Marketing in private and public fitness and aerobic clubs:The role of service quality, customer satisfaction and loyalty

Considering the vital role of quality services in survival and profitability of sports clubs, the purpose of this study was the comparison of service quality, customer satisfaction and loyalty in private and public fitness and aerobic clubs in Sabzevar city.
The study was a comparative one, and the statistical population included all female costumers of fitness and aerobic centers in Sabzevar from which 341 participants were selected randomly. To gather information, we used a standard questionnaire by Liu (2008). Content validity of the questionnaire was determined by experts and reliability was measured through Cronbach’s alpha coefficient (α =0/98).
Survey findings showed that there was a significant difference between private and public fitness and aerobic clubs in service quality including its components such as reliability, responsiveness, assurance and empathy. Also, a significant difference was observed between customer satisfaction of private and public clubs and components of corporate image, personnel, convenience and equipment in private and public clubs. There was also a significant difference between customer loyalty and its components (attitudinal loyalty and behavioral loyalty) in Private and Public clubs.
According to our research findings, fitness and aerobic club managers should play a greater role in customer satisfaction by sticking to their promises and providing more tangible services in order to attract loyal customers.