business strategy
fi nding the hidden money in your business
Tim Fearon looks at what companies need to do to maximise their potential
W
hen I first started working in the fitness industry some 11 or 12 years ago, I was staggered to
find that clubs who thought they were pretty good at it all had attrition rates of around 20–25 per cent. I came from a background where, if you managed to get rid of 20 per cent of your customers each year, you’d be out of business. And why such a high rate of attrition?
Well, one major cause was identifi ed as being a lack of contact between members and staff on the gym fl oor. Twelve years on, and a few weeks ago
I was reading an industry publication that quoted a piece of research showing that one of the key reasons for member dissatisfaction today is that they don’t get enough attention on the gym fl oor. No surprises there then!
So the question is: Has anything
really changed? I’m sure there will be some of you reading this who will be up in arms already, wanting to prove me wrong by demonstrating your own impressive levels of retention. If you’re one of those, I’m delighted for you. Truly. If you’re one of those who recognises that you have much yet to do, I’m delighted for you too: you realise that there’s work to be done. But why do I start here? Why do
I start this article about the future – because that’s what it is – by digging back into the past? I’ll tell you why. It’s because I think, I know, that too many businesses and business people are living in the past. I mean that they are trapped.
Trapped in the thinking that created today. Trapped in the thinking of the
industry in which they work. And that means they’re trapped in the past. Remember what Einstein said: “You cannot solve the problems of today with the thinking that created them.” We live in a world that has been
irrevocably changed by the events of the past few years. We live in the world of the ‘New Economy’, and this world is a far less generous and forgiving one. It’s a world that needs a new approach. It’s a world that needs new thinking.
thinking differently
“If you always do what you’ve always done, you’ll always get what you always got” – this is the context for the strategies that will help you to find the hidden money in your business. Sometimes these strategies may
make you think: “No, that would never work for me. I could never do that. My customers would hate it. My business is different.” But here’s the thing: if you ever feel like that, you can bet you’re probably on the right track. The strategies that are ignored, the thoughts that are abandoned, are often the ones that lead to where the money lies. So what do I mean by hidden money?
I’m talking about the revenue, resources and opportunities that already exist in your business that you’re not tapping into – and I’m not talking about spending huge amounts of money to fi nd them. I’m talking about the leverage you can get by thinking and doing things differently in three key areas of your business: you, your clients/customers, and your products/services.
48 Read Health Club Management online at
healthclubmanagement.co.uk/digital november/december 2010 © cybertrek 2010
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