editor’s letter
Subscriptions Denise Gildea +44 (0)1462 471930
Circulation Manager Michael Emmerson +44 (0)1462 471932
Editor
Kate Cracknell +44 (0)1462 471906
Editorial Director Liz Terry
+44 (0)1462 431385
Assistant Editor Katie Barnes
+44 (0)1462 471925
News Editor Tom Walker
+44 (0)1462 471934
Product Editor Kate Corney
+44 (0)1462 471927
Designers Andy Bundy
+44 (0)1462 471924
Ed Gallagher +44 (0)1905 20198
Website Team Dean Fox
+44 (0)1462 471900 Emma Harris
+44 (0)1462 471921 Tim Nash
+44 (0)1462 471917
Michael Paramore +44 (0)1462 471926
Publisher Jan Williams
+44 (0)1462 471909
Sales John Challinor +44 (0)1202 742968 Astrid Ros
+44 (0)1462 471911
Stephanie Rogers +44 (0)1462 471903 Julie Badrick
+44 (0)1462 471919 David Hunt
+44 (0)1462 471902 Financial Controller Sue Davis
+44 (0)1395 519398
Financial Administrator Denise Gildea +44 (0)1462 471930
Credit Controller Rebekah Scott +44 (0)1462 733477
october 2012 © cybertrek 2012
Member satisfaction
The financial value of customer satisfaction has been magnified in the digital age. Gone are the days when – whether satisfied or dissatisfied – a customer would ultimately tell just a handful of friends. Today, internet-based review sites mean customer experiences are read by hundreds, even thousands, of people. And that has a very immediate impact on the bottom line of a business. Recent research by two economists at Berkeley, US, found that
– in online restaurant reviews – just a half-star improvement on Yelp’s five-star rating made it between 30 and 49 per cent more likely that a restaurant would be fully booked for its evening tables. Meanwhile in the fitness sector,
payasUgym.com – which allows people to book passes to participating
gyms on a ‘pay as you go’ basis – recently completed a study into online buying. Based on customer feedback and purchases through its website in the first seven months of 2012 – encompassing 450 clubs by the end of July, and well over 4,000 pieces of customer feedback – the study analysed the volume of purchases made for each gym. It then compared this to both the number of reviews the gym had received, and its average feedback score based on a combination of five factors: customer service, equipment availability, range of facilities, hygiene and price (value for money). Not surprisingly, gyms scoring an average
Whatever the impact of good customer service on satisfaction, it seems equipment availability might be even more important, creating a very level playing fi eld for the budget club model
customer rating of three out of five or more saw an uplift in sales of 25 per cent compared to gyms scoring less than three. But number of ratings was also important.
Gyms with fewer than four reviews saw no real variance in sales performance, but just four or five reviews immediately led to a sales uplift of 60 per cent in volume terms. More than five reviews meant another 150 per cent
uplift on top of this. These scores were irrespective of review content, although as co-founder Neil Harmsworth explains: “The customer feedback we receive on gym visits is 94.6 per cent positive.” First of all, this makes a very clear case for gyms to proactively engage in the online buying process,
securing a business-building volume of customer reviews. But just as importantly, it forces operators to work out where their value really lies – what elements of a gym’s offering are key to good ratings? Conventionally the sector’s value has been seen to be held in its people, with the quantity of member-
staff interactions the widely accepted key to driving retention. To that, based purely on my own experience, I’d add quality of interactions, with my recent experience at Aspria a great example (see p38). In spite of staff salaries being in line with market norms, Aspria’s culture of immaculate service, where staff are seen as hosts as much as instructors, left me raving about it to all who would listen. But now new data from GYMetrix suggests that, in fact, it’s equipment availability that really drives
member satisfaction (see p62). This is backed up by a survey of 3,267 users rating gyms booked through
payasUgym.com: 21 per cent were put off returning because the gym was too busy, with kit unavailable; rude or unfriendly staff only dissuaded 8 per cent of people. Whatever the positive impact of good customer service versus the negative impact of bad service, it seems kit availability might be even more important – all of which creates a very level playing field for the staff-light, equipment-max budget clubs.
Kate Cracknell, editor –
katecracknell@leisuremedia.com / twitter: @HealthClubKate To share your thoughts on this topic, visit
www.healthclubmanagement.co.uk/blog
NEWS AND JOBS UPDATED DAILY ON THE INTERNET
leisureopportunities.co.uk
CONTACT US The Leisure Media Company Ltd, Portmill House, Portmill Lane, Hitchin, Hertfordshire SG5 1DJ UK SUBS Tel: +44 (0)1462 471915
Fax: +44 (0)1462 433909 © Cybertrek Ltd 2012 Read Health Club Management online at
healthclubmanagement.co.uk/digital 5
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68 |
Page 69 |
Page 70 |
Page 71 |
Page 72 |
Page 73 |
Page 74 |
Page 75 |
Page 76 |
Page 77 |
Page 78 |
Page 79 |
Page 80 |
Page 81 |
Page 82 |
Page 83 |
Page 84 |
Page 85 |
Page 86 |
Page 87 |
Page 88 |
Page 89 |
Page 90 |
Page 91 |
Page 92 |
Page 93 |
Page 94 |
Page 95 |
Page 96 |
Page 97 |
Page 98 |
Page 99 |
Page 100