A Natureza tem horror ao desperdício

A propósito de, "Farmácias preparam serviço para prescrever exercício físico personalizado", algumas notas.

Há muito que uso na minha actividade formativa sobre o BSC um exercício com um ginásio que decide apostar em servir o segmento senior encaminhado pela prescrição médica.

Até o uso nas formações sobre a ISO 9001:2015 para exemplificar como concebo a utilidade da cláusula 4.2 sobre as partes interessadas relevantes e os seus requisitos relevantes:

Naturalmente faltam neste ecossistema da figura acima os regulares, os legisladores e os grupos de lobby sobre os outros dois anteriores.

Se quisermos até podemos usar a sugestão da cláusula 4.1 da ISO 9001:2015 sobre a compreensão do contexto em que uma organização está inserida.

Façamos um muito breve levantamento do contexto:

• demografia (envelhecimento da população)
• doenças crónicas (diabetes, hipertensão, et al)
• prevenção da saúde (salvaguardar qualidade de vida, autonomia e custo do SNS)
• preços praticados nas clínicas de fisioterapia versus preços praticados pelos ginásios (numa clínica uma sessão pode custar 30 € e a ADSE, ou um seguro, ou ... pode pagar uma fatia de leão. Já os ginásios continuam a sua guerra fratricida, reduzindo preços. Ainda no último Barómetro da AGAP descubro que a mensalidade média é de 35,48 €) 
• concorrência forte entre ginásios com o mindset em quantidade, custos unitários, juventude, músculos e beleza,  padronização da oferta para reduzir custos unitários;
• mercado de séniores em busca de exercício prescrito e acompanhado

Ontem, publiquei aqui sobre o tema da "irreversibilidade e estratégia". Quando um ginásio coloca pósteres de moças e moços a caminho de algum concurso de culturismo ou de beleza, está a apostar e a dizer ao mercado quem são os seus alvos e, ao mesmo tempo está a dizer aos seniores: nós não somos para vocês.

Sabem o quanto gosto de associar biologia e economia. Por isso, vejo este desenvolvimento como: os nutrientes existem (os seniores e os gestores que pensam no futuro do SNS) e as espécies existentes (ginásios) não os consomem. A Natureza tem horror ao desperdício. Por isso, cria novas espécies que aproveitam esses nutrientes (recordar que a evolução natural é fugir de restrições)

Isto faz-me lembrar o papel da Uber, útil para destruir/desestabilizar um ecossistema instalado mas sem grande futuro ao fim de iterações subsequentes, se outros aproveitarem a redução das barreiras à entrada.

BTW, conheço alguns ginásios, via conversas com familiares que não fazem a mínima ideia do que é acompanhamento personalizado, do que é ajudar a atingir objectivos pessoais.

Continua.

Estratégias ajustadas e desajustadas (outra vez)

O FT em:

Remete para "The Fitness Shift That Should Worry Every Gym Owner"um texto que nos faz pensar no jornalismo e na forma desastrada como os media tradicionais responderam à disrupção.

"Fitness on-demand is surging, from streaming-workout services to monthly passes for sampling boutiques.
...
Streaming fitness is surging. So are services that let people sample nearby fitness studios for a monthly fee, according to new data from Atlanta-based firm Cardlytics. Many subscribers to these on-demand fitness options are siphoning spending from traditional gyms, the data shows."

Um trecho que me marcou muito e continua a fazer pensar é:

"“We got rid of the commute, the gross locker room and the uncertainty of what to do at the gym,”"

O que é que aquele "uncertainty of what to do at the gym" quer dizer? Quererá dizer que as pessoas se sentem pouco acompanhadas, perdidas e é isso que as motiva a optar por esta versão digital?

Assim, para os responsáveis dos ginásios recomendaria não seguirem o mesmo caminho dos media:

The Mid-market (parte III)

Parte I e parte II.

"Does all this activity mean the mid-market is finally disappearing, or can operators in this segment of the market evolve to survive? We ask the experts... [Moi ici: Seguem-se trechos da resposta de Richard Millman]
...
They need a clear strategy and proposition for the consumer, differentiating on quality of product and service. They need to find their point of difference, both as a chain and as individual clubs. Going upmarket — as some mid-market operators are trying or have tried to do — presents a marketing challenge. It's easier to do if you have just one club than a chain, because to successfully make this move, operators must really understand their local marketplace — what their USP is locally — and how to capture new groups of customers. There are still lots of new audiences out there, provided clubs can define their proposition and find something unique to offer their particular geographic and consumer market."

