other hand, people above 35 years give high preference to general fitness and cardio maintenance.

On analyzing the needs based on gender, it is seen that male customers demand more of general fitness and muscular size and strength where as female customers demand for body tone and losing weight.

Importance of Different Attributes

AGE GROUP

Membership Price/Scheme

Location EquipmentsCertified Trainer

Brand Name

Facilities Provided

Flexible Timing

Ambiance

Less than 18

3.75 3.5 3.45 3.25 4 4 3.25 4

18-25 3.29 3.80 4.20 3.92 3.03 3.12 3.82 3.2426-35 3.33 3.69 4.30 4.00 3.57 3.27 4.10 4.15

Above 35 3.27 3.90 4.00 4.00 3.10 3.14 3.90 3.63

Attributes Male Female Overall

Membership Price/Membership Scheme

3.26 3.47 3.32

Location 3.56 3.57 3.56Equipments 4.25 3.89 4.15

Certified Trainer 3.74 3.85 3.78Brand Name 3.12 3.50 3.22

Facilities Provided (Spa, Steam Bath, Air conditioning, etc.)

3.11 3.453.23

Flexible Timing 3.61 3.42 3.56Ambiance 3.60 3.92 3.70

Interpretation:

For people below 18, attributes like brand name, facilities provided and ambience play a major role in his/her selection of a gym. On the contrary, for the age group of above 35, attributes like equipments, certified trainer and location play a major role to select a particular gym.

For males, equipments and certified trainer are the most important attributes while for females the ambience and the equipments are the most important attributes to select a particular gym.

Here, we can apply Anova-Single Factor test to determine if all the factors are equally important or there is some difference between them as considered by the people when selecting a particular gym.

Null Hypothesis, H0: The respondents give equal importance to all the factors, mentioned above, when selecting a particular gym.

Alternate Hypothesis, H1: The respondents do not give equal importance to all the factors, mentioned above, when selecting a particular gym.

Groups Count Sum Average Variance

Membership Price/Membership Scheme 67 2233.324358

21.0592492

1

Location 67 2393.557164

20.9434645

Equipments 67 2784.149253

70.5870646

8

Certified Trainer 67 2533.776119

40.6223428

3

Brand Name 67 2163.223880

60.8738127

5Facilities Provided (Spa, Steam Bath, Air conditioning, etc.)

67 2173.234509

71.0117593

8

Flexible Timing 67 2393.557164

20.8172772

5

Ambiance 67 2483.701492

50.7842605

2

Source of Variation

SS df MS F P-value F crit

Between Groups 58 78.285714

39.8945256

71.26E-

112.02691

1

Within Groups442.149

3528

0.8374039

Total500.149

3535

Interpretation:

Since, p value < 0.05, hence, Null Hypothesis, H0 is rejected.

Therefore, Alternate Hypothesis, H1 is accepted. Hence, the respondents do not give equal importance to all the factors when selecting a particular gym.

Therefore, 1-sample T-test can be applied to determine the factors that are significant for the respondents to select a particular gym and the factors for which the respondents are indifferent.

Assumption: The test value considered for the test is 4 on a scale of 1 to 5.

The sample size is 67 and the corresponding t value is 1.625, i.e. t (tabulated) = 1.625

The factors are:

Membership Price/Membership Scheme

Null Hypothesis, H0: The number of respondents who consider membership price/membership scheme as an important factor is equal to the number of respondents who do not consider membership price/membership scheme as an important factor.

Alternate Hypothesis, H1: The number of respondents who consider membership price/membership scheme as an important factor is greater than the number of respondents who do not consider membership price/membership scheme as an important factor.

Test Value = 4 95% Confidence

Interval of the

Difference

T df Sig.(2

Tailed)

Mean

Difference

Lower Upper

Membership

Price/Scheme

-3.086 66 .003 3.32 -.64 -.14

Interpretation:

Here, t (calculated) = -3.086

Since t (calculated) < t (tabulated), therefore, Null Hypothesis is accepted.

Hence, number of respondents who consider membership price/membership scheme as an important factor is equal to the number of respondents who do not consider membership price/membership scheme as an important factor. In other words, respondents are indifferent to membership price/membership scheme.

Location

Null Hypothesis, H0: The number of respondents who consider location as an important factor is equal to the number of respondents who do not consider location as an important factor.

