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Consumers are one of the most important factor to consider when looking at how to
improve the profits of the UPEI Fitness Centre. Without customers, there would be no business
so it is important to cater to their needs and wants without spending too much of those profits.
When looking at consumers, a few factors such as characteristics that affect consumer behaviour,
the consumer buying decision process and motives that drive consumers should be taken into
consideration when trying to gain profits.
Characteristics of consumers are crucial to know and understand so that a business
appeals to a number of customers. Understanding consumer behaviour can help a business grow
and change. Characteristics are unique to each customer and must be evaluated carefully to
ensure that the rationale behind the marketing decisions suits the consumer behaviours. The
UPEI Fitness Centre should focus on the following characteristics that affect consumer
behaviour:
Social
-

Wealth (paying a premium to go to the gym is not a big deal to wealthy

people, but finding common ground is important for people not as wealthy)
Education (will be informed about a healthy lifestyle and will go to the UPEI

Fitness Centre)
Occupation (might have a gym membership that their company purchased)
Income (higher income will leave more room for luxuries and can afford to go
to the gym)

Groups
-

Membership groups directly influence individuals (a friend switches to the

UPEI Fitness Centre, so someone switches and goes with them)

Aspirational are groups where someone wishes they belonged (a friend has a

gym membership, so someone else wishes they had one as well)

Reference groups are groups form a evaluation in making attitudes and
behaviours (a friend asks if joining the UPEI Fitness Centre is a good idea)

Cultures and Subcultures

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Usually learned from family or other associations, they are perceptions, values
and behaviours that are based on common situations and life experiences
(always went to the gym as a young adult, so they will most likely go later in
life as well)

Family
-

One of the most important characteristics; how purchasing is affected by

families or family members (instead of buying a gym pass for one person, a
family pass is purchased)

Lifestyle
-

How a person lives based on interests, activities, and opinions (an active
person would probably be interested in getting a gym membership or
switching to a gym with more leisure activities)

Age
-

Certain age groups may be more likely to go to the gym

o Getting Started: ages 18-35
o Builders: ages 35-50
o Accumulators: ages 50-60
o Preservers: ages 60+

Motivation
-

Will drive people to purchase and directly related to needs (motivation to go

to the gym will decide if individuals will buy a membership)

Perception
-

Where individuals select, organize, see or interpret products or services in the

marketplace (what the UPEIFC is interpreted to be from first glance)

(Perreau, F.; Graham, S.)

Consumer Buying Decision Process:
1. Recognize that there is a need: can be triggered by external or internal stimuli

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- An individual decides they want to purchase a gym membership

2. Search for information: can be gathered through personal experience, personal sources
(family, friends), public sources, and experiential sources
- They decide to talk to their friends and family to see what is recommended for
them
3. Evaluating alternatives: how the information is handled by the consumer
- Prices, promotions, and equipment are compared by the individual
4. Purchase decision: the act what the consumer chooses and purchases
- They decide to purchase a gym membership from the UPEI Fitness Center
5. Post-purchase decision: evaluation of if the decision (whether the consumer was content
or dissatisfied with the product/service)
- They decided that they chose the best gym for them
(Graham, S.)
Below is a table that demonstrates the reasons why customers are most likely to be at a
fitness centre, rated on a scale from 1(not very important) to 5 (very important). By catering to
the needs of the many, they will create a loyal customer base that will draw in new customers
from word of mouth. If someone likes a gym, then they will want to see why it is so popular and
in turn become a consumer at the UPEI Fitness Centre.
Motives to Become a Member of a Fitness Centre
Motives
Enhance fitness state
Relaxation (stress reduction)
Control body weight
Health reasons
Increase body mass
Social interaction
(Consumer Behaviour in Fitness Centres)

Means
4.35*
3.62
3.58
3.52
2.88
2.39
Works Cited

Consumer Behaviour in Fitness Centres: A Typology of Customers. (2008). Retrieved November

1, 2015.
Graham, S. (2015, October 6). Session 6. Lecture presented at UPEI, Charlottetown.
Perreau, F. (2015). Factors Influencing Consumer Behavior. Retrieved October 30, 2015.

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