University Marketing Plan: Fitness Centre Case Study Analysis

This report presents a comprehensive marketing plan for a Fitness Centre in Auckland, New Zealand, aiming to offer swimming, sauna, and traditional gym services. It begins with an executive summary and an overview of the business idea, highlighting the demand for such services. An environmental analysis assesses competitive, political, economic, regulatory, and social forces, concluding the business is viable with a focus on cost leadership and quality. A SWOT analysis identifies strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats. The report outlines marketing objectives, strategies, and a detailed marketing mix, including an implementation plan. It concludes with a suggested control and evaluation process, providing a roadmap for the Fitness Centre's success. The report also discusses the target market, present marketing objectives, and various marketing campaigns designed to attract customers and create awareness.

Running head: MARKETING MANAGEMENT
MARKETING MANAGEMENT: A CASE STUDY OF FITNESS CENTRE
Name of the Student:
Name of the University:
Author’s Note:

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EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
The purpose of this report is to suggest a marketing plan for the business venture, namely,
Fitness Centre which intends to offer swimming, sauna and others along with the traditional
gym services to the athletes of Auckland, New Zealand. The report thus begins by outlining
the business idea and it also conducts an environmental analysis to check the feasibility of the
plan. The results of the environmental analysis reveal the fact that the business idea is a
feasible one provided the centre takes the help of cost leadership and focuses on the attribute
of quality. Next, a SWOT analysis had been undertaken to highlight the threats and the
opportunities that the fitness sector of Auckland offers to the centre and based on the base
marketing strategies had also been suggested. Furthermore, the report also provides a detailed
marketing mix which the concerned centre should try to follow along with an implementation
plan. Lastly, the report concludes by suggesting the kind of control and evaluation process
that the centre needs to use.

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Table of Contents
1.0 Introduction.....................................................................................................................4
2.0 Overview of the Business Idea........................................................................................4
3.0 Environmental Analysis..................................................................................................5
3.1 Competitive Forces..........................................................................................................5
3.2 Political Forces.................................................................................................................5
3.3 Economic Forces..............................................................................................................6
3.4 Regulatory and Legal Forces...........................................................................................6
3.5 Social Forces....................................................................................................................6
4.0 Target Market..................................................................................................................7
5.0 Present Marketing Objectives.........................................................................................7
6.0 SWOT Analysis...................................................................................................................8
6.1 Strength............................................................................................................................8
6.2 Weakness..........................................................................................................................8
6.2 Opportunity......................................................................................................................9
6.4 Threat...............................................................................................................................9
6.0 Present Marketing Strategies to support the results of the SWOT Analysis...................9
7.0 Marketing Objectives....................................................................................................10
8.0 Marketing Strategies for meeting the Marketing Objectives........................................10
9.0 Marketing Mix..............................................................................................................10
10.0 Marketing Implementation...............................................................................................11
10.1 Marketing Organization...............................................................................................11

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10.2 Activities and Timeline................................................................................................12
11.0 Evaluation and Control....................................................................................................13
12.0 Conclusion........................................................................................................................14
13.0 References........................................................................................................................15

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1.0 Introduction
As opined by Burns (2016), an important trend seen within the modern-day business
world is the fact that the different entrepreneurs are increasingly taking the help of the
concept of business plan development for the establishment of their business ventures.
Barrow, Barrow and Brown (2015) are of the viewpoint that the effective development of a
business venture or plan requires the entrepreneurs to thoroughly analyse the business
environment, analyse the business competition that the newly formulated business venture is
likely to face, develop effectively marketing objectives or strategies for the mitigation of the
threats and the adequate usage of opportunities and others. However, the problem arises
because of the fact that in the majority of the cases it is seen that the entrepreneurs fail to take
into account these aspects during the formulation of marketing plans and this in turn
substantially affects the success of their business ventures. The aim of this report is to suggest
a marketing plan for Fitness Centre in the nation of New Zealand.
2.0 Overview of the Business Idea
Powers and Greenwell (2017) have articulated the viewpoint that the people of New
Zealand in the present times have become very concerned regarding their health and this in
turn had led to the establishment of different kinds of fitness centres in the concerned nation.
However, the major problem arises because of the fact that the majority of these fitness
centres are trying to offer primarily gym or other similar kinds of fitness services to the
people (Thompson, 2017). As a matter of fact, it is seen that there are very few fitness centres
in the nation of New Zealand which offer services like swimming, sauna and others which are
in immense demand in the concerned nation (Phillips, Marttinen & Mercier, 2017). Thus,
Fitness Centre intends to offer both swimming and sauna services to the people of Auckland,
New Zealand under the same roof along with the traditional gym services on the score of the