Alternate Hypothesis, H1: The number of respondents who consider location as an important factor is greater than the number of respondents who do not consider location as an important factor.

Test Value = 4 95% Confidence

Interval of the

Difference

T Df Sig.(2

Tailed)

Mean

Difference

Lower Upper

Location -.880 66 .382 -.44 -.34 .13

Interpretation:

Here, t (calculated) = -.880

Since t (calculated) < t (tabulated), therefore, Null Hypothesis is accepted.

Hence, number of respondents who consider location as an important factor is equal to the number of respondents who do not consider location as an important factor. In other words, respondents are indifferent to location.

Equipments

Null Hypothesis, H0: The number of respondents who consider equipments as an important factor is equal to the number of respondents who do not consider equipments scheme as an important factor.

Alternate Hypothesis, H1: The number of respondents who consider equipments as an important factor is greater than the number of respondents who do not consider equipments as an important factor.

Test Value = 4 95% Confidence

Interval of the

Difference

T Df Sig.(2

Tailed)

Mean

Difference

Lower Upper

Equipments 5.262 66 .000 .15 .31 .68

Interpretation:

Here, t (calculated) = 5.262

Since t (calculated) > t (tabulated), therefore, Null Hypothesis is rejected.

Hence, number of respondents who consider equipments as an important factor are greater than the number of respondents who do not consider equipments as an important factor.

Certified Trainer

Null Hypothesis, H0: The number of respondents who consider certified trainer as an important factor is equal to the number of respondents who do not consider certified trainer as an important factor.

Alternate Hypothesis, H1: The number of respondents who consider certified trainer as an important factor is greater than the number of respondents who do not consider certified trainer as an important factor.

Test Value = 4 95% Confidence

Interval of the

Difference

T Df Sig.(2

Tailed)

Mean

Difference

Lower Upper

Certified

Trainer

2.168 66 .034 -.22 .02 .40

Interpretation:

Here, t (calculated) = 2.168

Since t (calculated) > t (tabular), therefore, Null Hypothesis is rejected.

Hence, number of respondents who consider certified trainer as an important factor are greater than the number of respondents who do not consider certified trainer as an important facto

Brand Name

Null Hypothesis, H0: The number of respondents who consider brand name as an important factor is equal to the number of respondents who do not consider brand name as an important factor.

Alternate Hypothesis, H1: The number of respondents who consider brand name as an important factor is greater than the number of respondents who do not consider brand name as an important factor.

Test Value = 4 95% Confidence

Interval of the

Difference

T Df Sig.(2

Tailed)

Mean

Difference

Lower Upper

Brand

Name

-5.489 66 .000 -.78 -.85 -.40

Interpretation:

Here, t (calculated) = -5.489

Since t (calculated) < t (tabulated), therefore, Null Hypothesis is accepted.

Hence, number of respondents who consider brand name as an important factor is equal to the number of respondents who do not consider brand name as an important factor. In other words, respondents are indifferent to brand name.

Facilities Provided (Spa, Steam Bath, Air conditioning, etc.)

Null Hypothesis, H0: The number of respondents who consider facilities provided as an important factor is equal to the number of respondents who do not consider facilities provided as an important factor.

Alternate Hypothesis, H1: The number of respondents who consider facilities provided as an important factor is greater than the number of respondents who do not consider facilities provided as an important factor.

Test Value = 4 95% Confidence

Interval of the

Difference

T Df Sig.(2

Tailed)

Mean

Difference

Lower Upper

Facilities

Provided

-2.672 66 .009 -.77 -.57 -.08

Interpretation:

Here, t (calculated) = -2.672

Since t (calculated) < t (tabulated), therefore, Null Hypothesis is accepted.

Hence, number of respondents who consider facilities provided as an important factor is equal to the number of respondents who do not consider facilities provided as an important factor. In other words, respondents are indifferent to facilities provided.

Flexible Timing

Null Hypothesis, H0: The number of respondents who consider flexible timing provided as an important factor is equal to the number of respondents who do not consider flexible timing as an important factor.

Alternate Hypothesis, H1: The number of respondents who consider flexible timing as an important factor is greater than the number of respondents who do not consider flexible timing as an important factor.

Test Value = 4 95% Confidence

Interval of the

Difference

T Df Sig.(2

Tailed)

Mean

Difference

Lower Upper

Flexible Timing -.270 66 .788 -.44 -.25 .19

Interpretation:

Here, t (calculated) = -.270

Since t (calculated) < t (tabular), therefore, Null Hypothesis is accepted.

