INTERVIEW
Compact training: Evo Fitness typically offers 60 pieces of equipment in a 450sq m club
regular exercisers are more loyal. So are members who were introduced to the club by their friends, members who use more than one of our clubs, and members who freeze their memberships
– that’s possible for up to six months. “But the really interesting finding
related to occupancy levels. We found that we could measure members’ likelihood to churn based on how many other members worked out at the same time as them. The risk of drop-out was higher when there was only one other member, more or less consistently falling from there until it reached the optimum level – for our 60-station sites, that proved to be 35 other people. After that it began to go up again, because availability of equipment began to drop – and customer satisfaction with it. “But our model means we only need
750 members to break even – going forward our goal is to get that as low as 400 – so it’s not a volume game for us. In a market such as Norway, where cities are small, the high churn model just doesn’t work in any case. “We’ve worked out that anything
over 1,600 members isn’t actually more profitable for us, because we have to replace more lost members, plus costs such as cleaning also go up. We therefore cap numbers at 1,700.”
USP #1: IT
“Our model revolves around two key elements: PT and IT,” continues Windingstad. But while many clubs – notably the budget operators – use technology to streamline processes and cut costs, the way Evo Fitness has incorporated IT takes it up a notch, actually adding to the premium feel with a cool, gadget-like approach. Even if you’re not a member, you can
turn up at any club and immediately get a day pass access code for NOK150 (£16, €13) by texting DROPIN to 2040
– Evo has signed deals with all of the mobile networks to facilitate this. But as monthly membership only
costs NOK295 (£32, €37), it makes financial sense to join – and this is done exclusively online, as Evo employs no sales staff. The moment someone signs up, they receive a text with an access
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code that’s valid for 28 days. Within those 28 days, they must sign up to one of three weekly inductions where they’ll be given their RFID key – activated either online or via the member’s mobile phone – to access the club. “Members manage their whole
membership online, from joining and leaving to booking PT or checking their payment history,” says Windingstad. “We have 30,000 members supported by 0.5 of a customer support person at HQ.” Meanwhile the access gates are just
part of a hi-tech security system in all sites, with CCTV and emergency call buttons to speak to security at any point. The security company also goes to all clubs twice a day, unlocking the doors at 5.00am and, at midnight, checking and closing the clubs for the night. “We will spend NOK10m (£1.01m, €1.27m) on security in 2013,” says Windingstad.
The ‘inspiring engineer’ All of this will appeal to those who like their gadgets, but the other customer benefit is speed and efficiency of service. That service may not be delivered by live staff, but it works. In a sector that so
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often falls down on its service standards, that’s not to be sniffed at – Evo members know what they’ve bought into, and it’s delivered consistently. “We appeal to a wide range of people,
from CEOs to celebs, young professionals to educated families,” says Windingstad.
“What unites them is that they’re all well educated and could easily afford a high- end, full-service club – many of our gyms are located right next to such clubs – but they choose to come to us. We give them what they want and we reinforce this with brand standards that focus on reliability, honesty, dedication, value and quality.” He continues: “We were inspired by
three brands: ‘the engineer’ IKEA, ‘the inspirer’ H&M and ‘the rebel’ airline operator
norwegian.com. We were more of a rebel when we first launched, challenging the norms: why do you have to offer a pre-joining tour, why do you need reception staff, why do weekend opening hours have to be limited, why do members have to pay for facilities they don’t use? But now we position ourselves as the ‘inspiring engineer’, offering an uplifting environment where everything just works with no fuss.
October 2013 © Cybertrek 2013
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