Acerca da importância do alinhamento.


Trechos retirados do número de Outubro da revista "Health Club Management"

The Mid-market (parte II)

Parte I.

"Does all this activity mean the mid-market is finally disappearing, or can operators in this segment of the market evolve to survive? We ask the experts... [Moi ici: Segue-se a resposta de Michael Clark]
...
Unless it’s a premium or destination club, most consumers will categorise the remainder of gyms as much the same and, as consumer research continues to tell us, they will choose to the join the most convenient one for them. If they have a choice when it comes to convenience, with two or more clubs in similar striking distance, then price becomes more of a factor. This tilts the tables in favour of the budget operators.
.
That said, big box mid-market clubs do have numerous offensive strategies available to them to counter the cost differential. One is to address the ongoing consumer frustration of having to pay for all the club’s services and facilities when they only use one or two areas. This can be achieved by breaking out popular formats – for example, some group exercise genres – into a boutique-style ‘club within a club’, with a separate pay as you go fee structure.
...
Going forward, I feel it will be all about how mid-market operators can articulate their differentiation and how they can attract new markets using technology and other services. A good location alone won’t be enough to stop consumers comparing on price and choosing what they see as a cheaper like-for-like option."

Trechos retirados do número de Outubro da revista "Health Club Management"

Barreiras que deixam os não-clientes à parte

"O mercado português de fitness cresceu 13% em 2015, somando assim 730 mil pessoas, o que equivale a 7,1% da população total e 8,3% com mais de 15 anos. Enquanto isso, o número de ginásios aumentou para 1.365, levando a uma média de 537 membros por clube no final de 2015. Este número relativamente baixo é explicado pelo facto de Portugal ter uma percentagem relativamente grande de pequenos clubes, com 11% com menos de 200 m² e 34% entre 200 e 500 m².
...
Em Portugal, 28% dos entrevistados participam em atividades desportivas regulares ou outras atividades físicas. 17% deles frequentam um clube de fitness, 67% dos quais para melhorar a saúde, seguido de 32% para relaxar. Tempo e Preço foram mencionados por 52% como os principais obstáculos."

Já agora, a propósito dos principais obstáculos, ler "What are the barriers that prevent noncustomers from buying your product?" e pensar que ofertas simples são uma forma de seduzir os não-praticantes

Trechos iniciais retirados de "Mercado do Fitness - Barómetro 2015"

Partir o molde e mudar as regras

Em Mongo, veremos não só cada vez mais tribos assim, "The Bikini Body Cult of Kayla Itsines", como tribos globais a crescer a esta velocidade, com muitos poucos meios, apesar dos incumbentes gigantes estabelecidos no terreno e bem estribados em marketing supostamente caro e eficaz.
.
Interessante perceber como tudo começou por acaso, porque alguém resolveu partir o molde e mudar as regras:

"Seven years ago, Itsines was 18, freshly graduated from a personal-training course at the Australian Institute of Fitness. She was leading exercise classes at a women’s gym in Adelaide. “It was mostly older women. They put them on machines, and every few minutes I’d shout, ‘Next!’ and they’d change machines. That was it. ‘Next!’ I was like, this isn’t doing anything for them,” she says, sitting in her Manhattan hotel a few days before the boot camp. One day, Itsines cleared the machines, turned on a stereo, and led the women through a circuit of standard exercises—leg lifts, burpees, skipping in place. They loved it. Then her younger sister’s friends, many of them still in high school, asked her to help them get in shape so they could play netball, an Australian version of basketball, on the school team. “I thought, OK, I’ll train them like athletes,” she says. She picked abdominal exercises that strengthened muscles responsible for stability. Jumps and squats helped the girls develop powerful legs. She lectured them on eating healthy and, borrowing a technique from her gym and from decades of weight-loss ads, asked them to take before-and-after photos to track their progress.
.
Sweat With Kayla has generated more revenue than any fitness app this year, besting Nike+ and Under Armour’s MyFitnessPalItsines was looking for a way to organize the photos when her 12-year-old cousin suggested she join Instagram. “I was like, ‘Instagram? What is that? Is it a computer program?’ ” She joined as @kayla_itsines in August 2012 and used her account to post pictures of clients in sports bras and underwear, along with how much weight they’d lost (8 pounds in five weeks for one, 20 pounds in three months for another, etc.). Waists cinched, butts tightened, biceps emerged and then bulged. In a few months, Itsines attracted hundreds of thousands of followers who wrote to her for weight-loss tips and asked if they could hire her. Pearce, who’s also a personal trainer, suggested she sell a workout guide, something women outside Adelaide could use to exercise on their own. In March 2013 she and Pearce started their company, with Itsines as director and Pearce as chief executive officer. They created a website and in January 2014 sold two PDF guides, one for exercise and one for nutrition."