Hence, number of respondents who consider flexible timing as an important factor is equal to the number of respondents who do not consider flexible timing as an important factor. In other words, respondents are indifferent to flexible timing.

Ambiance

Null Hypothesis, H0: The number of respondents who consider ambiance provided as an important factor is equal to the number of respondents who do not consider ambiance as an important factor.

Alternate Hypothesis, H1: The number of respondents who consider ambiance as an important factor is greater than the number of respondents who do not consider ambiance as an important factor.

Test Value = 4 95% Confidence

Interval of the

Difference

T Df Sig.(2

Tailed)

Mean

Difference

Lower Upper

Ambiance -.552 66 .583 -.30 -.28 .16

Interpretation:

Here, t (calculated) = -.552

Since t (calculated) < t (tabulated), therefore, Null Hypothesis is accepted.

Hence, number of respondents who consider ambiance as an important factor is equal to the number of respondents who do not consider ambiance as an important factor. In other words, respondents are indifferent to ambiance.

Value Given to Fitness services (in terms of willingness to pay)

Less than Rs.1000

Rs.1000 - Rs.2000

Rs.2000 - Rs.3000

Above Rs.30000.0

10.0

20.0

30.0

40.0

50.0

60.0

70.0

80.0

0.0

7.3

70.7

22.0

38.5

50.0

7.73.8

Had Been/Are A MemberNever Been a Member

Interpretation:

Some people give high value to such services and are ready to spend more than Rs. 2000 per month where as others are willing to spend not more than Rs. 1000 per month.

It can be seen that approximately 93% of people who are members or have been the members of Gold’s Gym are willing to spend more than Rs. 2000 per month to avail fitness services. On the contrary approximately 89% of the people who have never joined Gold’s Gym are willing to spend less than Rs. 2000 per month for a gym.

Customer Perception

Perception compared to other gyms Current Members & Past Members

Never Joined Gold's Gym

Value for Money 3.65 3.25Membership Schemes 3.45 2.95

Equipments 4.5 3.8Trainer or Instructor 3.9 3.5

Facilities Provided (Spa, Steam Bath, etc.) 3.75 3.65Flexible Timing 3.7 3.55

Ambiance 4.1 3.75Floor Area Available 4 3.6

Interpretation:

There is a difference between the perception of non members and members of Gold’s Gym in all the attributes of Gold’s Gym. This difference is very high in case of membership schemes, equipments especially. Overall, members have a better perception of Gold’s Gym facilities than non members which is indicative of the fact that being a member of Gold’s Gym and experiencing the services at Gold’s Gym helps in the formation of a much better perception of the gym. This implies superior service standards met by Gold’s Gym.

Satisfaction Level of the Members:

Equi

pmen

t

Spa,

Ste

am B

ath

and

othe

r fa

c...

Yoga

, Aer

obic

s or

Oth

er P

r...

Toile

t/Ch

ange

Roo

ms

Gym

Inst

ruct

ors

& T

rain

ers

Supp

ort S

taff

Am

bian

ce

0.000.501.001.502.002.503.003.504.004.50

4.50

3.81 3.61 3.674.20

3.38

4.15

Interpretation:

Gold’s Gym is successful in satisfying most of the attributes a customer expects in a gym. The average level of satisfaction of the members is above 3.5 on a scale of 5 for almost all the facilities it provides. The maximum satisfaction is derived from the quality of equipment provided, the degree of responsiveness from instructors/trainers and from the ambiance of the gym as a whole. The Gym can however work to improve the responsiveness of the support staff a little as the level of satisfaction from them is the lowest.

Average Satisfaction Level on Progress towards Desired Goal

TenureAverage satisfaction level

Less than 1 year 3.77

1-2 years 4.072-3 years 4.11Greater than 3 years 4.20Overall 4.00

Interpretation:

It is seen that the customers of Gold’s Gym are highly satisfied with the level of progress towards their goals as the average level of satisfaction is 4 on a scale of 5. The average satisfaction level is above 4 for the members who have been in the gym for more than 1 year. However for members whose tenure is less than 1 year, it is 3.77 which is probably due to the fact that they need more time to get favourable results.

