Since the launch of Insight, we have had a significant interest from our neighboring country, Canada. Slowly, but surely, we have been working on internationalizing our program for Canadian use. We are excited to announce the on-board of our first Canadian gym just a few weeks ago. After beta testing and working out some bugs, we are now ready for the Canadian gym market. Gyms in Canada can now enjoy the ease of use of Insights' management program, check in access system, and recurring credit card billing through Authroize.NET. Insight sends a warm welcome to Canada and invites you to [...]
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I've occasionally had some casual inquiries about adding the ability to manage time-limited part-time customers to Gym Insight. That means time selective memberships that use your gym when you have excess capacity, the quiet times of low attendance that comes from the natural ebb and flow of membership demand. I haven't fully written the code to support this yet but, if there's serious interest in the health club community, I would be happy to consider adding an update or expansion module. The Off Peak Trial Period Membership For the kind of offer I'm talking about, here you need a connection [...]
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When you have to make the decisions about where you are going to spend your marketing efforts, it really helps to have a sense of what your market is like statistically. In my post about the 80/20 Rule I talked about how a few activities can produce the majority of your successes, profits or even problems. On the other side of the equation you have the unique and obscure diversity of what is known as "The Long Tail". Out of The 80/20 Rule Comes "The Long Tail" The principal behind the 80/20 Rule is called a power law distribution. This [...]
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You can never have too much information about where the market trends are heading. One really insightful source that I'd like to discuss is the eighth annual American College of Sports Medicine's (ACSM) Worldwide Survey of Fitness Trends for 2014. To get the most out of it I recommend that you read the entire survey report yourself. Every year for the last eight years, the ACSM has commissioned a worldwide poll of fitness industry professionals. There are some really interesting issues that turn up in this survey. One of the best things about it is that it attempts to distinguish [...]
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How do you read the future? All you can do is look at the trends and make an educated guess based on the way things are going now. You have to make some judgment calls as well, because trends can reverse unexpectedly or they can be hidden in mountains of information. Also, trends can fail to pan out and just turn out to be short-term fads. It's really hard to make predictions with any kind of certainty. But you have to try to anticipate what's ahead as a business owner, if only to plan your investments. The more of the [...]
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New Year's Day is right around the corner, and that means gyms can expect the annual rush of resolution-fueled gym members. Although the short-lived swarm of new clients each January is great, gyms should be doing more to market themselves throughout the year - and doing it in more innovative ways. People hesitate to join gyms for many reasons: cost, location, fear of commitment (both time and money). Although there is usually a gym membership for most anyone's income range - some gyms offer monthly memberships for as low as $10, while memberships to "luxury" gyms can rival the cost [...]
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I believe that one of the keys to a happy life, a life well lived is developing an attitude of gratitude for the things that make life worthwhile and rewarding. I think it was Tony Robbins, whom I first heard say that, it's stuck with me ever since. In celebration of the arrival of the holiday season I would like to share my list of things for which I am truly grateful, and that I am giving thanks for this year. My List of Gratitude 1. First, I am very thankful for a career that helps people and promotes health. [...]
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What is the one thing that you need to keep in mind to keep people signing up for gym memberships? What is it about hanging out in a communal space to exercise? With reasonably priced modern fitness equipment, most people could train at home, so why take the time and expense of traveling to a gym? The answer, I believe is actually pretty simple. People could do a lot of training at home. But who really wants that? It's too easy to slack off and it can get a little lonely. It's the social component of being around other people [...]
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If you own a small gym, you probably know about taking on the heavy burden of capital investment and leasing your venue and equipment. It'll keep you awake at night when you're signing the checks, believe me! Like all small business owners, you really need to look at every possible way to bump up the value of foot traffic entering and leaving your gym. One effective way to do that is to sell retail items at the front desk or at a cash register in the foyer or lobby. What will people buy? It may take you some research and [...]
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Do you have an employee handbook for your gym? In my opinion, having a handbook is extremely important and relevant for large clubs and small clubs alike. As the boss it's important to play your cards close to your chest, to maintain control. However, having the rules and definitions out in the open is something that gets everyone "singing from the same hymn sheet". It's critical for staff to know how to handle difficult situations and feel confident in their actions. If boundaries aren't clearly stated, your staff could fall into the miserable habit of passing the buck and ducking [...]
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I founded Gym Insight because I wanted software that catered directly to how I manage my fitness center, and I just couldn't find that on the market. At least, not up to the standards that I expect from a dedicated business application. Insight has been so successful because other owners of small fitness center and their managers face the same demands every day. One of the most important things that the best gym management software must do is integrate with the customer experience. It has to help the curious browser or window shopper to pull the trigger and commit to [...]
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Over the past week I learned a very important lesson. For my small gym, I wrongly thought that my manager and personal trainers were enough. What I realize now is that this isn't true. Having one employee dedicated to member retention is a necessity. I had a revelation: Member engagement, satisfaction, and overall care must be the responsibility of one person alone. This role has to be completely separate from anyone that has a sales, customer service or training role. As a team that operates a small gym my staff understand that selling memberships, other services and products piggybacks every [...]
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You know that you need to establish your brand name and image in the fitness industry, but how will you do that? Giving excellent customer service and providing state-of-the-art gym equipment and facilities are just some of the initial steps. You also need to create some buzz about your gym and appeal to the public at large. While we strive to get creative promotion ideas, we tend to overlook one of the simplest and most effective promotion technique - giving out promotional products. Using branded promotional products are one of the sure-fire ways to increase brand visibility and ensure member [...]
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Flyers and leaflets give you an inexpensive way to promote your gym and attract new members. Whether or not they offer an effective solution is up to you and what you decide to do with them. Not every flyering campaign brings you the reputation that you want or the clients that you need. If your campaign is not done correctly, you might end up running at a loss and dealing with a bunch of agitated residents complaining about the littering. To ensure that your flyering campaign brings you the good exposure and business that you need, you need to ask [...]
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When running a fitness center or any other business for the matter, it is only a matter of time till you have to deal with a disappointed or angry customer. This is when you face the challenge of handling the situation in such a way that the customer discovers the best qualities about your gym. If you get lucky, you might even end up earning a lifetime member with several recommendations. Let's see how you can take full control of the situation and turn an upset customer into a loyal member. Controlling Various Forums of Complaints In addition to getting [...]
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