Data — we all know we have a lot of it. But how can you use it to move your club forward? We’ve seen the case studies and reports, but how can you make your data work harder for you?
Break it down.
Most franchises’ primary source of data is the point of sale system. Nearly every client, transaction and appointment are in there somewhere. Most of these systems are more complex than people realize. Oftentimes, the backend database of these systems can be 200, 300 or more tables of data that somehow relate to each other in a manner that makes the front of the system user-friendly.
But when it comes time to get that data out of the system, it can be difficult. If you’re a franchisee, your best bet is using the built-in reports of the point of sale system. If you’re a franchisor, you may be using, or considering using, a third party to help you gather, integrate, analyze and report on the data from the system.
Let’s make that data work for us.
To the franchisors (franchisees should read this too):
Your franchisees need better reports to drive their clubs forward. It’s not enough to just provide topline numbers anymore — you need to help operationalize the data for them. Operationalizing the data means getting the raw data (behind the numbers) in front of franchisees and their staff so they can act upon it immediately, and in ways that have a demonstrable positive impact on a club’s business.
Here are some considerations:
- Do you share numbers and lists of clients who haven’t scheduled their next appointment or class with the franchisee? Do you provide these lists with a summary of their lifetime spend? If your franchisee has those lists in front of them every day, they can call or email clients. This positively impacts retention and client engagement levels.
- Do your franchisees know how many clients they have and how much they spend for all the zip codes that surround their club? If they do, they can use that information to target new prospects — those prospects may be looking for a new club now. Will they win them? Or will their competitors?
- Do you train your franchisees to use this data as part of their daily operations? Data is great, but it has to be reported on and operationalized into how they actually run the club.
These are simple examples of how franchisors can help their franchisees operationalize data.
To the franchisees:
Your point of sale system has a lot of very valuable data in it — you know it does. Your franchisor can help you get that data and help you drive your club growth. That information can help you drive down attrition rates, increase retention rates, increase client spending and more that will deliver higher revenue figures for your club.
Push your franchisor/corporate partner to get this information in a usable manner — in the long run, it helps you and them. It’s not enough to just report on data anymore. You must operationalize it into your day-to-day club tasks to create that competitive advantage.
Parnell Woodard is the founder and CEO of Adaptive Analytics, and can be reached at parnell@intelli-hub.com.
