Demografia e clientes-alvo

No Financial Times Asia de ontem apanhei este artigo:

Depois, sorri ao ler no Wall Street Journal de ontem o artigo "Aging Japanese Flock to Gyms— For Hot Baths and Small Talk":

"Exercise buff Yukie Watabe just about had it when she went to her fitness club and found older women using the bench-press machine as an actual bench. The women were chatting about how to pickle vegetables at home—a worthy subject for the health-conscious, no doubt, but not quite the vibe Ms. Watabe was looking for. “I complained a couple of times to the staff there. But it seemed they prioritized” the elderly clientele, said Ms. Watabe, 46 years old. She quit the club and now jogs with her husband. Japan’s retired people are taking over establishments traditionally associated with youth and sculpted bodies. The gym of the future, as seen in a country where nearly 30% of the population is over 65, features tai chi classes, lengthy soaks in hot baths and plenty of socializing among folks who have no business meetings to rush back to.
...
At Renaissance, only 3% of members were over 60 a quarter-century ago. Today, one in three are in that category and, depending on the location and time of the day, the customers are nearly all elderly, said a spokeswoman.
...
Yoshihiko Kato, a 49-year old factory worker in Tokyo, recently quit his fitness club and switched to Anytime Fitness, a Minnesota-based chain with outlets in Japan. It appeals to a younger crowd with 24-hour service and a focus on fitness machines rather than amenities for relaxing.
...
“I’m going to get old too, so I don’t want to complain,” said Mr. Kato. At his previous club, he said, “I was a bit annoyed at how a group of old people were chatting nonstop.” For gym operators, elderly members have helped tone up the bottom line. Japan’s fitness industry in 2018 posted a record $4.4 billion in revenue, and government figures show more than half of that comes from people over 60, who tend to buy pricier full memberships."

E recordei:

• A Natureza tem horror ao desperdício (Setembro de 2017) 

"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)"

• E quando o mundo muda? (Junho de 2015)

"E interrogo-me porque é que nunca vi um ginásio dedicado explicitamente ao sector sénior?
.
Têm dimensão, têm tempo livre, têm poder de compra, têm um trabalho concreto por realizar (recuperar/manter e prolongar qualidade de vida, autonomia, autoestima, ...)"

Partilhar informação

Esta semana ouvi uma apresentação de um colega sobre o inbound marketing. Um slide, 5 minutos, um público difícil, mas saiu-se muito bem.

Já por várias vezes chamei a atenção para a desconexão entre as mensagens de uma organização e a sua estratégia. Por exemplo, em "A Natureza tem horror ao desperdício" escrevi:

"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."

E qual é a demografia portuguesa? A de um país envelhecido:

E como é que os ginásios lidam com este envelhecimento?

Mal!

Daqui, "E quando o mundo muda", retirei esta figura:

Será que não há mercado para ginásios dedicados a uma fatia mais velha do mercado? Ou será que não há oferta dedicada a esses clientes-alvo?

Voltando ao inbound marketing, eis um exemplo do tipo de textos que podem ser desenvolvidos para começar a criar a aura de especialista no sector e, começar a atrair potenciais clientes e prescritores, "Physical Function and Aging"

Como escreve Paul Jarvis em "Company of One: Why Staying Small is the Next Big Thing for Business":

"Sharing content and information is an effective way to begin a sales process because it helps a potential customer see what they need, why they need it, and then how your products can help solve their problem.
...
The first is that creating a relationship with an audience that sees you as a teacher sets you up to be perceived as the domain expert on the subject matter. If you’re teaching an audience about legal issues on the internet each week in a newsletter, they’ll begin to trust your insights, and then, as happened with Brian, you’ll probably be the first person they think of when they need to hire someone to help them with legal issues.
The second benefit of out-teaching your competition is the chance to show an audience the benefits of what you’re selling."

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.

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?