ESTRATEGIAS E TENDENCIAS GERENCIAIS NA GESTAO DE ACADEMIAS: O PERFIL DOS COORDENADORES E DAS ACADEMIAS EM VIDEIRA

The health and fitness club market is growing rapidly and thus it requires professional management. This evolution occurs in various business' segments, pointing out customer-oriented management strategies, customer service excellence and quality of service (Saba, 2012). This study sought to understand management strategies and skills of the fitness clubs in Videira/SC, by studying their managers' profile. It is both a qualitative and quantitative research. Data was collected through a 32question interview applied to 5 managers from fitness' clubs registered in the Physical Education Regional Council (CREF/SC). Data was processed using descriptive statistics. The managers' profile is mainly composed of males (80%) and owners of the fitness' club, and of an average age of 39 years old. They hold a Physical Education bachelor's degree but with no further postgraduate studies in the field. The fitness' clubs have an average of 440 clients, mainly composed of adults (46.59%), with 39.28% being under 18 years old and the elderly accounting for 14.13%. Among these, 53.10% seek a fitness club for aesthetic purposes, 33.24% for health purposes and 13.66% for physical performance. Managers perceive Customer Service and Quality of Service as key factors to achieve success, although they do not provide customer feedback. Moreover, 80% of the fitness' clubs do not present any Mission, Vision, Values and Goals; 80% of them do not involve the staff in formulating procedures; 80% of them have no reward program; 100% of them perform activities to bond the staff; 100% of them seek a professional attitude within their staff; and 60% of them hold regular meetings. The most commonly used marketing tool is the Internet. Hence, the study shows that management of fitness' clubs in Videira/SC needs to further develop their professional aspects, which requires managers to pursue postgraduate studies and to focus on customer-oriented strategies and actions. Keywords: Fitness Club Management. Customer Service. Quality Service. O mercado de academias vem crescendo rapidamente e necessita de uma gestao profissional. Essa evolucao acontece em diversos segmentos dos negocios, apontando estrategias e tendencias administrativas voltadas para o cliente, excelencia no atendimento e qualidade do servico (Saba, 2012). O estudo buscou conhecer as aptidoes e recursos gerenciais das academias em Videira SC, identificando o perfil dos coordenadores. Caracterizando-se como pesquisa qualitativa e q