The awareness and significance of leading a healthy
lifestyle that
incorporates flexible workouts, balanced diets, and improved healthcare
has increased
exponentially in the recent past. There's also been an
uptick in the need for fitness programs that help achieve
these goals.
In response to that many fitness service providers have come up with
virtual fitness coaching
platforms. In this blog, we'll be taking a look
at this online fitness platform market, how they work, and the
key
features that help individuals reach their fitness goals.
Understanding the Market
Trajectory
Online Fitness Coaching is a convenient service for fitness
enthusiasts that connects them to a trainer virtually instead of
visiting a gym. The global online fitness
market size was valued at
$6,046 million in 2019 and is projected to reach $59,231 million by
2027, growing
at a CAGR of 33.1% from 2020 to 2027.
And with more gyms and fitness centres
forced to shut down to comply
with COVID - 19 restrictions, the demand is expected to witness the
highest
growth rate.
Factors Contributing to the Growth Of Online Fitness Coaching
A variety of factors have contributed to the growth of online fitness
coaching. Some of the
most important ones are mentioned below.
Lack of time to attend training sessions at fitness
centres
Increasing reliance on the internet and mobile technology
Increasing health
insurance costs
The growing popularity of fitness programs among the elderly
Benefits for Trainers
Online Fitness Coaching has become an additional source of income
for
fitness coaches. In addition to the benefits like time and location
flexibility, online fitness coaching
comes with various other benefits
for trainers.
Expands the audience reach
Requires minimum investment
Safer option for immunocompromised trainers
Deliver
pre-recorded sessions when live sessions aren't possible
Benefits for
Trainees
The demand for online fitness services has shot up dramatically in
recent
years. Below mentioned are some reasons that are responsible for
this trend:
Flexibility to
set own schedule
Access to expert trainers from across the globe
More economical than
visiting fitness studios
Helps save time
Business Model of an Online Fitness
Coaching Platform
It is essential you know the inside out of a business plan before
you
actually launch the business. The typical business model of an online
fitness coaching platform is
similar to any other on-demand service
business model. The platform consists of three entities:
Admin: The admin is the overall controller of
the website who approves/rejects registration
requests, manages user
profiles, sessions, payment settings, and several settings related to
CMS.
Trainer: Trainers create public profiles,
attach certificates, conduct live video
sessions, and chat with
trainees. Sessions delivered by trainers are the main source of revenue
(commission) for the admin.
Trainee: Trainees
create profiles, add their
health information, search for fitness
trainers, book and attend online training sessions, and submit
reviews.
Workflow of an Online Fitness Coaching Platform
Trainees create a profile on the platform and add all the required information.
Trainees then
browse the trainers on the platform by applying all the relevant filters.
Trainees
get a list
of trainers from which they can choose their professional
trainer, depending on the workouts, for either a
one-on-one session or a
group session.
After checking the availability and price of the
trainers, trainees can then make the payment and schedule a live
streaming session.
After the
successful completion of the live session, the trainees can rate and provide feedback of the trainer.
Once
the live session is marked completed by both trainer and trainee, the
session's payment is released
to the trainer's account. This payment
amount is adjusted with the admin's pre-defined commission
rate.
Revenue Generation Channels
Having a proper
monetization strategy in place is essential to derive
revenue from the service you offer to the users. An online
fitness
coaching platform can have various monetization channels as discussed
below:
Subscription: Business owners can offer monthly/yearly subscriptions to the users to access
premium features on the platform.
Pay Per Session: Business owners can offer paid
session option on the platform and earn commission from the same.
Premium
Listings: The platform owner can also add a featured section on the platform to
list premium
trainers for them to gain more visibility and more
sessions.
Banner Ads: The
admin can also
display ads on the site which will be a direct source of revenue. Ads
can be served by
any third-party ad network service like Google AdSense.
Merchandise: The
platform owner can also offer brand merchandise on the platform which
will also help in improving the brand
visibility and promotion.
Top Market Players in the Online Fitness Coaching Industry
Let's have a look at the market players to get an idea of the global landscape.
Platform
Overview
USP
Trainiac
This
platform allows users to work one-on-one with a trainer where the
trainer constructs
programs with the trainees' aspirations in mind.
Customized workout programs designed around the trainees' schedule.
Morfus
Users can connect with fitness professionals around the world to join team sessions or
one-on-one sessions.
The platform has a range of training for losing weight, pregnancy, older age
group
Aaptiv
Makes the workout super easy with audio-instructed and music-focused fitness programs to
choose from.
Access to over 2500 workouts
Caliber
Provides one-on-one strength and nutrition coaching from experts to build muscles,
burn fat, and lose weight.
Workout and nutrition guidance for everyone.
Fitness Trainer
Users are connected to a local personal trainer to
customize each session and meet their fitness goals.
Recommends trainers as per the requirements of the
user.
Essential Features for an Online Fitness Coaching Platform
A feature-rich website connects and engages your potential clients,
enhances your professional image, saves
time, and increases your
profitability. Below mentioned are the key features required for an
online fitness
coaching platform:
Collaboration Tools: For a fitness coaching
platform to
be truly effective, it needs to offer more than just
pre-recorded content and courses. Having access to
collaboration tools
through the fitness coaching platform like one-to-one sessions and group
sessions
via video conferencing and file sharing feature to share diet
plans will ensure your platform is all set to
move towards the future of
fitness coaching.
Reports/Analytics: Monitoring your platform's
progress helps determine ways to improve the
user experience, which is
why analytics should be readily available for the platform owners. Make
sure
the platform allows you to create and export reports in order to
improve the platform leading to better user
retention.
Payment Methods: The platform should be
integrated
with multiple and seamless in-app payment methods to sell
more training sessions. Secure payment gateways
integrated into the
platform motivate the users to make the payment without any security
concerns.
Reviews: User reviews are critical to building
the credibility,
leadership, and expertise level of the trainers. After
each session, trainees should be asked about their
experience of the
session. This helps to moderate the performance of the trainers and
improve the trust
of other users on the platform.
Real-time Alerts/Notifications: As everyone is
juggling between home, work, and other responsibilities these days, it
is possible that
the scheduled sessions may skip one's mind. In that
event, a reminder from the platform can be exceptionally
helpful. The
platform should send notifications/alerts to the users (trainers &
trainees) for the
upcoming scheduled session to reduce no-shows.
Mobile-Friendly: All of the content of the
fitness coaching platform should be viewable and accessible on mobile
devices.
Either being responsive that can adapt across devices like
smartphones and tablets or having a PWA that acts
like a mobile
application of the website is beneficial for the users who are
constantly on the move.
Final Thoughts
The online fitness coaching
industry has already made a huge impact
on the lives of people, and the rise of COVID-19 has boosted the
industry encouraging fitness enthusiasts to turn towards online
services. The pandemic has proved to be
a great testing ground for
fitness trainers to find an alternate source of income after the
shutdown of
gyms and fitness centers. Additionally, it has also engraved
a sturdy path for the entrepreneurs who are
planning to enter this
booming industry.
One of the turnkey solutions that can help aspiring
entrepreneurs of
this industry to get started is Indiastudent. Tightly packed with all the
latest features
and integrations, this readymade solution becomes an
ideal software to launch and amp up your online fitness
coaching
business.