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demand shown by the people. In addition to these, the centre under discussion here would
also have adequate number of well-qualified trainers and nutritionist so as to help the
individuals to achieve the fitness goals that they have formulated for themselves and also a
physical fit lifestyle. More importantly, the services which the concerned centre would offer
the individuals are intended to help them to led a better life, both physically and emotionally.
3.0 Environmental Analysis
Kimsey-House et al. (2018) are of the viewpoint that the tool of environmental analysis is
an important from the perspective of the different business ventures because of the fact that it
enables the entrepreneurs to effectively understand the market trends, the opportunities,
threats and others that galore them in the business market in which they intend to operate. As
discussed by Kuratko and Morris (2018), this is important since it is likely to help the
entrepreneurs to formulate the kind of business strategies which will help the business
venture to gain success.
3.1 Competitive Forces
The fitness sector of Auckland, New Zealand is a highly competitive one and there
are many fitness centres like “The Olympic”, “CrossFit NZ”, “Les Mills Auckland”, “Boxing
Central” and others which already hold the majority of the market share of the concerned
sector in Auckland (Ibisworld.com.nz, 2019). However, the major market opportunity for
Fitness Centre lies in the fact while the majority of the above-mentioned fitness centres are
focusing on the traditional gym services it can capture by market through the additional
services that it intends to offer, namely, swimming, sauna and others.
3.2 Political Forces
The nation of New Zealand has a very stable governmental system and as such it had
not faced any major political struggles or turmoil in the last few decades (Govt.nz, 2019). In

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addition to this, it is seen that the national government encourages the different entrepreneurs
to establish business ventures in the concerned nation and for this it follows very lenient trade
or business policies. More importantly, the national government itself is focusing on the
improvement of the health condition of its people through the promotion as well as
formulation of different healthcare campaigns and policies (Chekhovska, 2017). This political
environment of the concerned nation is likely to support the business activities of the Fitness
Centre.
3.3 Economic Forces
The nation of New Zealand is not only one of the most economically stable nations of
the world but also the per capita income of the concerned nation is very high which means
that the people of the nation hold a large amount of individual wealth (Guo et al., 2017). This
economic condition of the nation under discussion here is important from the perspective of
the concerned business venture because it would ensure that the people have the right amount
of capital to opt for the services offered by it.
3.4 Regulatory and Legal Forces
New Zealand has stringent business regulations and also quality parameters that the
business enterprises operational in the concerned nation are required to comply with so as to
conduct business (Hill et al., 2017). More importantly, these regulations or the stipulations of
the concerned nation are not just limited to business or quality but extent to the manner in
employees are being managed, the way in which services are being offered to the customers
and others (Ibisworld.com.nz, 2019). Thus, Fitness Centre in order to conduct its business in
Auckland, New Zealand would have to comply with these stipulations or the regulations of
the national government of New Zealand.

