As competition increases, owners of health clubs and training studios are always looking for new ways to generate additional revenue. They might hire another sales rep, add a new service such as tanning, or expand their training program. Yet, rarely will an owner look at their software system as another way to generate revenue. This article will focus on the features that you should look for in your club management system to generate additional monthly revenue. Software packages that do not have these features will lose potential revenue for your club.
Following are nine ways in which club software can generate revenue for your facility:
1. Prescribed workouts: For members who prefer to workout on their own, or who will be out of town, good software will allow you to record weekly workouts for them, for a fee, generating additional revenue.
2. Retention tools: Members who have not checked-in for a week, or who have not used their training packages in a week, are at-risk of not staying with the club. Software should identify these members, and then facilitate emailing them as a group about the importance of staying healthy and working out. This will boost the retention rate and save your club money.
3. Fitness assessments: The ability to record assessments is another great revenue-producing feature. Simple tests, such as body weight, body fat percentage, and resting heart rate, can be performed on a regular basis and tracked over time. Providing the ability for members to login and view this information will help to motivate them and to keep health and fitness as part of their life (and they will stay a part of your facility). Instead of the standard training package for $800, you could sell a “gold” training package of 10 sessions for $850 that includes two assessments. If one member a week uses this service, you would generate an additional $50 per week, or $2,600 each year.
4. Gift cards: Offering gift cards and tracking balances in the software helps channel members’ spending to your club.
5. Pre-paid accounts: Make it easier for members to purchase the products you are selling with pre-paid accounts. Members can add credit to their account by prepaying an amount, such as $25. By not having to handle money, members will be more inclined to pick up products like waters and health bars.
6. Online class registration: Providing online class registration has two financial benefits. From the convenience of their own homes, members are more likely to view and sign-up for classes, which will sell more class openings. Also, online class registration can contribute to lowering your staffing costs, since the staff will no longer need to spend time on this function.
7. Online product sales: Increase your product sales volume by enabling members to log-in from their own homes; view items on your product catalog, and make purchases from your catalog. Your staff can be notified of purchases, which they can provide when the member checks-in, or which they can mail to the member.
8. Online educational videos or classes: Providing the opportunity for your members to view online educational videos, such as “How-to Properly Execute a Bench Press,” is a great feature. For example, a yoga class could be recorded; provided online, and offered for a nominal fee of $5. Videos can be easily created and applied to a system in minutes. In addition to generating revenue, these services will also make your facility unique.
9. Member Web accounts: Providing Web accounts for your members to view their membership information along with other useful tools is a great service. One tool that would engage members would be the capability for them to track and analyze their own running, swimming and cycling workouts, or their own strength workouts. Good software would also package several functions mentioned earlier in this article, such as: online class registration, videos, ability to view prescribed workouts, fitness assessments, membership contracts, and upcoming training sessions. You could price the package at $5 per month. Add the fee to an existing membership type and call it “gold.” If 10% of your 500 members agree to use this service, you will generate an additional $250 per month.
These functions provide many tremendous revenue-generating opportunities for your facility. If your current software system does not offer all of these great features, you are missing out on many opportunities to add growth to your business. Look for software that combines all of these great features in one, complete software package.
Larry King is the Founder and CEO of Shape.Net Software. He can be contacted at 800.381.2082, or by email atsales@getshape.net, or visit www.getshape.net.
