Thanks in part to powerful brands like Whole Foods, the U.S. has seen a rise in motivation to lead a healthy lifestyle- particularly in major metropolitan areas such as New York, Chicago, Philadelphia and San Francisco. For every retail brand that has closed a brick-and-mortar store over the past decade, it seems that a health-related business has sprung up in its place. From juice bars to treadmill bars, it is clear that “healthy is the new black” for the latest generation to enter the workforce and it’s all about “ME.”
Millennials have often been accused of being the “ME Generation”- perhaps due in part to their desire to have a customer experience that conforms to their unique needs and desires. And the fitness industry, like many others, is capitalizing on that trend, leveraging technology to deliver a highly personalized customer experience.
The “always connected” reality of the Millennial generation is a major driver of personalization in the new retail experience. Market research firm Mintel recently reported that 60% of Millennials (ages range from 18 to 33 in 2014) are willing to provide details about their personal preferences and habits to marketers, while Baby Boomers are far more reserved.
Smart businesses today will look beyond marketing offers and promotions to offer an end-to-end personalized experience to customers. With the rise in popularity of wearable fitness trackers, gyms would be remiss not to take advantage of consumers’ willingness to share (some of) that data with them and incorporate it into the experience and building brand loyalty.
I recently became a member of Flywheel Sports, an indoor cycling program. Their focus on personalization is clear from the messaging on their website, which promises prospective riders that, “Our instructors lead the way, suggesting target resistance levels and RPM’s to strive for. But YOU decide exactly what’s right for you by controlling the technology on your bike. And your performance stats are made available in your private account on our website.”
Instead of filling out an extensive paper application as I did at the traditional fitness I center I belong to, I joined Flywheel Sports online and provided some basic data such as my height, weight, and shoe size. Yes- you read that right.
I downloaded their app and quickly made a reservation for an upcoming class based on my preferences for time of day, instructor, cycle location and even music genre. When I arrived at the studio, I was pleasantly surprised to see that my assigned cycle number corresponded to a cubby where I found a pair of cycling shoes- in my size of course.
The class itself is very fast-paced and high energy and for those who appreciate a little competition, you can opt to have your performance stats appear on a leaderboard in the center of the studio and of course you can share them with your social media networks. For those of us who prefer to keep that data private, the same stats are available in your account via the Flywheel Sports app or online after the class.
What next? I anticipate that the fitness brands that are successfully able to synthesize their customers’ personal data- such as the performance stats at Flywheel Sports described above- with their marketing programs will be those with a clear competitive advantage. Given my recent performance stats, I would fully expect to receive an offer to try out an upcoming class dedicated to mastering those uphill courses or a promise to double my calorie burn(!). As Bernard Chung stated in his recent blog, “The benefit of contextual marketing is that—when done right—it doesn’t seem like marketing at all. You are providing information and offers that the customers is likely to value. It’s all about relevance.”
This story was originally published on The Customer Edge, a webzine by SAP for Marketing, Commerce, Sales and Service professionals.
