Tag Archives: Fitness Industry

Motivational calls from fitness clubs annoy members

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Ezypay fitness survey show members calls are annoying
Fitness members annoyed by so called motivational calls

The Australian & New Zealand Fitness Industry Survey run by Ezypay , is the go-to place for fitness club member’s thoughts feelings and perceptions.  It is now 5 years old and is the largest of its kind in the world.

This year so far 11,537 members across Australia and New Zealand have responded to the survey.  Some interesting results are emerging.

Traditionally we have been told that it will create a great membership experience or increase retention for members to receive a call from their club.  The Australian & New Zealand Fitness Industry Survey has found that 39% of members who responded find these motivational calls annoying.  That is 4 out of the 10 members would rather not be called by their club.  Does this mean that you can’t contact them at all?  No – instead you need to contact them in the way that they want to be contacted, about stuff that is relevant to them.

The survey has confirmed the importance of what many club owners and managers have long told their staff.  Fifty-six percent (56%) of respondents stated a personal greeting at the front desk when they arrive was a factor in keeping their membership.  The highest influencer for the long term commitment was location, and the second highest influencer in maintaining a membership was professional staff.  You can’t always change your location but you can work on the professionalism of your team.  So whether your members stay or go may come down to something as simple as a personal greeting from your reception staff.

The survey is still open for members to respond to until the end of January 2012.  If you would like to receive the full report, then help us by sending the link to your members.  For more information contact Simon Hall, Marketing Manager, Ezypay simon.hall@ezypay.com.au.

Thanks to our survey sponsors, who without their support we would not be able to run the survey.

With close links to the fitness industry Ezypay offer small to medium growth business of all types an easy online payment collection options at www.ezypay.com.au

Fitness For The People By The People: Is this the Future of Fitness Clubs?

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I caught an episode of a documentary last week on ABC about the People’s Supermarket.  This is a London based food cooperative that aims to provide fresh seasonal food, at good prices and with minimal food waste.

Today I was reading Springwise.com and saw an overview of the concept.  Only members can shop at the People’s Supermarket, but they all get a 10 percent discount on prices as well as a say in how the store is run. In exchange, members pay an annual membership fee of GBP 25, and they also pledge to volunteer four hours of their time per month working as store staff. Because the supermarket’s workforce is nearly all volunteers, staff costs are kept low this way — an advantage that can be passed on in lower prices. Any profits that are earned, meanwhile, get put back into the store to bring down prices even further.

Why not a cooperative fitness club?  Same concept but fitness club not supermarket.  You would still need to sell memberships but each member would be an owner.  Each member would need to donate some time to working in the club for x hours per month.

“Fitness For the People By the People” – a fitness club owned and managed by its members.  Is this the future of fitness?

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31 Day Cash Flow Challenge Day #8 – Plan for the lumps

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31 Day Cash Flow Challenge Tip #8 - Plan for the lumps

Plan for the lumps

Be aware of when lean cashflow patches are coming up and plan accordingly. Avoid funding major purchases from your business’ working capital unless you are sure you have the cash to cover it.

Have a good understanding of the when your high buying times and the low buying times are.  Analysis year on year income and you’ll be able to map the peaks and troughs, then you can plan your spending to suit.

Follow the 31 day Cash Flow Challenge here and on Facebook.

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31 Day Cash Flow Challenge Day #3 – Reconcile your membership income on a weekly basis

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Ezypay 31 Day Cash Flow Challenge

Reconcile your membership income on a weekly basis

Who has paid and who has not? Gym entry is always a tricky situation for the member and the staff when discussing non-payment issues.
It’s essential to make sure that you know who has and who has not paid their membership on a regular basis. With direct debit payments being the main source of membership income you need to reconcile each member’s payment as they occur to ensure they are up to date.

If you fall behind your reconciliation it soon becomes a mountain to climb, members are often not aware that their payment didn’t go through, their credit card has expired or their bank failed.

Avoid that uncomfortable entry situation; do a regular weekly check to make sure your business is healthy and your members are happy.

Follow the 31 day Cash Flow Challenge here and on Facebook

Online members – more engaged or less?

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One of our clients Fit n Fast has received a lot of industry and media interest in the way that they are signing up members.  That is using Ezypay’s online application (the direct debit gateway) which they have embedded on their website and their facebook fan page. 

Fit n Fast Penrith

Fancy a quickie in Penrith?

A question that was raised by Justin Tamsett, of Active Management, was really very interesting.  He wondered what the long term retention stats would be for members that had signed up via online.  On one hand you might argue that they will be more engaged because they know exactly what they want.  They haven’t had to go through a sales presentation to sign up.  On the other hand you could argue that because the barrier to entry has been so low (they may have signed up in their lounge room) then their commitment to attending the club will also be low. 

 I was thinking about doing a short and long term study of their retention rates to finally answer  the question.  If anyone has any insights or opinions on this issue I would really like to hear them.