Seeing the Bigger Picture

While working in a busy gym, I noticed concerning trends in membership: numbers of new joiners were falling while cancellations were rising. Feedback forms indicated members were generally satisfied, so there had to be broader reasons for the trends. I raised my concerns with the owner who asked me to investigate.

I began by spending time away from the gym to review our place in the community and assess our competition. I noticed their services were more tailored and their marketing better targeted. New coffee shops near our competitors also made their locations more attractive. I examined the demographics of our members and realized that the majority were from lower income areas where the increasing cost of living was having a big impact, whereas other gyms were attracting members from nearby new builds.

Supporting lower income groups was important to the gym’s brand, but I concluded we could still target advertising in a more intelligent way. I brought in an advertising partner who recommended ways of targeting different age groups more effectively. Assessing the skills of staff, I also realized we had expert knowledge of nutrition in-house, which we were not utilizing. I introduced new combined nutrition and training plans tailored to different age groups. Finally, I researched new equipment and developed a strategy for upgrading facilities over time based on usage, in a way that was manageable for the gym’s budget.

As a result, cancellations stabilized and the number of new joiners increased to an all time high.

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