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3.5 Social Forces
The people of New Zealand have become very concerned or conscious regarding their
health because of the large number of diseases that they are presently facing (Pine II &
Gilmore, 2016). This in turn had enhanced the demand for the services offered by the
different gyms or the fitness centres and also made the people to make room or time from
their busy schedule to undertake physical training which is likely to improve their physical
health (Thompson, 2017). In addition to these, it had also been seen that the different
swimming and sauna centres have experienced a steady increase in customer demand because
of the lifestyle that the people of the concerned nation are leading (Powers & Greenwell,
2017). In this regard, it needs to be said that these trends seen within the nation of New
Zealand or more precisely Auckland is likely to support the business activities of Fitness
Centre.
4.0 Target Market
The target market that the Fitness Centres intends to focus on are the athletes of New
Zealand, particular in the city of Auckland who want to stay fit and also have required level
of physical fitness which will enable them to perform in their respective sports in an adequate
manner. In this regard, it needs to be said that the majority of the services which the
concerned centre intends to offers have been designed keeping the needs or the requirements
of this demographics of the entire population of the city of Auckland into perspective. This is
one of the major reasons why the centre under discussion in addition to the traditional gym
services also intends to offer sauna, swimming and other services which help the athletes to
build their core body strength and also the desired level of fitness.

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5.0 Present Marketing Objectives
The present marketing strategy of the Fitness Centre under discussion here is to take the
help of different kinds of advertisement campaigns and also social media marketing to create
awareness among the athletes regarding the benefits that they could reap through the
improvement in their fitness level. Thus, it can be said that the present marketing strategy of
the concerned centre is to firstly create a demand for the services which they are offering and
then back on the demand for the enhancement of their business activities. In addition to these,
it is seen that the marketing campaigns created by the concerned centre while subtly creating
the demand for the services offered by it also informs the customers regarding the manner in
which they can attain the required level of physical fitness through the usage of the services
offered by it. More importantly, the concerned centre had designed various marketing
campaign for the people who do not like to opt for the traditional gym services by specifically
focusing on the manner in which they can enhance the level of fitness through the usage of
activities like swimming, sauna and others. The marketing objectives that the concerned
centre can take the help of in the first year of its business operations are listed below-
 To retrieve the investment or the capital that had been spent for the establishment of
the business venture
 To spread awareness regarding the services offered by the centre and also penetrate
the fitness market of Auckland
6.0 SWOT Analysis
6.1 Strength
 The plethora of services which the centre offers to the customers like swimming,
sauna and others along with the traditional gym services

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 The usage of different well-qualified trainers and nutritionists to help the individuals
or the athletes to attain the desired level of physical fitness
 The effective ambience which exists within the centres encourages the athletes to
workout in an adequate manner
6.2 Weakness
 The primary focus of the concerned centre is on the swimming, sauna and others
services which are not being considered by many individuals as adequately
contributing towards the physical fitness of the individuals
 The low start-up cost of the centre had substantially the scope as well as the services
offered by it
6.2 Opportunity
 Enhancement of the services offered by the centre and inclusion of different activities
which will help the athletes to improve the level of physical fitness
 Usage of different equipment which will help the athletes to workout in a better
manner
 Creation of an adequate ambience which will help the athletes to relax and thereby
workout in the best possible manner
6.4 Threat
 The fierce competition which exists within the fitness sector of Auckland, New
Zealand
 Difficulty in getting the right number or kind of customers at the initial phase of the
business

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6.0 Present Marketing Strategies to support the results of the SWOT Analysis
 Fitness Centre is presently trying to enhance the number of services offered by it to
the customers and these services are being mentioned in the marketing campaigns or
the advertisements formulated by the centre to grab a larger number of customers.
 Fitness Centre can take the help of the cost leadership strategy so as to offer the best
fitness services to the athletes and that too at a comparatively lower price than the
ones offered by the other fitness centre of Auckland (Kimsey-House et al., 2018).
 Fitness Centre in order to enhance the customer brand awareness and also to
effectively penetrate the fitness sector of Auckland can take the help of different kinds
of digital marketing strategies like social media marketing, search engine optimisation
(SEO), content marketing and others.
7.0 Marketing Objectives
The major goal of Fitness Centre is to enhance its customer base or target market and
incorporate the people related to the younger age bracket, both the males and the females.
However, Pine II and Gilmore (2016) are of the viewpoint that the primary factors which
affect the brand perception of the customers related to this particular demographic are the
service quality and cost. As a matter of fact, it had been seen that the competitors of Fitness
Centre like “The Olympic”, “CrossFit NZ”, “Les Mills Auckland”, “Boxing Central” and
others have been able to significantly enhance their profitability as well as customer base by
effectively focusing on the attribute of quality (Ibisworld.com.nz, 2019). However, most of
these centres are taking the help of the premium pricing policy and the resultant effect of this
is the people related to the younger age bracket are unable to opt for the services offered by
them (Ibisworld.com.nz, 2019). Thus, objective of Fitness Centre intends to offer high quality
fitness services that too at lower price than its competitors so as to capture this customer base
or target market.

