5 Tips to Make Your Gym Profitable

It’s no surprise that the health and fitness industry is one of the most profitable in the world (valued at around $34 billion, to be exact) and this trend shows no signs of slowing down. Unfortunately, this industry growth and a renewed dedication of millennials to fitness regimes have helped start a new gym revolution, one that means more competition for gym owners than ever before. From big-box fitness clubs to boutique single workout facilities to online fitness ‘gurus’, the industry competition is fierce. Members have access to a wide variety of price ranges, fitness options, and membership perks, so what is going to make your gym stand out?

With this in mind, we’ve compiled a list of 5 ways to make your gym profitable in the face of competition:

1. Offer services your members want – and get rid of the ones that are never used.

Let’s get this out there: running a profitable gym doesn’t just mean increasing members (although that is indeed a huge part of it). It also means streamlining your internal operations to minimize waste and unnecessary spending. One way to do this is to track the services that your customers spend the most time using, whether it’s the weight machines or the spin class or the yoga studio, and then trim down those features that are not really drawing a crowd. For example, let’s say you have three yoga instructors on staff, each one scheduled at various times during the week. If your Wednesday class draws around 3 – 4 people, but your Thursday class is regularly sold out, it makes sense to cancel the Wednesday class and add another Thursday class option. This way, your instructors aren’t being paid for wasted time, and you can book more classes overall. It all comes down to having the right visibility into the services your members want.

2. Increase your membership with targeted outreach.

If knowing your members is the first part of running a profitable gym business, increasing this number is part two. The biggest challenge many gym owners will face when welcoming new members is standing out from the noise and competition in the marketplace. Sure, you’re probably offering ‘First Class Free’ promotions and current member referral perks, but how can you guarantee these new leads are actually signing on as new members? And how can you organically increase new memberships without investing in costly campaigns or lowering membership rates? The answer lies in proactive lead tracking. When a new lead comes into your system, your sales team should be able to immediately see where this person heard about your gym, what services they’re interested in, and have their contact details readily available. This insight promotes proactive outreach and helps connect potential new members with your team before they can go with a competitor.

3. Make sure your staff is performing at 100%

We get it – you didn’t open a gym to spend all your time running after staff to ensure things are getting done. But a gym is a business, and as a gym owner, you need the right tools and resources in place to ensure your staff is performing at the highest possible level. This means tracking and integrating all clock-in and clock-out data, payroll, and human resources in a single location for 100% visibility at all times. This gives managers a better look at where staff members are falling behind, as well as provides trainers with more accountability and responsibility in the overall success of the team.

4. Stay up to date on the latest trends and industry updates

The fitness industry is constantly changing, and thanks to the rise of social media, there are new fads popping up seemingly overnight. To ensure your team is always up-to-date on the newest workout trends, follow social media influencers and accounts that are popular with your target demographic. If you’re targeting 18-25-year-old women, you’re probably going to be looking at different accounts than if you’re targeting an older demographic (say, 45-60-year-old men). Once you have your target audience narrowed down and you have a better idea of the types of new workouts they’re interested in, you can start to add new classes or test out new offerings to see if people are interested. Instead of just posting new classes blindly, which can cause you to lose money, make strategic decisions with the overall goal to increase profits.

5. Engage and communicate with members to increase retention rates

While increasing new memberships is extremely important, this doesn’t mean you should forget about your current customers. Fitness and gyms have a notorious problem with retention, which can cause your profits to fluctuate wildly based on things like seasonality or competition. To ensure your current members are happy and engaged with your services, communicate with them often. Fitness centers are supposed to be a social enterprise, unlike running along or working out in a home gym. Post pictures of fitness classes on your social media accounts, tag people in pictures and encourage social sharing among your members. Host monthly classes with a charitable component, or do monthly ‘wilderness runs’ in a local park to get some fresh air. Engage your members as much as possible both at the gym and in the community to boost retention.

With these 5 tips in place, it’s time to go out and build the most profitable gym possible. For all your gym management needs, Paramount Acceptance is the answer. We help gyms of all sizes manage all aspects of gym and fitness businesses, from the front desk to the back office. Learn more now – click here to schedule your personal call now!