Community

As Regional Group Fitness (“GF”) Director for California Wow Xperience PLC, Judy King is responsible for group exercise in its 6 clubs in Thailand and 3 Clubs in Korea.  Group exercise is viewed as a key competitive advantage in this recently listed company, so Judy knows that her strategies are under public scrutiny for effectiveness.

Judy has kindly agreed to a Q&A session on her attendance success, focusing on 1 of her 6 clubs – Silom Club, which is based in inner city Bangkok.

Could you give us a bullet point overview of Silom and its GF operations?

What is your team’s greatest ambition for GF?

We will continue to strive for world-class results in world-class studios working with world-class Instructors.

We aim to lead the way in Thailand, Korea and the new countries we are looking at going into and be the driving force behind changing peoples’ lives in all aspects of health and fitness.

How would you describe the overall culture of Silom?

All our clubs are very much about FUN and high energy. So naturally our GF classes are also all about having serious FUN. Our Instructors play a key role in creating this sense of enjoyment. They are passionate, have incredible energy and are extremely talented.

What would you say particularly helps your timetable be very effective for driving attendance? 

Our GF classes are scheduled off the hour and we also have a 10-minute transition period between classes. 

In urban centers we find this really helps people have the time to get from work to class and this has had a positive impact on attendances. 
Transitions mean that in the event a class is full, a member has the time to get into another class before it starts.  Often, our members love to do more than 1 class. So the transition period also allows them to get from one studio to the next (which could be located on a different level) so this helps them get to class on time. Plus, there’s nothing worse for a member than being ready to go for it and then not being able to get a space!

How have you designed your timetable to meet the needs of your target markets? 

We have different types of target market depending on the time of day and we target our classes to suit these groups. For example, one of our biggest groups is the gay community, who love BODYCOMBAT®, Dance & Step and so our evening classes consist of many of these classes.

How often do you change the timetable?  How do you communicate timetable changes to members?

Generally our timetables are changed quarterly to keep the timetable fresh, exciting and flexible around seasonality.

We make weekly or monthly changes if necessary, however these changes are very minor. Our GF Coordinators are very in tune with their customers and are on the floor communicating with them whenever possible.

We also highlight our changed classes with BIG Stars around them on the weekly schedule, which is displayed on the GF notice board.  Additionally we note the changes in our News section of our schedule.

How do you manage under-performing timeslots? 

This depends on the class and the timeslot.  However we monitor our classes monthly to ensure classes do not have less than 10 attendances as well as ensuring they are not consistently below 30% capacity.

If they are below 10, action is taken, with either a change in the program, timeslot or the Instructor – upon review. We call this the RED Zone.  If they are in the RED Zone, we will also monitor and consider what could be the effect of the low numbers.

RED Zone Classes are reviewed monthly and action taken immediately after review.  We video assess the Instructors and give them feedback to help them improve their class.  We also motivate and encourage them to find ways to increase their class numbers by going the extra mile. If we feel it is the program that is the issue, we will run an in-house promotion to help increase member awareness of that particular program. If we do not see positive changes on a monthly basis – after 3 months, we will either change the Instructor, timeslot or the program, depending upon which we think is the main cause of the low attendances.

We then monitor the class closely.  If numbers remain stagnant, we will go through the above process again during a further 3-month period, until we find the solution. If class numbers continue to be below 10 or in the RED Zone and we have evaluated all areas with no positive outcome, the class will be canceled.

The GF Coordinator will then attend the class and communicate with the members that the class is not performing as expected, outline the proposed changes and explain the reason for the timetable alterations. We are fortunate that due to our large timetables, we are always able to offer members something else.

How does your team manage member complaints re GF?

We have comment forms available in the clubs for members to note their feedback. These get given to the GF Coordinators and are brought to Management meetings for review and discussion. 

After group discussion a decision is made and the GF Coordinator personally calls the member back to explain the outcome. In some cases, members will email or call directly to our customer service line. These complaints are often emailed directly to me, as Regional GF Manager and I reply to them personally, via email or phone or in some cases my District GF Managers will deal directly with the complaint.

