Software that is well designed can offer many different ways for your facility to generate additional monthly revenue. Most businesses use software to more efficiently track and record information and to improve the billing process. Additionally, great facility management software will be able to help a club to offer revenue-generating services to its members. Great facility management software will also allow a club to track and report upon their valueadded services, which in turn will lead to improved sales and client retention. This article will describe what revenuegenerating features to look for when shopping for club management software for your facility.
Member Web Pages
Allowing members to login securely to your club management system is a powerful service to offer. At the very least, members should be able to login and view their current membership status, upcoming training sessions and historical training information, as well as a current class schedule, and they should be able to register for classes online. A top software package will allow members to view: trainer-recorded fitness assessments and progress; individually tailored trainerposted workouts, and workout results, such as tracking the mileage progress of various cardio workouts, or detailed muscle usage reports for strength workouts, over a period of time. All of these online services collectively add tremendous value for a member! Additional recurring monthly revenue can be achieved by charging a fee for members to access this information in one of several different ways. For example, if you charge $50 per month for a standard membership, you could charge $60 per month for a “Gold” membership that comes with a variety of online services. This would generate an additional $120 per member per year. If you get 30 members to use this service, your facility will generate an additional $3600 per year, while greatly improving your odds of retaining the business of those members.
Fitness Assessments
Software that records fitness assessments is another great way to generate additional revenue for your facility. Simple tests can be performed on a regular basis and then tracked over time, such as body weight, body fat percentage, resting HR, and more. A great software package will integrate the collection and retrieval of such information, thereby saving your facility time and money (and aggravation) from having to deal with multiple software vendors. Additionally, many members would enjoy being able to view this information in a professional manner, either on paper or online, possibly helping to motivate them to keep health and fitness as part of their life (and in your facility). One can generate revenue by selling a “Gold” training package of ten sessions for $850 that includes two assessments, instead of a standard training package without the assessments for $800. If you get 50 members during the year to use this service, you can generate an additional $2500 each year. If you decide to charge a few dollars more for online access, even more revenue can be realized.
Post Workouts
Software that provides the ability to transmit weekly workouts to various members is another great tool to be offered. Trainers can provide detailed workouts for members to follow. This can supplement an existing membership or training package, or it can be used by members while they are on vacation. Favorite workouts can be saved in the system for easy access. Nutritional information can also be posted. This personalized service can be sold to your members for $50 per week. If 50 members use this service for one week a year, your facility can generate $2500 per year.
Retention Tools
Great club management software will provide a variety of retention and marketing tools (with mass emailing and mailing label generation functionality) that will provide your facility with the data necessary to keep your retention levels higher and improve the rate at which new members join. A great feature to look for would be a “Check-In Analysis” function. This would find members who have not checked-in for a specific time period. The ability to “Track Sales Calls” to prospects or members is another great feature. The caller can track the results of all the calls made each day and a manager can view the progress of all the calls collectively on a weekly basis. This provides accountability and the opportunity to improve current marketing methods. If procedures, such as these, are followed regularly your facility will consistently get results.
Conclusion
When shopping for club management software, look for a completely integrated package, offering online access, and a variety of marketing and retention tools. Based on the examples described above, your facility could conservatively generate about $8600 annually, or over $700 per month. Software that provides these types of revenue-generating features is a must-have for your facility.
Larry King is the owner of SHAPE.NET Software. He can be contacted at 800.381.2082, or visit www.getshape.net.