Depois, o crescimento orgânico explosivo baseado em testemunhos.

Um negócio completamente diferente...

Ontem, via e-mail, o João Figueiredo, que fiquei a conhecer na sequência de um workshop sobre o balanced scorecard, brindou-me com um artigo super-interessante, "A neuroscientist says there’s a powerful benefit to exercise that is rarely discussed". Material excelente sobre:

• a experiência é o produto; e
• o JTBD

Imaginem aqueles ginásios que sempre viram o seu negócio como a disponibilização de activos, máquinas e instalações, para que as pessoas as usassem por sua conta.

.

Agora, imaginem que um ginásio ao lado ... sim, eu sei, rouxinóis de MacArthur:

Agora, imaginem que um ginásio ao lado aposta no JTBD, nos resultados que os clientes realmente procuram e valorizam, usando o ginásio como um artifício, um instrumento para os conseguir atingir:

"The immediate effects of exercise on my mood and thought process proved to be a powerful motivational tool. And as a neuroscientist and workout devotee, I’ve come to believe that these neurological benefits could have profound implications for how we live, learn and age as a society.
.
Let’s start with one of the most practical immediate benefits of breaking a sweat: exercise combats stress. [Moi ici: Não precisos comprimidos!]
...
exercise improves our ability to shift and focus attention. [Moi ici: Não precisos comprimidos!]
...
increased levels of physical exercise can result in improved memory  [Moi ici: Não precisos comprimidos!]
...
Just consider how the educational system might be altered if we acknowledge exercise’s ability to brighten our mood, decrease stress, and improve our attention span and memory. The growing evidence that exercise improves these key brain functions should encourage schools around the world to increase—not decrease—students’ physical activity.
...
The good news doesn’t end there. Recent findings have suggested that the brain’s hippocampus is also involved in giving people the ability to imagine new situations. Since we know that exercise enhances the birth of new hippocampal brain cells and can improve memory function, this discovery suggests that exercise might be able to improve the imaginative functions of the hippocampus as well.
...
the longer and more regularly you exercise through your life, the lower your chances are of suffering from cognitive decline and dementia as you age.
...
In these ways, neuroscience gives us a framework to understand exercise as a tool for better education, increased productivity in the workforce and combating cognitive decline. It’s time for us to stop using the looming prospect of beach season as the motivation for exercise—and instead shift the conversation to a discussion about how staying active can change the way we live."

Agora imaginem montar o negócio em tornos destes JTBD: quem serão os clientes-alvo? Qual a proposta de valor? Qual o ecossistema da procura? 

.

.

.

Um negócio completamente diferente...
.
É voltar ao anúncio da Microsoft nos anos 90 do século passado:

"Where do you wanto to go today?"

Obrigado João.

O principio da competição exclusiva

Volto ao relatório de Ray Algar, "Health club industry mid-market report" com um exemplo de um ginásio em Munique, o My Sportlady:

"Rooted in the My Sportlady philosophy is the belief that the club should provide more than an activity experience and offer more guidance on what a member really needs. This is when a member visits the club and thinks the best use of their time is to take part in an intense 60-minute class (enrich the body) when in fact it would be more beneficial to simply relax and re-charge (enrich the soul). Jasmin [a fundadora] tells the story of a member she observed who brought her young child into the club crèche and then simply spent the subsequent hour in a relaxation chair, disconnected from all the demands of daily life. At this moment the club was there to provide the mother with tranquillity, not physicality.
.
During the 1990s the club began evolving and becoming more than a fitness environment, adding a spa, treatment rooms, a crèche and a cooking school. Partnerships were also formed with doctors, osteopaths and a midwife to support members through a pregnancy. The club’s aim is to support every aspect of the person – fitness, nutrition and health for the body and relaxation for the mind and soul. Their cooking school has become the club’s most lucrative profit centre.
...
On a zero to ten scale of competitive intensity, Jasmin believes the area now rates an eight. Before McFit launched in 1997 and kickstarted the low-cost trend, My Sportlady would compete with high-end, full-service club brands. During this early period, Jasmin admits to spending considerable time thinking about these other clubs, believing that winning was about keeping up with them and trying to match their facilities. As My Sportlady matured and its philosophy developed, this fixation on other clubs subsided as it became clear that the team’s focus should be on delivering the club’s everyday mission, something they could control – helping women to feel well and gain a sense of balance in their lives.
...
Membership at My Sportlady ranges from:

• €79 – €99 per month ($89 – $112).

• The cheapest is a two-year option for €79 per month

• A one year contract is €89 per month

• A 6-month option for €99 is available for those seeking more flexibility"

Comparar com as cadeias low-cost:

"McFit, the European giants of low-cost gyms, launched a club in Worms in 2006, just a six-minute drive away where membership costs €19.90 ($22) per month. This was followed by FitnessKing, a 24-hour low-cost gym at €17.99 ($20). Later in 2015, FitX, a third low-cost, 24-hour gym opens and will be a little cheaper at €15 per month ($16)."

Recordar os rouxinóis de MacArthur:

 Diferentes empresas que trabalham para diferentes tipos de clientes-alvo não competem entre si, ainda que ocupem espaços muito próximos.
.
Recordar Julho de 2006, o o principio da competição exclusiva de Gause:

“Duas espécies não podem coexistir indefinidamente se se alimentarem do mesmo tipo de nutriente escasso."

Prestes a cometer um crime (parte IV)

Parte I e parte II.
.
Ainda acerca do poder das redes em Mongo e de como a concorrência é diferente, este trecho retirado da revista HCM de Janeiro de 2016, no âmbito de uma entrevista com Tracy Gehlan CEO da cadeia de clubes Jatomi Fitness:

"The fitness sector's introspective viewpoint is also hindering its growth, adds Gehlan: "Everyone's competing against each other head to head, battling over the small pool of people who've already decided to join a gym. That's the wrong time and place to compete. "Rather than competing against other gyms, we should be out there competing with diets, weight loss tablets, recipes, meal plans all the other easier options consumers will try before they even contemplate joining a gym. Because I don't want to be 15th on the list. I want to move my business into a position where it's able to compete as soon as people start doing their 'how to change my life' research." 

Interessante como ela elege, como concorrência, as alternativas aos ginásios que ajudam a cumprir o mesmo JTBD.

Há que estar atento ao futuro

O mundo dos ginásios é um cosmos interessante pela diversidade das mudanças em curso no seu seio. Recentemente escrevemos: "Um exemplo da polarização do mercado" e "Para reflexão".
.
Em "How Fitness Studios Affect Gyms" uma lista de diferentes vectores em curso e a alterar a realidade do sector:

"This year saw an explosive rise in both boutique fitness and class-booking services such as ClassPass and FitReserve — a rise that many speculate is eating away at the bottom line of traditional big-box gyms.
...
the number of studios opened in 2014 showed a 200-percent increase from the previous year. When comparing this to only a seven-percent increase in the number of new gyms that were opened, it suggests that the industry is shifting away from traditional big-box chains. In short: studio business is booming.[Moi ici: Apetece recordar "Muito mais do que valor financeiro" ao pensar em quanto as pessoas pagam por sessão na boutique versus quanto pagam de mensalidade num big box gym]
...
and consumers are looking for more than what big-box gyms can offer — specifically, a more tailored fitness experience. "These studios are centered on a particular community of people with similar passions [Pilates, Zumba, boxing], and provide a high-touch, personalized environment."
.
The experience, however, doesn't come cheap — class at many studios can easily cost $30 a pop. Yet, despite the high cost of participation, people are paying — now more than ever." [Moi ici: Recuei ao início dos anos 90 do século passado e a um colega de trabalho... o sr. Celestino. Lembro-me de me ter contado que tinha comprado uma bicicleta mais cara para se obrigar a usá-la com mais frequência...]

