Triadic Closure Will Repair the Fitness Industry From the Pandemic
Physical fitness has always been one of the biggest industries in the United States. Gym memberships, equipment, physical trainers, dietary supplements, and fitness clothing are all examples of the way revenue is generated within the industry. In fact, the revenue has been constantly growing each year until the COVID-19 pandemic (Gough; 2022). Since people weren’t able to schedule sessions with personal trainers or even attend the gym, the fitness industry plummeted by over 15%. However, the pandemic has made the population more aware of the necessity of good health. Physical fitness has become even more important in people’s daily life. I assume this is why the industry did not completely diminish. People were still able to attend virtual training sessions and purchase at-home equipment to maintain a strong, healthy lifestyle.
With the fitness field still recovering from the COVID-19 pandemic, stakeholders must rely on the networks to restore the industry. Within the course, we learned about the power of ties and triadic closure. According to Easley and Kleinberg, if B and C are both have a connection to A, they will likely form a tie between them (2019). Fitness stakeholders can use this concept to rehabilitate the industry across all echelons. For example, physical trainers (B) could use word-of-mouth within their current clients (A) to obtain new service opportunities (C). According to Georgi Todorov, 78% of people talk about their favorite experience of that week with others (Todorov; 2021). Next, Gym owners (B) could implement a referral system where customers (A) could bring in outside connections (C) to increase membership enrollment. Planet Fitness utilized this method with their “Refer a Friend” program. If the referred customer gets a membership, they only pay $1 for the first month. The client made the referral also gets $1/month membership for each new customer. Planet Fitness also wins through increased membership registration. Finally, supplement and apparel manufacturers (B) can use their existing customers (A) to market products to new customers (C) through the use of social media. 90% of people are more likely to trust a recommendation of a brand, even from strangers. Retail brands, like Nike and Adidas, develop many of their products to highlight the fitness benefits to using their gear. People who do not utilize these “main” brands often feel more inclined to do so simply by seeing others wear or use these products. Triadic closure will be the key to repair the fitness industry across all levels.
Sources:
Easley, David, and Jon Kleinberg. Networks, Crowds and Markets: Reasoning about a Highly Connected World. Cambridge University Press, 2019.
Gough, Christina. “US Fitness/Health Club Market Size 2022.” Statista, 5 July 2022, https://www.statista.com/statistics/605223/us-fitness-health-club-market-size-2007-2021/.
Todorov, Georgi. “Word of Mouth Marketing: 49 Statistics to Help You Boost Your Bottom Line.” Semrush Blog, 2021, https://www.semrush.com/blog/word-of-mouth-stats/.
https://refer.guide/r/planet-fitness