Give an overview of your GF Marketing Plan.

We have a 12 month GF Marketing Plan in which we have specialty/promotion classes 2 times per month This creates excitement, energy, fun, social interaction, great atmosphere and maximizes class numbers. These specialty classes also include our Re-Launches every quarter.  We take Re-launches very seriously and they are always a HUGE event.  We normally invest USD $50 for decorations, over USD $200 for prizes / giveaways and USD $100 for branded Instructor outfits for each event. (Luckily for us we can get great value for our money). Often, my GF team put in their own money and come up with some creative and unique “costumes” of their own!

In addition we conduct 2 big Events per year and one of our most successful has been our GF Challenge.  The GF Challenge gives each member a passbook, in which they had to attend a certain amount of classes in each class category (Aerobic/Step, Cardio, Strengthening/Toning, Mind/Body, Dance) over a 4-week period. If they achieved the required amount of classes, they won a small prize and went into the draw to win a trip for 2 to the island of Phuket. The prize for 2nd place was a Stereo System by LG and 3rd prizes were MP3 players.  The outcome was that people tried classes they never had attended before, which has helped to grow attendances across the timetable.

Are other parts of the gym incentivized to introduce members to GF?  If yes, how?

There is no incentive – just teamwork and cross promotion from departments. Our GF Coordinators meet with the Personal Trainers (“PTs”) every quarter to encourage their support and keep them informed with the latest trends and information for GF. PTs schedule GF Classes into their clients’ programs for cross training and to help promote GF. 

It is recognized that GF is a key service we provide and all departments understand that we play a huge role in member retention. Therefore this supports the entire club with member renewal and referrals.

How is GF incorporated into a new member’s plan for success?

New members are booked into our GF Orientation Class by the sales counselor.  These classes are always held in off peak times – normally late afternoon and/or weekends.

How is GF incorporated into tours for potential new members?

GF Studios are a highlight for the sales tour, as GF classes are normally packed and huge energy!  Non-members are drawn to the fun.

Describe your Instructor team.

At Silom, we have 5 Full Time Instructors (one of which is the GF Coordinator) and we have 35 Part Time Instructors. This club was our first club in Thailand and therefore has our most senior Instructors.

We have a very high quality team and the GF Coordinator provides constant feedback and encouragement to help them improve. The team is always going the extra mile to provide an awesome experience for their members and the Instructors develop very strong relationships with the members in their classes.

The Instructors are EXTREMELY loyal to our team and our club. They work well together, they are creative, inspiring and willing to go beyond the call of duty to give the members the best experience possible.

How much does management support training of Instructors? 

Training of our team is a crucial part of our success. We run in-house education, seminars, workshops, tuitions, challenges, and jam sessions. Also, Instructors are assessed every 2-3 months, using video or in-class review.  At least every 6 months we have a Guest Trainer come from either USA or Australia to conduct Instructor development training. We also have 3 Les Mills Trainers as part of our GF Management Team, who are wonderful role models. We always aim to keep the team inspired and at the top of their game!

How would you summarize the key elements of the success of GF in Silom?

1. Huge commitment/dedication from the team. Willing to learn, improve and be the best they can be. The team is extremely talented. They are hard workers and understand what we expect from them.  WORLD CLASS!
2. With a wide variety of programs on offer, our schedule is creative and generates enormous interest for a wide variety of members. 
3. Another huge factor contributing to the success of GF in Thailand is the demographics. GF is just as popular amongst men as women and 75% of my team is made up of men!
4. Our internal Marketing Plan which constantly drives energy and excitement, which in turn attract attendance.

Any final words on your winning strategies?

Provide leadership to your team and inspire them to fulfill their potential. Always remind them that we are there for the people in our classes, and not vice versa.  Match that with strong programming and attendances will grow.

Silom Club is owned by California WOW Experience PLC in Bangkok, Thailand