Availability of kit in free weight areas is consistently low
We ask customers in our surveys how
available they fi nd their three favourite types of equipment, and also how likely they are to recommend the gym – the NPS question. When we grouped customers’ responses regarding how busy they found equipment, and linked these to NPS results, we were amazed at what we found (see Figures 1 & 2, p62). We’ve seen gyms’ overall NPS double and even triple when equipment availability is improved, and drop by up to two-thirds when it has decreased. In these examples, only equipment availability changed – staff, location, changing rooms and so on all remained the same. One great case study comes from Mark
Tokeley at Renfrewshire Leisure. He had a capacity problem at one of his gyms, The Lagoon, and in the fi rst instance bought four more treadmills to solve an acute shortage. His direct debit income subsequently increased by £5k a month – an annualised ROI of 315 per cent. He then expanded the capacity of the whole gym, and his direct debits increased by over £25k a month – and still rising. He now has one of the highest NPS in the industry, up from 27 per cent in March 2011 to 76 per cent in April 2012.
Q
Who do you work with? GYMetrix began operations in early
2011 after two years of development at Edinburgh University’s Informatics Department. We’ve worked with a range of operators, from trusts and universities to big private sector operators such as Virgin Active, Nuffi eld Health, Pure Gym and David Lloyd Leisure. We generally do one- or two-
week projects, attaching a variety of discrete wireless sensors to every piece of gym equipment to measure its usage/availability. We also conduct customer surveys on the gym fl oor,
october 2012 © cybertrek 2012
Level Busy Equipment Bothers customers
asking customers how busy they fi nd the equipment, how likely they are to recommend the gym, and why. We also measure temperature and sound levels. We aim to objectively measure as many aspects of a gym customer’s experience as we can.
Q
What is the output of your surveys and tracking?
The output is fi rstly answering the general question: Does this gym have the right overall amount of equipment to cater to customer demand? We also address the specifi c questions: What equipment is in short supply, causing frustration and a loss of value to customers? And what do they have too much of, which is not adding customer value? (see Figure 3, below) The answers to these questions can, of course, be infl uenced by instructors,
Equipment Availability
Example Gym Time Filter: 17.30 to 19.30
100 % time
Equipment is Available in peak
90
10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80
0
Overall Availability 54%
Tells us if the gym, overall, needs more or less Equipment
Equipment with ‘Low Availability’ causes a sharp drop in value for its users. Buy more or educate about alternatives.
Equipment with ‘High Availability’ is not adding value. Either reduce quantity or educate about benefits.
who can guide customers’ choices and demand patterns to better fi t with what’s available. We therefore also advise where demand-side management and programming can be introduced or improved to benefi t the customers.
Q
How does your approach differ from the usage tracking
already offered by equipment manufacturers? Firstly, we work on a wider range of equipment – not just cardio but also resistance machines, cables, Power Plates, free weights benches, Smith machines, performance racks, punchbags, rowers, Powerbags and TRX. We can’t currently track kit like dumbbells, kettlebells and Swiss balls, but we’re working on this. Secondly, we’re able to time-fi lter our data to analyse peak periods, when the gym has to optimise its capacity,
Strong ‘Pull’
Medium ‘Pull’
Weak / No ‘Pull’
Figure 3: Does the gym have the right overall mix of equipment to meet demand? Read Health Club Management online at
healthclubmanagement.co.uk/digital 63
HOLBOX /
SHUTTERSTOCK.COM
Availability (%)
Smith Machine Abdominal Benches
Rear Delt/P ec Fly
Cable Machines Seated Dip T
r
ec Deck Seated Ro
eadmills P
w
Chest Press Lateral Pulldo
T wn Arm Cur l
ricep Extension Steppers R
w
o ers
Dip/Pullup Calf Extension Decline Bench Ascents Grappler
Shoulder Press Upright Cycles P
o w
erplates Le
g Press Pulle
y
Lateral Raise Hip Abductor Vibro Gym
Hip Adductor Spinbik
es
Crosstrainers Rotar
o
Summit Tainers Le
y Trse r
g Extension Recline Cycles Cardio W Prone Le
a x
ves g Cur l
Back etension Seated Le
g Cur l TRX
Pwrbagso e Multi Hip
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