How to do a market research for your fitness studio

Whether your business is big or small, whether you are going to have 50 clients, 500 or 5000, it is important to have a clear strategy and know how to position yourself in the fitness market. 

Normally, before opening a business, a market research is carried out, but it is also useful for businesses that are already open and want to improve their strategy or positioning. Keep in mind that companies that work well, normally, do not do it by chance. There is a lot of analysis and a lot of work behind each of the steps they take. 

We tell you what a market research is, why it is so interesting to do one and what are the steps to do it correctly.  

But, wait... what is a market reseach?

Basically, analyzing the market in which your business or your product is positioned to see the viability of it. That is, you will have to analyze factors such as who are your competitors, who are your potential customers, how are the prices of the sector, how many potential customers there are and how many businesses already exist ... everything that can give you information about whether your business can be profitable or not. 

It is important to carry out a market research before opening a business but also periodically, since maybe when you opened your business you did not have direct competitors and now you do have a bunch of them, or maybe prices have changed. 

Why should I do a market research for my fitness studio?

🧐 Because it is important to have data about your competition and the sector. 
🧐 Because if you are not "in market" your business is at risk. 
🧐 Because it will help you establish a good strategy for your business. 
🧐 Because you will be able to modify key aspects of your business before it is too late.

How to do a market research for a fitness studio step by step

1. What is your goal?

Depending on the state your business is in, the goal will be one or the other. For example: 

➡️ You can do market research BEFORE you open a business to see if it is viable or how much investment you can make. 
➡️ You can also analyze what your ideal potential customer is. 
➡️ You can prepare a market study so that your prices are up to date. 
➡️ You can also use the market research tool to analyze what new activities or products make sense for your business.

2. Where are you going to look up for info? 

3. Who are your competitors?

Your competitors will give you a lot of valuable information. Actually, all of them: both those who are doing very well and those who are doing very badly, everything is subject to analysis. 

If you are carrying out an analysis in a limited area, it may be interesting to ask someone to go and ask for information from these centers to find out the offerings of each one of them... but bear in mind that it is also possible that other businesses will do the same with yours. 

4. SWOT analysis of your fitness studio 

This analysis is performed once you have gathered enough information.  

SWOT is based on analyzing strengths, weaknesses, threats and opportunities. The first two are internal, to your own business; the last two are external, to the market. 

For example: 

👍 Strength: "my center is located in the best area of the neighborhood". 
👎 Weakness: "I don't have classes during the lunch break". 
👎 Threats: "this year they have opened two gyms less than 5 minutes walk away". 

Don't be in a hurry to perform this task, you will realize many key aspects that will help you improve your business.  

5. How are you going to segment the market?

Market segmentation means dividing your customers or potential customers into different categories in order to offer them products or services tailored to their needs or to communicate with them in different ways. 

There are many ways to divide your customers and you will have to adapt them to your own business. However, you can try dividing your customers into those who have been working out for a long time and those who are just starting out, or by age.  

If you have very different groups of clients, analyze how you can meet the needs of all of them.