Development of the Motives of Long-Term Customers of Health-Oriented Fitness Companies During Membership | Chapter 2 | New Horizons of Science, Technology and Culture Vol. 5

 

Background: Sustainable product and service improvements are necessary for fitness studios to develop a long-term market and remain competitive. This is extremely important since meeting client expectations can lead to customer happiness, which in turn improves customer loyalty and financial success.

 

Aim: This study aims to understand the development of motivational factors among long-term members of health-oriented fitness clubs and to understand the relationship between different motives and membership longevity.

 

Methods: A survey of the members of a big metropolitan fitness club was conducted. The fifteen items on the survey were broken down into seven motivation-related categories. The sample included 278 respondents, all of whom had only participated in equipment-based training. The analysis focused on the mean values (MV) and standard deviations (SD) of membership duration based on whether particular motives were mentioned. Statistical significance was assessed using t-tests.

 

Findings: The average age of the respondents was 56.6 years, and the average membership duration among those with over one year of participation was 11.6 years. Several significant differences were identified based on motivational factors: a) People who have the motive ‘general improvement in physical fitness’ are members for longer than those who do not have it (means 11.9 years to 7.9 years); b) People who have the motive ‘positive influence on physical complaints’ and use the term ‘cardiovascular complaints’ as a synonym for their physical complaints are members for a shorter period than those who do not have it (means 8.7 years to 12.4 years); c) people who name the motive ‘independent training planning and control’ stay longer than people who do not name it (means 12.8 years to 10.5 years) and d) people who name the motive ‘preparation for their own sport’ (means 15.2 years to 11.3 years).

 

Conclusion: To create lasting customer loyalty, it is therefore important to thoroughly examine the motives of the customers, to know and evaluate them and to give appropriate personal action and fitness recommendations. The insights from this study not only contribute to the long-term success of fitness clubs but also contribute to improving the image of fitness sports in general.

 

 

Author(s) Details

George F. Zarotis
Faculty of Human Sciences, University of the Aegean, Rhodes, Greece.

 

Walter Tokarski
German Sport University, Cologne, Germany.

 

Please see the book here :- https://doi.org/10.9734/bpi/nhstc/v5/6124