Ben Ludwig shares three ideas on how to drive additional gym revenue.
In the fitness industry, we have seen both ends of the spectrum when it comes to fees. We have seen those who include everything, and I mean absolutely everything for one low monthly price, and we have seen those that start with a basic fee, but then charge you additional for anything and everything. The hard part is most fitness business owners want to continue to provide a great customer experience but think they have to keep buying new equipment every quarter, and have new and fresh retail items all the time to drive additional revenue.
So do I have to follow the old saying “It takes money to make money?” I want my business to be customer-friendly so people don’t think we are trying to “nickel and dime” them, but on the other end, I need to drive revenue at my gym and ensure that I am as profitable as possible. The more profitable my business is, the more surety I have in being able to service my clients long term, but also serve even more people and have a bigger impact. After all, that’s why we got into the fitness business right?
Here’s three ideas on how to drive additional gym revenue without any huge retail purchase orders or leans on new equipment.
Class/Session Late Cancel and No-Show Fees
Most fitness businesses have some type of policy in place as to how you can cancel a group class spot with no fee, but outside of that window there is penalty involved. The biggest issue is most gyms that do this tend to have a “whatever additional revenue this brings is great” mentality. Class cancel fees or charging for sessions a client misses should not only be in place for your gym. You should have a portion of your employee handbook that covers how to handle these customer relations around the issue.
Onboarding of the client should include a clear explanation of the fees, but also why you do it. For example, “The goal of class fees or session no show charges is not to get you to pay more every month, it is to ensure we can get you the results of the program we have discussed. Penalties for no showing or canceling class keeps you accountable to coming consistently.”
Also having a make-up forgiveness policy helps customers feel more at ease about the fees, where they know they can get into class within a window to ensure they don’t miss their cadence of attendance for the week.
Tools That Connect to Customer Results
Most fitness businesses are already aware of the benefit of technology, wearables, apps and nutrition add-ons. But where most miss the benefit is they see it as a “if the customer wants it” product. The goal of your studio should be to customize programming and accountability to allow the customer to feel as though they are a part of a premium service that offers completely tailored help to get them to their best self and keep them there for the rest of their life.
The way additional tools accomplish this is not through an upsell at the end of the presentation, but through prescription of what the client has been missing in the past that we can provide to them now. For example, if a client is stepping into a transformation program with you and has never tracked calories burned during their workout, a wearable that tracks this can be a prescription based on ensuring the client is achieving the necessary calorie burn every week to trend their long term goal.
When the price add on is tied into the plan on how you will point them in the right direction, it is more of a necessary tool as opposed to an optional perk. You also need to remember that a custom-built tool specific for your business may not be necessary. The value of nutrition or calorie tracking is not in the tool itself, but in helping the customer understand how to use the tool. A hammer in the hands of a carpenter creates a work of art; in the hands of a layperson everything now looks like a nail.
Cover Fees for Events
Have you ever met a studio owner who said they didn’t have a great community? Don’t lie, you know you have said it, your members absolutely love you and most of your new members are referrals, right? Fitness centers are known for being more tight knit groups, and really get to know their members. The great part about this is you can host events that allow your community to invite outsiders to something other than another workout.
Whether you are partnering with a local restaurant for happy hour, or having an on-site get together, you can bring vendors into your community with purchased prizes and offer giveaways at the end of the event. Both warrant a $10-$20 cover charge to register for your event. Depending on the capacity of your space, getting members to pre-register for the event is another great way to collect the charge and referrals information to connect with them, welcome them to the event, and create some rapport before they even show up.
Lastly, my favorite way to cover charges for events is to connect to charity. Now more than ever your customers are looking to support businesses that connect to causes. Be cautious when going down this road though. Connecting to a cause for the sake of connecting to a cause can look shallow. And it is shallow if that’s the only reason you’re doing it. Find out what causes your members believe in, what boards they sit on, what nonprofits they donate to and ask them to help you connect to these causes. Not only will you be connecting to a greater good for your community, but your members will be even more bought in that you care enough to connect to what they believe in.
Not only will this drive your members to gladly pay the cover charge and refer their friends to come to the event, but it will create a huge increase in lifetime value of your members. When they believe in you, and you get them the results they want, that is the recipe for long term success.
To run a profitable fitness business, you don’t have to keep adding classes, launch new programs, or have all new shiny objects for people to buy to drive additional gym revenue. Do what you do and do it well. This is the best way to create results and community for your members, which is why they love you in the first place.
