Getting to Know Your Members

The same is true when new members are asked about their goals -- this information is almost never saved or combined. More importantly, if it has been some time since the member joined, no one has asked them for their current goals or their current level of satisfaction with the facility. This is critical if the member is thinking about quitting.

Up-sell opportunities

Fitness centers often do not know if members are married unless they are part of a couple or family membership. They do not know if the spouse ever tried the fitness center, or was a member in the past. Also, information about whether the member has children and of what ages is not recorded. This could have led to registering them for youth programs, birthday parties or a family membership.

In addition, records may not indicate where a member works, have a work telephone number or email address, have the size of the company, the member's position at the company, the number of employees at the company and whether the facility has solicited that company, had an open house or already has a corporate account with the company. Often, an insider with the company can initiate a corporate relationship with a senior company executive or a human relations officer.

It is also useful to know the history of members regarding bringing guests to special events and providing referrals -- and then tracking these leads to see if they actually joined. Obviously, a successful referrer should be reinforced if identified over the years.

Member experience

Understanding what members do at your facility, how often they come, when they visit, etc., is critical information for helping them to use your fitness center fully. Typically, no real information is known about whether a member uses a certain type of cardiovascular equipment, uses a certain line of strength equipment, stretches at the end of a workout, sits in the sauna, showers, etc. If the routine is regular and known, there is an opportunity to introduce the member to other types of cardiovascular equipment; to vary the workout with the use of free weights, exercise balls, balance boards or a group exercise class; to suggest other activities such as basketball, swimming a few laps, sitting in a coed whirlpool or participating in a racquet sport. This could lead to more flexibility for them in activities, the days of the week visited and the timing of club visits.

You can also enrich a club experience by introducing trials to services (e.g., personal training, massage, juice bar smoothies, fitness programs, etc.). This is powerful as a reinforcer to the overall club relationship. If the patterns of use are known, suggestions for a variety of changes are more likely to be accepted. At the same time, if fitness center staff members know the member's behavioral patterns, they can then understand when there is a deviation. If, for instance, the member goes outdoors in warm weather (to play golf or softball, to bike or compete in triathlons or to use a second home for extended weekends), the fitness center would know how to interpret their usage data. It could lead to marketing to the members' golf-playing partners, softball team, fellow bikers, etc.