Em "The 5 Next Big Fitness Trends You Can Expect For This Year" material para aqueles que pensam no futuro do negócio para depois de amanhã. Quando praticava atletismo de competição tinha um problema anual, as lesões. Hoje, como corredor diário de estrada tenho um problema anual... as lesões. Como sou exigente comigo próprio não faço a melhor recuperação nem doseio o esforço como deve ser. Daí que tenha logo sentido o potencial de:

"Recovery Efforts.
As intense workouts are getting popular, the value of a recovery period is also getting recognized."

Basta pensar na explosão do número de pessoas que sem acompanhamento técnico usa as estradas para fazer corrida-exercício.
.
Claro que para fazer face ao futuro há esta reacção "E uma providência cautelar?"

Curiosidade do dia

"We all know that exercise is good for us. But we don’t often consider just how good.
.
“Physical activity has been shown to reduce the risk of heart disease, stroke, diabetes, certain cancers, osteoporosis, cognitive decline, [hypertension and obesity], and even depression, at minimal cost and with virtually no side effects,” says Dr. JoAnn Manson, chief of the Division of Preventive Medicine at Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston. “Can you imagine if there were a pill that could simultaneously have all those benefits? Everyone would be clamoring for it and physicians would be taking it themselves.”
...
The overwhelming lack of exercise counseling during medical visits is a missed opportunity to dramatically improve patients’ health, Manson said in an interview."

Daqui: "Doctor’s Orders: Prescribe Exercise To Patients, Make Physical Activity A Vital Sign"

"Our health is determined not only by what we eat and how much we exercise, but also by our environment. For example, does your neighborhood encourage walking or cycling to restaurants or stores? Does it make you want to take a stroll after dinner in the evening?
.
A new study finds a strong correlation between walkability and health outcomes. It shows that adults in walkable cities are 31% less likely to be overweight or obese than people living in car-dependent areas."

Daqui: "Live In A Walkable Neighborhood? You Get To Be Thinner And Healthier"

"Now, a new study finds that an area of the brain involved in vision, originally thought to be fairly resistant to change, also responds strongly to short bouts of exercise. The discovery is exciting, and it makes you wonder what other effects exercise might have on the brain, especially over the course of a lifetime.
...
the brain may enter a state of increased plasticity as a response to physical exercise.
...
Exercise does a similar thing, particularly in the way of helping “grow” new neurons in the hippocampus, the area of the brain that shrinks with age, depression, and dementia.
...
“Our study is more surprising because it indicates that moderate levels of physical exercise can promote plasticity in the visual cortex, a structure that is thought to be lacking plasticity in adulthood,” she says. “For this reason the fact that a non-invasive manipulation such as physical activity can boost plasticity in the visual cortex is particularly surprising and particularly important. It indicates that the effect of physical activity on brain plasticity is pervasive and very strong.”

Daqui: "Exercise May Make The Brain More Flexible"

"Walking is a simple thing that becomes really, really important as we age. Being able to get around on our feet for extended periods of time not only makes everyday life easier, it's linked to fewer hospitalizations and greater longevity."

Daqui: "To Stay Energy Efficient As You Age, Keep On Running"

E usar conteúdos deste tipo para identificar clientes-alvo, para desenvolver proposta de valor, para identificar parcerias e fugir da competição pelo preço?

Um exemplo da polarização do mercado

A isto que se segue aprendi a chamar de polarização do mercado no artigo de 2005 que refiro em ""Listen very carefully, I shall say this only once."" e continua válido e cada vez com mais força à medida que Mongo se entranha:

