NEWS RELEASE

AFS 2016 Year in Review – Major Advances Impact Fitness Industry
 

Accomplishments to the extent detailed below cannot be achieved without the support and assistance of a great number of people, companies, and organizations.  And the most important contributors are you - our members.  Without your guidance, input, recommendations, and yes, constructive criticism - we would be unable to achieve but a mere fraction of what we have.

So to all of our members - think not of what AFS has accomplished, but think of what we - the studio/gym Community - have accomplished together.  
 

(OAKLAND, CA, January 4, 2017) – 2016 was another incredible year for the Association of Fitness Studios (AFS).  As the only membership community dedicated solely to the business of fitness studios and entrepreneurial fitness professionals, AFS made great strides in bringing innovation in products, services and benefits to this fastest growing fitness market segment.

AFS’ 2016 momentum was based on major accomplishments in Research, Industry Relationships, and Digital Development.  These three operational “legs” continue to drive AFS’ forward thinking initiatives. 

“We built 2015 on the successes and learning of 2014,” said AFS founder and CEO Josh Leve.  “In 2016 we were able to implement programs and develop products central to the needs of our members.  The tremendous industry support has been gratifying and frankly, without it we’d be hard pressed to be as successful as we are.

“All that said, we’re still young and barely scratching the surface of what can be accomplished. We continue to be motivated to do even more to help studio owners thrive, and studio developers achieve their dream.”

Here are some of the AFS 2016 highlights, made possible by contributions from scores of companies, organizations, executives, and fitness professionals.  We thank them all.

Leadership Position in the Fitness Industry

The unparalleled acceptance of AFS as the “hub” of the studio community – and the resulting leadership role AFS plays – is again AFS’ most important accomplishment.  The encouragement, support, and assistance from all segments of the fitness industry have been both humbling and exciting.  We greatly appreciate this support and pledge to continue to implement programs, products, and services that enhance our member’s business while advancing AFS’ mission.

New, Improved, More Interactive Website (www.afsfitness.com)

AFS launched its new website in late 2015 meaning the first part of 2016 served to “add and tweak” in order to deliver the interactive experience so necessary for a viable trade association in today’s digital world.  On the site you’ll now find –

  • The industry-unique “ROI Calculator” - a formula for members and potential AFS members to calculate the return on their membership investment
  • Heightened interactivity through gamification, greater clarity of mission, and enhanced navigational ease, achieving the objective of embracing both organic and driven traffic
  • New business asset center to better categorize AFS educational materials, including our most important Guides, White Papers, webinars and more
  • Amazing traffic growth, stimulated by AFS’ SEO and other strategies leading to a 300% increase in website traffic and 58% growth in time spent on the site

Market Research

In 2016, AFS provided the fitness industry with two highly acclaimed research studies:

Vendor Lead Generation Program

AFS worked diligently throughout the year to further develop its innovative “Vendor Lead Generation Program” connecting vendors with AFS members voluntarily requesting information via the AFS onboarding protocol.  In the first year, over 2,000 leads were distributed to qualifying companies.

Business Education Events

Bringing quality business education to fitness studios – without an ulterior sales motive - was again an AFS priority in 2016.  The year found AFS and Founder/CEO Josh Leve presenting at -

  • Club Industry Show – where AFS provided four business education seminars over two days, specifically dedicated to studio owners and developers
  • National Strength & Conditioning Association (NSCA) National Conference – where Leve presented State of the Fitness Studio Market
  • NSCA Personal Trainers Conference – where, for the second consecutive year, AFS’ sessions were widely acclaimed and a 2017 invitation already accepted
  • Continuing Education Credits were again applied to the AFS series of seminars at Club Industry and for AFS’ exclusive eBook, STUDIO SUCCESS

Industry Alliances

A key to AFS’ 2016 success is the ongoing encouragement and assistance from over 60 industry organizations that actively and aggressively support the AFS mission and development.

