To Reach Female Fitness Consumers, Personalization Is Key, Execs Say

At the Connected: Health & Fitness Summit, leaders from Les Mills, barre3 and The Well shared strategies on how they’re looking to better serve a growing base of female consumers focused on strength, mental well-being and long-term health

Women are increasingly moving to the center of the fitness and wellness industry conversation, as more female consumers look to lift heavier, and feel good mentally and physically, all while optimizing their health, performance and longevity.

But the industry still has work to do to personalize the fitness and wellness experience for female consumers, executives say.

At this year’s Connected: Health & Fitness Summit, held last week in Los Angeles, female executives from Les Mills, The Well and barre3 revealed how they’re marketing to women and discussed where brands should focus their energy moving forward. The conversation was moderated by Fitizens Holdings founder and CEO Debra Strougo.

“The more I learn about the investments to date in women’s health, the more I want to be part of helping bridge this gap,” said Les Mills chief digital product officer Amber Taylor. “We’ve got a long way to go, (but) it’s really exciting to see the progress.”

To Understand What Women Want, Listen to Them

A big part of understanding what the female consumer wants is listening to them, Taylor argues.

“What’s hard? What did they hate? What did they want more of? Or were they confused?” she said. “And we can either see that by who’s showing up, or we can see it by asking them, and then we can build it back into everything we do.”

What women want more of, Les Mills has found, is engagement on social media.

“I think our customers expect us to engage a lot more where they are,” Taylor said.

A part of that marketing approach has come from an AI algorithm that allows Les Mills, which offers group training content licensed to 25,000 clubs around the world, to market to people who will be profitable for the company, she added.

To optimize their marketing strategies, brands are seeking to understand what exactly women are looking for out of their fitness and wellness experiences — and what they’re not.

“Are we meeting her where she actually is, and can she actually connect with our offering in a way that’s going to be prioritizing her health and prioritizing her well-being and personal to her?” said The Well senior vice president of product and innovation Seane Marie Faulkner.

The Well, which offers fitness along with functional/longevity medicine, demographic breakdown currently serves about 70% women in its New York location and 60% women in Miami, Faulkner revealed.

Faulkner has identified that what women want is individualized and personalized care, not blanket solutions, which is why it’s important for brands to “prioritize the things that actually are meaningful and important for them,” such as personal goals or ailments.

“That’s going to drive your repeat business,” Faulkner said.

Finding a Balance Between Support & Aesthetics

Fast-growing boutique fitness franchise barre3 is taking a similar approach, according to the brand’s co-founder and CEO, Sadie Lincoln.

“Every woman that walks in at barre3 … my job is to guide her and help her sift through the noise and ground it (in) credible, evidence-based data, but also grounded in her experience, what she’s feeling in that moment in her body,” Lincoln said.

While Lincoln acknowledges that marketing more toward the physical and aesthetic aspects of barre is what brings clients in, it’s also important to create a safe, welcoming space that ensures retention.

Lincoln has observed that women coming into barre3 typically enter the space for the promise of physical benefits, but come back for the stress and anxiety relief the brand’s workouts provide.

“Something universally we can all double down on is, how are we truly helping clients manage this unprecedented level of stress and anxiety we’re feeling?” she said. “Is the narrative that we are fostering contributing to that stress and anxiety, or helping to mitigate it?”

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