Analysis of the needs of a member of the fitness centre

The word "need" etymologically indicates "the necessity of what is missing and indispensable". Since the beginning of his appearance on earth, man has found himself faced with many practical needs to be satisfied, having few useful means at his disposal for this purpose, so since the primitive man the need is the engine and foundation of every form of life.

Many scholars have explored the subject of needs and motivations and there are numerous theories in psychology on their identification and classification.

We can certainly divide needs into two categories:

• Primary, those needs that are necessary for the survival and life of people and which can be grouped into: physical, social, power and individuation;
• Secondary, those needs which develop in the course of each individual's life, based on their experiences.

The pyramid of Maslow's needs

Perhaps the most well-known theory regarding needs is the "hierarchy of needs" described by the American psychologist Abraham Maslow, who developed a pyramid of needs, from the most basic and elementary ones to the most abstract and complex ones.

The first to appear are physiological needs, linked to natural and primary physiological needs (hunger, thirst, etc.). Then we have the security needs, which motivate us to look for protection and contact. Then we find the need for belonging, which leads to behaviour aimed at giving and receiving love. To follow the need for recognition, in this case come into play behaviors and attitudes aimed at obtaining recognition from others for our actions and finally the need for self-fulfilment that lead to behaviors aimed at expressing our potential, creativity, also in order to better understand ourselves and the world around us.

Actually, there is a sixth level of need: the need for transcendence. They motivate us to go beyond our own limits to recognize ourselves as part of a higher universe of a divine order, and would partly explain some aspects related to religious and spiritual practices.

How to understand the needs of a fitness centre member

Even prospects who approach a Fitness Club apparently only to ask for information are driven by a need, too often those delegated to the reception are more concerned with answering the questions, rather than asking them, and therefore building a quality relationship seems very difficult, a relationship in which you are not only sympathetic but a relationship in which the person in front of you trusts you so much as to "open up" with you.

Need analysis or even personalized analysis is the main tool to build this type of relationship and at this stage asking targeted questions, aimed at knowing the needs of the person in front of you means being halfway to be able to satisfy them. The analysis of the need is also the crucial moment of the sale in which the desires and dreams of the potential customer emerge, knowing the main needs that drive people to do physical activity, such as slim down, socialize, be well, be able to find a solution to their needs through knowledge of the sector, sell a need through the achievement of a goal made of activities and lifestyles, be the first witnesses of what we profess, all this allows us to make a difference.

The importance of communicating with the member

Even before we get to the needs analysis, half of our time we will have to spend it to understand the past of the prospect also to understand how I will have to communicate with him, the words I will have to use and the mistakes I will have to avoid.

We can identify 3 types of people:

• a competent active person, often driven by a need to see the structure and the equipment, is a person who knows how much, if not more, than us and in this case our interest will have to be projected on "because they decided to change activities or structure";
• the ex active person, a person who probably several times has approached the fitness but with difficulty has managed to keep high motivation, is afraid to fail again by making yet another annual subscription of which he will barely use the first two months, in this case you will have to understand the reasons that led him previously to abandon;
• finally, the non-active person, who does not know the sector, who does not know the names of the lessons but needs to start, is uncomfortable, worried and the only thing they need is to be taken by the hand, reassured and made to feel at home.

Once the type of person that the receptionist has in front of him or her has been identified, it will be possible to discover the needs that have led him or her to cross the entrance door (the real need is often hidden), it will be possible to get to know him or her step by step through a sincere relationship, demonstrating a real interest, trying to decode what remains hidden but which is the real motivation that will drive the subject to register. These are the so-called latent needs that members have but whose awareness has not yet reached a level where they can reap the benefits.

If, however, the receptionist, through active listening, is able to discover those needs of which the potential client is not aware, while feeding them, allowing him to rationalize and finally satisfy them will arrive at such an awareness that from that moment the latent needs are transformed into explicit needs, are the specific needs of each customer, customizations that the more the company will be able to meet the most will differ from the competition.

There are also implicit needs in this classification, which are normally not required by our customer because they are taken for granted, surely not satisfying this type of needs would create a great disservice and deep dissatisfaction.

Gain trust from the member through listening

In the Wellness sector too many people give solutions but few stop to understand who is the person in front of them, putting their well-being in second place, instead of having a clear responsibility to help people feel better. Understanding how we can help a person is only possible by asking questions. They have to be the right questions that will lead to finding out the real need that will determine the decision to change, leading them to imagine the reward in achieving the goals they have set.

Since the two forces that make a person behave are those of pleasure and pain, often when pain prevails over pleasure the person is more motivated to change but certainly needs a guide that will lead him to act to find the right motivation, that is, the set of drives, aspirations, desires or needs.

Until yesterday the product was sold, but what is really useful is to understand the "why you intend to start a training program", understand "how important it is to start it", understand "when to want to start it", obviously at each response of the prospect the receptionist will listen actively, wait for the answers without anticipating them and even project positive images of his desired future that will lead to the desire to want to take immediately the road that will lead to change, a healthy lifestyle and the achievement of a state of well-being.

Taking care of the customer's needs, remembering them and renegotiating them is part of a subsequent step in the written relationship. The receptionist, in addition to being sincere, must be long-lasting.