"For several years, I have been paying close attention to the emergence of the global low-cost gym segment. I understand the business model and how they compete to win customers and the pressure they apply to many ‘legacy’ or established operators. However, it was only after taking a step back that a broader perspective emerged and I realised that mature health and fitness markets seem to be bifurcating or forking along two distinct pathways, which I describe as ‘self-service’ and ‘supported’.
.
Many consumers have steadily been taking control of activities once outsourced to others – selfscanning groceries, using apps to book hotels and flight tickets – and enjoy the empowering feeling of serving themselves. Low-cost gyms have very effectively tapped this phenomenon, attracting members seeking a ‘narrow’ fitness experience who are competent exercisers and content to serve themselves. However, perhaps less evident is the second ‘supported’ pathway, where  customers seek and pay for a more guided experience. This is where the very best micro gyms and studios are to found, purposely engaged in helping customers reach a desired health and wellbeing aspiration. So one pathway serves up outputs (facilities, equipment, programmes etc) and the other outcomes (creating a meaningful difference in a member or customer’s life).
...
If a club is stuck between these two pathways it is a vulnerable position [Moi ici: Stuck in the middle] because it creates a sense of confusion, not just among existing and new members, but also staff and other stakeholders. Also the experience the member receives may not be aligned with the price – members may feel they receive little or no valued support and yet are paying two or three times more than a low-cost, self-serve
experience. Journalists, if at all interested in the business, would also struggle to understand what the club believes in and what it excels at.
.
An interesting trend which is presently better evidenced in the United States is the growing number of consumers choosing to hold membership of multiple clubs or instead opting for a ‘pay-as-you-train’ relationship taking advantage of class and gym pass booking platforms
...
It suggests that some consumers are seeking a more open relationship with fitness providers, one based on a ‘best-in-class’ approach to their health and fitness regime. This means they ask themselves ‘where is the best indoor boot camp experience in Boston on a Thursday evening?’ – not the closest, but the best. This phenomenon begins to erode the idea that a single fitness operator can ‘monopolise’ a consumer’s health and fitness experiences."

E a sua empresa, também está atolada no pântano da indefinição?
.
Também precisa de um choque ao estilo de Mateus 10, 34-36?
.
Talvez possamos ajudar.

Trechos retirados de "Health club industry mid-market report – investigating how brands are repositioning in an era of rising competition" (Researched and written by Ray Algar, Managing Director, Oxygen Consulting, UK. December 2015).

Para reflexão

"Are contracts really the key driver of member loyalty, as numerous retention reports have stated over the years? ukactive’s latest Business Performance Benchmarking report suggests not – or at least, no longer. It found that gyms with a minimum 12-month fixed-term contract saw an average membership length of 11.2 months – far shorter than the 17.2-month average enjoyed by gyms that didn’t require a 12-month commitment and that offered more flexible contract lengths.
...
The fitness sector has begun to respond, recognising that loyalty should be an active choice rather than a forced hand. The low cost-led shift away from contracts was a positive first step, and even where contracts have stayed in place, forward-thinking operators are introducing more flexibility: DiR’s à la carte membership, where members pay only for what they use, is a good example. But more can be done."

Trechos retirados de "Earning loyalty in 2015" publicado na revista Health Club Management de Nov-Dez de 2015.

E uma providência cautelar?

Ao ler "Fazer exercício em casa está na moda, com a ajuda do YouTube" imaginei logo uma brincadeira. Manifestações de empresários do sector dos ginásios, para obrigar a barrar o acesso a esta concorrência desleal e a avançar com providências cautelares.
.
.
.
.
.
Também posso imaginar outro estirpe de empresário que reconhece que não está perante um concorrente mas perante mineiros que estão a criar mercado futuro, que estão a criar futuros clientes. Quem recorre ao Youtube sente várias barreiras, reais ou fictícias, que o impedem de entrar num ginásio. O Youtube é o primeiro passo para trabalhar a experiência e o resultado pretendido.
.
Se a coisa não tiver pernas para andar ficará por aí. No entanto, se a pessoa se apaixonar pela experiência, e aspirar a novas experiências, e a uma transformação pessoal quererá evoluir.
.
Nessa altura, talvez encontre um ginásio capaz de a ajudar.
.
BTW, se estes escolherem um ginásio low-cost terão:

"Mas até os ginásios físicos começam a usar vídeo: a cadeia britânica Pure Gym, por exemplo, tem aulas de spinning em vídeo em vez de professores ao vivo e emprega apenas dois funcionários por espaço."

- Qual é o contrário de todos?