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8.0 Marketing Strategies for meeting the Marketing Objectives
Fitness Centre for the attainment for above-mentioned marketing objectives would have
to develop effective marketing campaigns which will focus on this particular target market
and also organise various kinds of youth events to effectively appeal to this particular
demographic. Furthermore, the concerned centre can organise these youth events at the
different colleges or the universities of Auckland and also take the help of the popular
athletes of their centres to effectively appeal to the younger people so as to influence them to
take the help of the services offered by it.
9.0 Marketing Mix
Product Fitness Centre intends to offers traditional gym services to the customers
along with other related services like swimming, sauna and others.
Place The place of operation of the concerned centre will be city of Auckland in
the nation of New Zealand. Furthermore, the different equipment needed for
the services which the centre intends to offer to the customers will be
procured from the same city itself.
Price Fitness Centre intends to take the help of the cost leadership strategy
Promotion Fitness Centre will take the help of digital marketing strategies like content
marketing, social media marketing, SEO and others along with various kinds
of youth events
10.0 Marketing Implementation
10.1 Marketing Organization
The major focus of Fitness Centre is on three services, namely, traditional gym
services, swimming and sauna and the concerned centre should ensure that these three

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services are being handled by three different departments of the centres. In this regard, it
needs to be said that the traditional gym service department of the concerned centre would be
headed by a professionally qualified individual who had prior experience in managing gyms
and the concerned individual would be supported by a team of trainers, nutritionists and
others so as to offer the right kind of services to the customers. On the other hand, the
swimming services department of the concerned centre would be headed by a qualified
individual who had past experience in handling swimming centres and the concerned
individual would be supported by a team of trainers, swimmers, nutritionists and others.
Lastly, a similar division would also be followed in the particular context of the sauna
services department of the concerned centre as well. More importantly, the heads of all these
three departments would report to the Manager of the centre who in turn would also be
responsible for the Sales team, Marketing team, Finance team and others of the centres.
Furthermore, these different teams would frequently interact with the customers of the
centres so as to understand the kind of fitness they expect from the centre, the manner in
which the fitness services could be improved and others so as to formulate effective
marketing campaigns or advertisements that will help it enhance its customer base and in turn
its profitability.
10.2 Activities and Timeline
Extension of the services offered by Fitness Centre
Activity Activity Description Person
Responsible
Timeframe
Market Research In this stage, the centre would
conduct market research to
understand the expectations or
the demands of the customers
Research
Analyst,
Service
2 Months

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from the fitness services
which are being offered to
them
Developer
Idea Testing In this stage, the centre would
test the service idea for a short
period of time to test its
feasibility
Service
Developer
2 Months
Idea Modification In this stage, as per the results
of the idea testing phase and
also the feedback given by the
customers, the service would
be modified
Service
Developer
2 Months
Integration of the idea In this stage, the results
derived from the idea
modification phase would be
integrated within the core
services which the centre
intends to offer to the
customers
Service
Developer
3 Months
Formulation of
marketing plan
In this stage, the centre would
formulate effective marketing
plans on the basis of the
services that it had developed
Marketing
Manager
3 Months

