As a fitness studio owner, calculating your monthly revenue isn’t all that difficult. Your customers pay you money – either as a drop-in or for a membership – and in exchange, they get access to your studio space, your equipment, and your time and expertise.
But when it comes to figuring out just how you make that number bigger, well, that’s when things get a little trickier.
It usually isn’t a question of simply “working harder”. There are typically specific, underlying reasons as to why your monthly revenue isn’t growing.
In this blog post, we take a brief look at three of those reasons, and the things you can do to help.
3 reasons why your studio revenue isn’t growing
Reason #1 – Not Enough New Visitors Through the Door
In the fitness industry, high customer turnover is a fact of life. Even the best trainers can’t expect all of their clients to keep coming back week-after-week and year-after-year. So it is vitally important that you have a steady stream of new clients to replace the ones that leave.
But before you can convince a new client to part with their hard-earned cash, you need to first get them through the door. So how do you get them in the door? By focusing on targeted marketing opportunities.
Do you have an attractive website? Do you have a social media presence? Are you overlooking any obvious strategic partnerships in your area? You should already have a good idea of how many new visitors you get each month. Try something new with your marketing and see if the number goes up. If it doesn’t work, try something else. Marketing can be expensive, but not nearly as expensive as running out of customers.
Reason #2 – Not Converting First-time Visitors into Regular Members
Speaker and author Bryan Eisenberg once said “It’s much easier to double your business by doubling your conversion rate than doubling your traffic.”
He’s right, you know.
You spend a fortune on marketing to get people through your front door, but if you’re not using a defined sales process to convert these visitors into members, you’re unlikely to see a return.
From the moment a prospective member sets foot in your studio, make sure that you and your staff are working to sell them on the benefits of choosing your studio over any other fitness option. First time visitors will often want to “kick the tires” before making a long-term membership commitment. But rather than selling them a one-day pass and hoping they come back, consider an introductory offer. Make sure the intro period is long enough for them to start seeing results. And be sure you have pre-determined follow-ups so there is a defined path to convert a first-time visitor through the introductory period and into full membership.
Reason #3 – Not Retaining Members Year After Year
There’s an old adage in business that it’s cheaper to retain an existing customer than it is to acquire a new one. After spending all your time and money on marketing and sales, make sure you don’t overlook the most important people to your business – your current members.
In today’s modern marketplace, where big businesses experience high customer churn, and seek to combat this with new and improved deals, it can feel like there’s no reward in staying loyal. We’re almost conditioned to look out for better offers and cut ties with businesses at the drop of a hat.
But from your perspective, it’s vitally important that you hold onto your existing members, and the best way to do that is to build a community. Don’t alienate them by only offering discounts to new members – find a way to reward customers who have been with you for a while. Attract and retain good staff and trainers and invest in creating a high quality fitness environment. Focus on the overall membership experience – one that keeps them coming back for more and has them recommending your studio to their nearest and dearest.
In summary
In short, there’s no magic bullet for increased revenue.
But if you know how many people are coming through the door, how many of those are becoming members, and how many of those will still be there in a year’s time, you can start being strategic about growing your top line.
In upcoming posts, we’ll take a look at each of the three reasons above in more detail, explain how you can overcome the challenges, and how to best monitor the results.