Esta figura:

É especialmente adequada para reforçar a mensagem de que aquilo que serve para os agentes económicos grandes não é necessariamente o mais adequado para os agentes económicos mais pequenos que operam no mesmo sector.
.
Ao ler este texto "Mega-ginásio Go Fit vai abrir no Campo Grande", quando encontrei este trecho:

"o objetivo do centro é o de proporcionar "desporto para todos". É por isso que a restruturação do espaço prevê uma instalação para cerca de 10 mil pessoas"

Os agentes económicos grandes são alvo de todas as atenções e escrutínio dos media. O mesmo não se passa com os agentes mais pequenos. Por isso, fico sempre a pensar que os decisores dos agentes mais pequenos, perante estas notícias, tiram as lições erradas e elegem as acções dos grandes como referências para o seu caso.
.
Um decisor de um agente económico mais pequeno não se deve iludir. Não tem dimensão, não tem estrutura, não tem proposta de valor, para copiar os grandes. Se os grandes dizem "existimos para todos", um mais pequeno deve pensar:
- Qual é o contrário de todos?
- Alguns! [Moi ici: OK, não sejam picuínhas]
- Quais são os alguns que devo servir? Não devo, não posso servir todos. Qual é o grupo que posso servir com vantagem? Com que grupo me posso distinguir e diferenciar?

Sim, é o mesmo tema do Montepio.

Clientes que se sentem livres têm de ser seduzidos permanentemente

Interessante este resultado:

"Flexible gym contracts which don’t require members to commit to a fixed term are actually better for retention than traditional 12-month tie-ins, according to a new report.
.
ukactive’s mid-year Business Performance Benchmarking Insight Report – based on data from more than 600 UK fitness and leisure sites – has found that enabling health club members to leave whenever they want is actually the best way to keep them.
.
The report found gyms with a fixed-term minimum 12-month contract saw an average membership length of 11.2 months, whereas gyms not requiring a 12-month commitment and offering more flexible contract lengths saw an average stay of 17.2 months."

Clientes que se sentem e/ou são tratados como prisioneiros fogem assim que podem?
.
Clientes que se sentem livres têm de ser seduzidos permanentemente pelos fornecedores. Por isso, a relação dura mais tempo?
.
Trecho retirado de "Flexible gym contracts better for retaining members: ukactive report"

Qual é o JTBD?

Costumo usar esta figura

para tentar introduzir o conceito de Job-to-be-done. Não basta dizer calçado de senhora, não basta pensar num agasalho para os pés, é preciso acrescentar o contexto em que será utilizado, o serviço que se pretende que realize em cada situação.

"Take the case of boutique gyms that charge close to $500 per month when you can sign up for most gyms for $30-$50 a month. In fact you can get an year worth of membership for less than one third of what you for a month at boutique gym. But customers are flocking to the boutique gyms, happily paying far more than what they used to pay (take that reference price). Market research says of the 54 million members of fitness facilities, 42% use boutique gyms paying premium prices. That number is nearly double of what it was the previous year.
...
What happened to market deciding prices? How do you get customers to pay more for what they can get for free or cheap?
.
It starts with segmentation and ends with product positioning. The target segment clearly has not only willingness to pay but also enough wherewithal to pay. The goal is not market share although that could come later. The goal is give the target customers an excuse to pay their premium prices, willingly.
...
if you position your new product – the boutique gym – purely for fitness the price you can charge for it is determined by the price of alternatives available to the customer.
.
On the other hand if you expand the job to be done beyond fitness – more like make fitness as included freebie while you focus on higher order jobs the alternatives shift and hence the price points shift.
...
If the job to be done is therapy or a social outlet the alternatives are prices are much higher price point than just gym membership. The visit to gym becomes more than aboring routing, it is an experience that creates sense of belonging. So the boutique gyms get to signal the higher price point and set a price just low enough below the alternatives to get customers to pay.
...
Market does set prices for alternatives. But you get to choose which alternatives you want to be compared against by positioning your product for the right customer job to be done."

Isto faz-me recordar o termo "breakaway brand" ... outra vez, o valor não está nas coisas, está dentro de nós, na nossa pessoal e subjectiva escala de valores.
.
Trechos retirados de "How Product Positioning Helps Set its Price and Define Competition"

Acerca do Estranhistão

Vai ser um gosto contar a minha experiência sobre o Estranhistão!

Pormenores aqui.

