I hear of people who complain about that “thing” that has grown to incredible heights and has been around for a long time that they should have bought stock in years ago, or that they should have bought the franchise for before they sold out of territory. The fact is, they failed to recognize the difference between a fad and a trend and did not act on the investment opportunity.
A fad is a temporary fashion, but a trend is a sustained movement.
Hot Yoga has been around now for half a century. I dare say that nobody considers it to be a fad anymore.
“Trends evolve and develop. Fads don’t.” “A trend is an evolutionary behaviour, gaining momentum & cultural roots…” “Fads don’t change things. Trends do” “Trends are the behaviour, fads are how the behaviour is expressed” “Timescale and groups: fads are short, small & divisive, trends are long, large and inclusive” https://image.slidesharecdn.com/squared2012feedback-120320173131-phpapp02/95/what-is-the-difference-between-a-fad-and-a-trend-14-728.jpg?cb=1332267339
What turns into a trend for the long term is spawned from discoveries of how to make something good even better. Of course, our example would be yoga. Yoga has been around for many centuries. The discovery of “hot” yoga in the 1960’s made yoga better. Then in 2014 the innovation of the HOTWORX infrared sauna design for heated exercise made hot yoga and other isometric and HIIT workout forms even better!
Let’s look outside of our industry.
Take telephones for example. Obviously, the telephone was an invention that is still “trending” today. The telephone has been around for over a century now, but there have been many upgrades and innovations applied to the telephone over the years. Nobody uses a rotary phone anymore. Touch phones were introduced by Bell Telephone Company in 1963 leading everyone to a better way to dial.
Apple completely reinvented the phone again with the introduction of the iPhone in the summer of 2007. Now, Apple is, and has been the most valuable company in the world for quite some time. The iPhone was not a fad, it was a compilation of discoveries that made a long term trend even better, and it continues to evolve and improve.
How can I recognize a fad?
The best way to describe a fad is to say that it is a temporary fashion. The fitness landscape is littered with the carcasses of products and brands that were fads. Take a look back. Do you remember the Ab-Buster, Bowflex, ThighMaster, Stripper Aerobics…, all flash-in-the pan products that failed to remain relevant in the arc of the general fitness trend. And, I have to say there is the one product that really gets under my skin as a fitness professional, the twister board. What an exercise folly, and a fad for the record books if there ever was one…
Now what about fitness products that have withstood the test of time. The Reebok Step is such a great example. Step workouts are still alive and well! I also have to recognize the TRX brand and suspension training as one of those discoveries that become a long term trend. As a TRX certified trainer, I can tell you that suspension training is an awesome, zero impact addition to any functional workout.
How can I recognize a trend?
One way, in fitness, is to measure the repeat usage of that product by its customers. HOTWORX Studios has an incredible repeat usage rate. For typical gyms, daily usage hovers at around 10-15% of total membership base per day. With HOTWORX, the usage is MUCH higher reaching over 50% at times. What’s trending now is HOTWORX!!! Customers want more from their workouts, and in less time. Getting better workouts and saving time will never go out of style!