  • Over 50 experienced fitness equipment and service providers joined in, including SFIC, Matrix, Precor, Merrithew™, American Barbell, MYZONE, MINDBODY, Zumba, Accuro, Total Gym, Keiser, Heart Zones, Pure Solutions, and SportsArt
  • Another 20 “new wave” industry suppliers joined the cause including Weebly, eComFitness, OneFitStop, BollyX, Intelivideo, Strength Portal, and Naamly
  • Further, AFS consummated collaboration agreements with EMPOWER!, NSCA, PTontheNet, Club Industry, PFP, NCCPT, Medical Fitness Network, and Functional Aging Institute, with agreements pending at year-end with several other leading players

Membership & Outreach

The essence and ultimate success of any trade association is its ability to be relevant to its constituents, as evidenced by internal support.  In 2016, AFS -

  • Grew its opt-in database to over 13,500 subscribers
  • Implemented a restructured membership program 
  • Created a private Facebook group to enhance member engagement through peer communications while building the AFS/fitness studio community
  • Creation of AFS YouTube channel to provide members with a new form of education via video webcasts and other educational viewing opportunities
  • Upgraded the AFS monthly e-Newsletter connecting the studio community
  • Delivered content development programs with contributions from major manufacturers and studio industry leaders, for both commercial and consumer engagement
  • Introduction of a member 'concierge service' to assist in finding benefits and resources faster through dedicated customer service
  • Launched a bi-monthly, vendor-centric e-Newsletter providing additional support for industry suppliers to reach studio decision makers
  • Created exclusive video learning lessons for a deeper understanding of marketing and business start-up for aspiring owners
  • Provided studio owners and fitpros with a business-focused blog, roundtables, and over 100 exclusive articles focused on marketing, business operations, insurance, finance, and more.
  • Created a state-of-the-art member onboarding process to seamlessly capture data critical to delivering the best possible member experience

Expanded Advisory Council

To address the variances in the needs of fitness studios as segmented by discipline and business principles, AFS expanded its Advisory Council with the addition of Jane Bahneman (yoga), Tony Berlant (training), and Mary Beth Bradley (marketing) – all bringing an unsurpassed level of expertise along with a selfless desire to contribute to the success of every AFS member.

Continued Focus on Advocacy

With the growth and increased strength experienced in 2016, AFS was able to play a more active role in Advocacy issues surrounding the industry.  AFS hosted an exceptional webinar featuring PHIT America’s CEO Jim Baugh, and participated in another webinar hosted by the Sports & Fitness Industry Association (SFIA).

Outlook for 2017

Major initiatives already in various stages of development for 2017, include:

  • Membership
    • Continuation of the development of benefits, products, and services, to appropriately address the membership value proposition
    • Launch of an additional monthly communication, the Member Engagement Email, providing personal and customized member data
  • Marketing - Aggressive digital marketing strategy to further increase AFS brand awareness with an emphasis on activation of collaboration and alliance agreements
  • Online Education - A full curriculum of online business education including CECs and CEUs
  • Research  
    • The first-ever Buying Habits of Fitness Studios, examining how studios do business
    • Year 3 of the AFS Operations & Financial Benchmarking Research
    • Quarterly interactive research to identify issues and solve pressing problems of today
  • Business Education
    • AFS has accepted seminar and/or workshop hosting and presentation engagements to: Empower! Chicago (March), NSCA Business Conference (May), NSCA National Conference (July), NSCA Personal Training Conference (October), Club Industry Series of Seminars (October)
    • In addition, discussions are under way to add the following to the agenda: ACSM Health & Fitness Summit & Expo (April), Zumba Convention (July), MindBody Bold (September), NASM Optima (TBD)
  • Video – A variety of new video projects will continue to move www.afsfitness.com into a more visually-friendly environment:
    • Studio Owner Webcasts, monthly video interviews with successful studio owners, uncovering sustainable best practices for greater profitability
    • Executive Webcasts, featuring industry leaders commenting on their company’s strategies, tactics, and underlying business principles, driving growth
    • Video research series on how to apply the latest studio research findings
    • Video education utilizing custom-developed video of AFS-sponsored and hosted educational events throughout the year

 

About AFS

The Association of Fitness Studios (AFS) is the only membership community dedicated solely to the business of fitness studios.  AFS provides studio owners and developers a wide array of business-specific products, services, and benefits that enable them to more effectively manage and grow their businesses, building on the passion, compassion and courage they’ve already shown. www.afsfitness.com.