Won't you be my neighbor?

It’s a beautiful day in your neighborhood! As Mr. Rogers would say!

What a great television show so many of us grew up watching, Mr. Rogers had it right, it is a beautiful day, let’s enjoy our neighbors company. 

I know what you are thinking, where am I going with this?!

Neighborhoods and the community within more specifically is what I have been thinking about.  Each neighborhood has a specific community and culture that comes out of it.  Depending on the geography and who lives there, all different activities are born out of this “neighborhood” concept.

Let’s take for instance the neighborhood that sits on a park. That park generates activities all by itself that people living there engage in.  Walks in the park, getting up early to run the park, Sunday afternoons, at the park.  You see what I mean; the park plays a role in facilitating a community.  So my question to you today is this.  What are you doing to engage your neighborhood in your community? Are you a fitness center in the community that is not tapping into your neighborhood? If your facility is on a park, do you use the park as part of your marketing plan to reach new members?

It is important for us in the fitness industry to think of ways to engage our members and meet them where they are.  And sometimes that means literally, where they are, their park! Come to them, draw them in from their natural setting and show them how great your community is! It does not have to be a park; it serves as a nice example.  But more over, find out about the people, places and things that your members are a part of, and get involved! This way, when that new member is checking you out and sizing you up against your competition, you have already met them outside of your 4 walls in the community, and it is a no brainer for them to join you, after all, we do business with friends more confidently than strangers.  

I would love to hear from you! Tell me, Lindsey Rainwater, what do you do to bring your neighborhood into your Fitness Center?

Culture and Community

How do you cultivate culture? 

Does that culture create community?

Within your fitness environment, how do your members engage?

 

Do they meet each other for workouts, grab coffee after and make new friends as a result of your environment? Imagine if they did!

They might even begin to think of your environment as a second home.

The reason I pose these questions is to generate thought and conversation about how we, in the fitness industry, build a community out of our desired culture. What are some of the ways that you have accomplished this? 

One of the proven ways to create community within a culture is to give people a place to gather. One of the ways the fitness industry does this is through group classes, both small and large.

Here is some food for thought.  If you're not in charge of the direction your culture is moving, then who is? And, if you're not in control, then how can you be confident it will move in the direction you want your business to move?

Is your culture one that creates the byproduct of community? 

Tell me, Lindsey Rainwater, what you do to create a culture that cultivates community!