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11.0 Evaluation and Control
The focus of the centre under discussion here would be on the quality of the fitness
services which would be offered to the athletes and the other customers. For the attainment of
this end, the concerned centre would take the help of internal as well as external audits. In
this regard, it needs to be said that the external audits regarding the quality of the services
would be undertaken through the usage of surveys and questionnaires which the existing
customers would be required to answer. On the other hand, the internal audits would be
conducted by the Quality Analyst of the centre who would undertake regular inspections to
analyse the quality of fitness which are being offered to the customers. In addition to these
evaluation processes, a stringent monitoring process would also be used which would be
undertaken by the Manager of the centre itself to ensure that adequate as well as right kind of
fitness services are being offered to the customers. Furthermore, the Manager would also
check whether the plans or the strategies formulated by the centre are being effectively
implemented or not.
12.0 Conclusion
To conclude, the entrepreneurs for the formulation of an effective business plan are
required to take into account different factors like the external environment, the kind of
marketing strategies that the venture should use, the implementation strategies for these
marketing strategies, the evaluation and monitoring processes and others. In this regard, it
needs to be said that the success or the effectiveness of the business ventures or the business
plans created or formulated by the entrepreneurs greatly depends on the manner in which they
are being able to take into these aspects of the process of business plan formulation. These
aspects become apparent from the above business plan of Fitness Centre which intends to
offer traditional gym services along with swimming and sauna services to the athletes of

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Auckland, New Zealand and also the suggested marketing objectives and the marketing
strategies that it needs to use for the attainment of the same in the city of Auckland.

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13.0 References
Barrow, C., Barrow, P., & Brown, R. (2015). The business plan workbook: A practical guide
to new venture creation and development. Kogan Page Publishers.
Burns, P. (2016). Entrepreneurship and small business. Palgrave Macmillan Limited.
Chekhovska, L. (2017). Fitness industry: state and prospects of development in the countries
of the world. Slobozhanskyi herald of science and sport, (2 (58)), 19-24.
Govt.nz, (2019). New Zealand Government Home Page. Retrieved from
https://www.govt.nz/
Guo, L., Sharma, R., Yin, L., Lu, R., & Rong, K. (2017). Automated competitor analysis
using big data analytics: Evidence from the fitness mobile app business. Business
Process Management Journal, 23(3), 735-762.
Hill, A., Cuthbertson, R., Laker, B., & Brown, S. (2017). Service fitness ladders: improving
business performance in low cost and differentiated markets. International Journal of
Operations & Production Management, 37(10), 1266-1303.
Huang, L., & Knight, A. P. (2017). Resources and relationships in entrepreneurship: an
exchange theory of the development and effects of the entrepreneur-investor
relationship. Academy of Management Review, 42(1), 80-102.
Ibisworld.com.nz, (2019). Gyms and Fitness Centres – New Zealand Industry Report |
IBISWorld. Retrieved from https://www.ibisworld.com.nz/industry-trends/nz-market-
research-reports/arts-recreation-services/gyms-fitness-centres.html
Kimsey-House, H., Kimsey-House, K., Sandahl, P., & Whitworth, L. (2018). Co-active
coaching: Changing business, transforming lives. Hachette UK.

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Kuratko, D. F., & Morris, M. H. (2018). Examining the future trajectory of
entrepreneurship. Journal of Small Business Management, 56(1), 11-23.
Phillips, S. R., Marttinen, R., & Mercier, K. (2017). Fitness Assessment: Recommendations
for an Enjoyable Student Experience. Strategies, 30(5), 19-24.
Pine II, B. J., & Gilmore, J. (2016). Integrating experiences into your business model: five
approaches. Strategy & Leadership, 44(1), 3-10.
Powers, D., & Greenwell, D. M. (2017). Branded fitness: Exercise and promotional
culture. Journal of Consumer Culture, 17(3), 523-541.
Thompson, W. R. (2017). Worldwide survey of fitness trends for 2018: the CREP
edition. ACSM's Health & Fitness Journal, 21(6), 10-19.