This week, on the Fitness + Technology podcast, host Bryan O’Rourke welcomes long time colleague and friend Daron Allen to the show. Daron has been in the club business for over 25 years, notably with his positions as GM for The Health & Fitness Connection and VP/Executive Director for Osteopathic Health System of Texas. He currently is the CEO of Visual Fitness Planner which specializes in point of sale and customer relationship management support for personal training. This episode focuses on the challenges for club owners in adopting technology and the processes involved in dramatically improving their operations.
One Powerful Quote:
8:00: “I think that the most important thing for a club operator today is… to make sure they choose a technology partner that they can commit to for a long period of time…They need to know they have a partnership mentality, that they are going to work together to craft a future.”
Bullet Points (w/ timestamps) - Highlighting key topics discussed:
3:40: Bryan asks Daron about his experience as it related to technology first being adopted in the industry space.
7:11: Daron shares his thoughts on what sees as the biggest challenges for club operators to have a technology roadmap.
10:05: Daron agrees and adds to Bryan’s sentiment that the greatest problem is the change in organizational process.
13:26: Daron emphasizes how successful operators build their foundation base first and then implement technology that adds to their business plan.
15:34: Daron believes the future holds that there will be systems that communicate data as automated responses that drive insightful action.
17:19: Daron comments why leveraging data to support a true health club’s business strategy is important.
19:23: Bryan and Daron discuss how hard it will be to compete if you don’t have these capabilities.
21:24: Bryan asks Daron’s his view on the term “enterprise”.
23:48: Daron concurs with Bryan on the issue of data ownership.
25:35: Bryan and Daron note the dynamic changes that have occurred with membership management.
26:52: Bryan wraps up the show and asks Daron to give his final words of wisdom. Daron advises listeners to look forward to the future and ensure their foundation for technology is setup for success.
Bullet List of Resources:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/daron-allen-116574/
https://vfp.us/
Guest Contact Information:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/daron-allen-116574/
https://www.bryankorourke.com/
https://www.linkedin.com/in/bryankorourke/
http://www.fittechcouncil.org/
https://www.youtube.com/user/bko61163