Já olhou para o low-cost desta maneira? (parte II)

Parte I.
.
Terminei a parte I com uma reflexão que comecei a maturar no final de 2014:

"o seu negócio não é low-cost? Então, agradeça aos membros low-cost o trabalho de "mineração" que fazem, eles criam os seus potenciais futuros clientes. Eles "ensinam-lhes" o bê-à-bá da actividade. Depois, alguns ficarão sempre por aí, mas outros ganharão uma paixão e sentirão uma necessidade genuína de subir para outros desafios. É aí que entra a sua empresa, dedicada a servir um grupo que quer mais do que o básico. Para isso, precisa de ter uma estratégia clara e estar alinhado com ela."

Ontem, encontrei outra opinião a suportá-la:

"So do these budget operators spell the end for gyms as we know them? Steve Dick, sales and marketing director at Virgin Active, doesn't think so. He believes there is a place in the market for both budget and high-end gyms. "It gives the consumer a wider range of choices. Budget gyms will attract first-time exercisers into the market and over time these people may migrate to clubs such as ours," he says."

Teoricamente, as barreiras à entrada são as mais baixas. A pessoa entra, experimenta e as que quiserem aprofundar terão de evoluir para outras ofertas.
.
Trecho retirado de "Are no-contract gyms the future of fitness?"

Benvindos ao Estranhistão

Um texto que me encheu a alma! Um texto sobre Mongo, sobre a concorrência imperfeita, sobre a subida na escala de valor, sobre a interacção:

"Ten years ago, media outlets were brimming with news of how brands such as LA fitness and Fitness First were bringing their conveniently located, affordably priced clubs to more consumers.
...
[Depois] low-cost gyms began emerging offering a narrower, stripped-back fitness experience at monthly fees that were more than 50 per cent lower than the national average price. An industry that once predominantly served the country’s more affluent households was evolving into something that was far more open and democratic. In order to provide remarkably low monthly fees, gyms were super-sized, migrated to a self-service 24-hour operating model, and powered by abundant technology to drive down costs. They captivated the interest of consumers and journalists who found them refreshingly simple to understand.
...
Now the industry is turning again and embracing the power of the group, building a stronger sense of community and fostering a tribal following by creating signature fitness experiences that feel more authentic. Authentic because the ‘pact’ between the studio and customer, in my experience, seems clearer – you’re here because we’re a specialist and appreciate the effort required to reach your desired outcome. These are purposeful places with serious work to be undertaken.
...
In 2015, however, the UK private health club sector is mature.
.
There are high levels of merger, acquisition and restructuring activity. Competition is intensifying and private sector membership subscription income for 2010–2014 grew at an annual average rate of just 0.1 per cent – slower than annualised gross domestic product (GDP) – as it becomes more challenging for many operators to raise prices.
.
Given this competitive backdrop, you would assume the predominant conversation among gym consumers would be “how little I pay”. But in fact for a growing minority it’s becoming “how much I pay”, with a 45-minute boutique fitness studio class potentially costing more than one month’s membership at a low-cost gym. So what are these new specialist studios, and what’s driving this trend?...
[Moi ici: Características dos estúdios. Pejados de trade-offs face aos gigantes do low-cost. Davida & Golias, cada um desenhado para um tipo de procura diferente. Não estamos perante um David versus Golias]
Intimate scaleNarrow programme/activity offerExpert and guided instructionSchedule-drivenNurturing environmentGroup-poweredShared common interestCompelling mission.
Many studios are founded by enthusiastic individuals with a compelling everyday mission to share their deep passion for a programme or activity.
...
Being small in scale, studios need to operate efficiently and are therefore driven by scheduled classes using expert instructors who optimise the experience for all participants. The support and encouragement of others is transmitted through the class, bonded by a shared common interest to create a nurturing environment. It’s a powerful recipe that can be significantly different from a mainstream gym experience, and therefore very compelling from a customer perspective.
...
Were you aware that, when a business comes along with a disruptive and novel consumer proposition, it can sometimes be left unchallenged for more than 10 years? Often this is because the ‘lens’ used to evaluate the disruptor is clouded by assumptions and pre-existing bias. It has happened before in the UK fitness industry, when the first low-cost gyms arrived and were greeted by incumbent operators with ridicule and scepticism – “they are not viable”, “they are unsafe” and “they will not be around for long”. They were wrong."

Trechos retirados de "Paying for expertise" de Ray Algar, publicado no número de Julho de 2015 da  "Health Club Management"