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No January blues in the Health and Fitness sector

The health and fitness industry is notoriously fast-paced and seasonal, much to the frustration of gym owners everywhere. Whether it’s a good idea or not, January is a hugely popular time to join a gym so are you prepared for the influx of new members? Is your fitness offering on-trend and exactly what your target market wants?

 

Being a successful gym owner is about more than being really fit and the enjoyment of teaching others, you must be prepared to embrace the behind-the-scenes activities from marketing to catering. Many gyms go out of business each year because they’re not keeping their eyes firmly on the profit prize.

 

Membership matters

As we approach 2020, have you considered all the opportunities to maximise membership and supplement your income? With so much competition from low-cost gyms and outdoor boot camps, it can be difficult to hold on to your members. Are your fees pitched right – low enough to attract people in and high enough to pay your bills? Clients want to feel like they’re getting a good deal and offering an occasional free month or other promotion can entice people to join and also reward their loyalty down the line.

 

Sleeping partners

Some businesses rely on their lapsed members continuing to pay. In fact, almost 1 in 10 people never go to the gym after their initial sign up. Although sleeping members offer easy revenue, they won’t stay sleepy forever and are likely to cancel their membership and be lured away at some time. Some gyms have as many as 30% sleeping clients which can have a big impact, especially on smaller businesses with fewer members and higher fees.

 

Supplementary income

An additional income stream for your fitness business can come from the sales of supplements and vitamins that you endorse for your clients to pick up easily as they enter the gym. Do you have spa facilities within your gym? Income from treatments can help to plug the gap when times are leaner in the gym, such as summer – spa treatments for wedding parties hit the heights as gym attendance falls. You don’t need to accept slow times as unavoidable when you can tap into other revenue streams.

 

The personal touch

Does your gym offer personal training? This is a lucrative source of income and if you don’t have the time or qualifications personally to offer the service, you could ask an outside training to run sessions using your facility and take a cut of their fee.

 

Tech-savvy

With the right software, online sign up can help you manage the increased flow of members in the New Year period. Your regular members, who can become frustrated with the newbies hogging equipment and filling classes, can be encouraged to book online too to reduce disappointment and inconvenience.

 

So whether it’s managing new members, waking up sleeping members, supplementing your income or offering extra services, there are lots of improvements you can make to your business to make sure it is fit, healthy and able to take on the challenges of 2020.

 

With industry specialists like CRM on your team, you can keep up to date on all the latest tax rules and deductions to make sure you get to keep as much of your hard-earned income as possible. Click here for more details on CRM’s sector specialism or call 01865 379272.

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