What Would Your Members Want, Part 2

May 26, 2009

I’m excited to be travelling up to Boston tomorrow for Club Industry East. Check out where to find us at the Boston Convention & Exhibition Center by clicking here.

And now back to my blog about “What Would Your Members Want”. For a refresher on last week’s blog, click here.

From last week: Why are large chains able to do this, while smaller operators seem to falter? The answer is good decision-making.

The easiest way to explain it is that most small gym owners wear multiple hats (owner/operator/chief bottle washer…etc.) That means you are living in the gym, eating in the gym, thinking about the gym, and worrying about the gym 24/7/365! As such, most of the decisions made are TACTICAL (remember, tactical decisions are short-term, reactive) and not STRATEGIC (more long-term).

The problem is that to be able to make good strategic decisions, you have to be able to step back and look at the bigger problems/issues. That is extremely difficult when you are just trying to get through every day. For the larger chains they have people/teams/consultants that have the time and resources to make STRATEGIC decisions and take a step back and look at the bigger picture.

Of course, this effects your employees (they never feel like they know what you want or expect, thus higher turnover rates), and your members (they never know what to expect when they come in thus leading to lower retention rates).

What can you do about it?
I love lists, so here is another one:

• Make a point of conducting meetings outside of the gym.
• Talk with other gym owners to learn what they have done.
• Read business books. When I talk to gym owners I always hear the same thing …”I run a simple business!” This couldn’t be any further form the truth. In fact a gym is really a collection of multiple businesses rolled into one. An auto mechanic (repairing your machines), a deli (if you have a juice bar), a spa, a public bathroom, a private tutor (for personal training), and public school (for Group X) and a collections company!
• Don’t be afraid to lose members. If you try and be everything to everybody, you are bound to anger EVERYBODY!
• Take the time to run reports. I know that in our software solutions we have over 200 reports. Yet I am surprised at how few gym actually use no more then a small handful of them. Data is your friend, use it, embrace it, learn from it. Not every decision can be based on your gut!
• Conduct member surveys. There are a number of great tools that are readily available to you on the internet that are very affordable. One that comes to mind is Survey Monkey.

That’s it for now. Don’t forget to visit us at Club Industry East in Boston, or follow us online at Twitter, Facebook, or on our website.