Members willing to upgrade their membership in Gold’s Gym

87%

13%

Membership Upgradation

YesNo

Interpretation:

Out of the 38 current members covered in our survey 87% of the members want to continue with Gold’s Gym and upgrade their membership level in the gym. This indicates the high satisfaction level of most of the members of the gym and helps the gym to retain its members easily.

Customer Loyalty

32%

34%

21%

13%

Membership Tenure

Less than 1 year1-2 years2-3 yearsGreater than 3 years

Interpretation:

In the Indian Fitness Industry Gold’s Gym has positioned itself as a premium service provider with high quality equipments, certified trainers, etc. There are many other gyms in the NCR region that provide similar kind of services, but still Gold’s gym have been able to retain about 70% of their customers for more than a year which shows their loyalty towards the gym.

Recommendation to Friends/Relatives:Average Score(on a scale of 1-5)

I am currently a member of Gold's Gym 4.08I never joined Gold's Gym 3I want to join Gold's Gym 3.75I was a member of Gold's Gym but not a member currently

4

Overall Average 3.70

The average score for the likelihood of recommending Gold’s Gym to friends and family for the entire sample was 3.70 out of 5, which shows that the perception of gym members for Gold’s Gym is satisfactory. All the people who are or were the member of Gold’s gym have a high likelihood of recommending the gym to others which shows their loyalty and high satisfaction level.

Competitive Analysis:

As already concluded, Gold’s Gym is a leading player in the fitness market. The major players who pose a challenge are Talwalkars and Fitness First who cater to similar customer segment.

SWOT Analysis

Strengths

World class standardised equipment in all its branches, is the major strength of Gold’s Gym.

It is supported with certified trainers which specialise according to area of focus or the specific needs of the clientele.

Service portfolio extends from the regular services provided by fitness centre providers to extra services focussing on the overall wellness of the individual like spa, sauna, steam, massage, yoga etc.

Ancillary services include juice bar, separate counters for protein shake etc. In Delhi NCR, Gold’s gym chain has wider area coverage i.e. more number of branches

as compared to its competitors. Minimum floor area of 7000 sq feet.

Weakness

The price range of services offered by the gym is higher than its competitors This higher price range restricts the clientele to upper middle class and thus, indirectly

restricts target market.

Opportunities

The fitness industry is growing at a fast pace and is expected to grow further providing a lot of growth opportunities to these service providers.

High incidence of diseases coupled with more and more people growing health conscious.

Increase in affordability and spend in this sector.

Threats

High customer churn Immense competition from local service providers

LEARNING

This project helped us understand the perception of people about the organization, the service standards and the efforts made by the organization that lead to the achievement of such high standards. Apart from the strengths mentioned earlier the other reasons for such high service standards can be attributed to:

Internal Marketing: The employees of Gold’s Gym are hired by the franchisee but all the employees including support staff need to go through 1 month standard training procedures conducted by the organization. This ensures the delivery of standardized services where every small detail is given due attention.

Interactive Marketing: The training provided to all the employees and support staff affects the way they interact with the customers which is the most critical aspect of service delivery. Each and every member is given due attention on a regular basis by the employees so that their progress can be monitored effectively. This adds to the “feel good factor” of the customers. The responsiveness of the employees can be judged from one instance as mentioned by a customer: “I was delighted to see the immediate response of the medical staff of Gold’s Gym when I sprained my ankle while using a treadmill.”The empathy level of the Gold’s Gym staff is also commendable as they celebrate special events like birthday, anniversary of the premium customers by offering them free services on that day. A customer states:“I was overwhelmed when I was greeted by all the staff members and also received a free spa on my anniversary.”

RECOMMENDATION

The facilities provided at different branches in NCR region should be standardized so as to meet the expectations of customers who shift from one branch to other. This will reduce the customer gap which arises due to the difference between the expected service and perceived service which is due to the difference in service levels in terms of facilities provided in different branches.

Gold’s Gym specifies a particular dress code, i.e. track pants and T-shirt, for its members. Most of the Indian women are not comfortable working out in the presence of male members especially in track pant and T-shirt. Hence, a separate time slot of approximately 2 hours should be provided for the women members exclusively.

Gold’s Gym should use television advertisements as a medium of promotion more frequently in addition to the print ads in newspapers, internet ads. Advertisements showing the Equipments, Ambiance, Spa, wash rooms and other facilities will provide better exposure to the people about the facilities at Gold’ Gym and create a good image about the gym in the minds of the customer.