technology series
PAYING ITS WAY C
DIRECTLY ATTRIBUTING REVENUE TO CLUB MANAGEMENT SOFTWARE COULD MAKE A COMPELLING ARGUMENT FOR INVESTMENT – AND ONE THAT SOFTWARE COMPANIES ARE, OF COURSE, KEEN TO HARNESS. ABIGAIL HARRIS EXPLORES THE MARKET
ontrary to the premise that software sales are slow at the moment, Legend’s experience is that financial pressures are driving more people to invest in software and the return on investment
(ROI) it can demonstrate. “We’ve installed over 400 new sites in the last four years and expect to install another 140 this year alone – a steady yearly increase as the recession has deepened,” says Legend MD Sean Maguire. Clarity director Kevin Anson agrees, and says the company
is seeing healthy enquiry levels – a trend he believes is set to continue, as Clarity’s public sector leisure clients increasingly use ROI measures and sophisticated performance reporting to demonstrate success and analyse their investments. The MINDBODY website even features a calculator that
operators can use to estimate the increase in revenue and decrease in expenses that its software could help them
achieve: the company reports that a sample group of existing clients experienced a 17 per cent year-on-year gross sales growth from 2010 to 2011. Gladstone Health and Leisure is also seeing strong year-
on-year growth. Its experience is that operators are now committing to long-term contracts in order to get the highest possible return on their investment. “In any climate, customers want to see direct ROI from a project,” says Tom Withers, head of sales. “However, in this diffi cult economic time, a fi nancially stable provider that can respond and develop according to market needs is crucial for success. Our Software for Life promise, for example, returns free software updates, providing real value that’s demonstrated by the number of customers now committing to us long-term.” We take a look at a selection of case studies where software has led to a measurable return on investment.
DRIVING DIRECT DEBITS
Client: Life Leisure Supplier: Legend Club Management Systems
S
tockport-based leisure trust Life Leisure has grown by approximately 11,000 members over the past four years,
boosting surpluses by 800 per cent in the process – but this meant a new software system was needed to support the rapidly growing business. The previous system did not offer the
functionality required, such as instant and fl exible report production, direct debit tracking and utility consumption monitoring. It also required time- consuming weekly updates in order to continue operation, leading to disruption in day-to-day administration. Legend Club Management Systems
was brought in to provide CRM systems and BACS bureau services for Life
june 2012 © cybertrek 2012
Legend’s software has helped Life Leisure future-proof its 13 existing leisure centres
Leisure’s 13 leisure centres, in order to improve direct debit management. Malcolm McPhail, MD at Life Leisure,
says: “The dramatic growth we have experienced made us realise that we needed a leisure management system that would support us more effi ciently and with greater functionality. With a far larger membership, the small inconveniences we had been able to persevere with rapidly became intolerable – we needed a partner that
could help us grow even further, as well as future-proofi ng the business.” The partnership with Legend enables
the 13 centres to readily record and analyse data on individual members’ interactions, including details of which centre a member is attending, what classes or specifi c facilities are proving popular, overall frequency of use and payment schedules. “We’re now able to offer our centres an infrastructure that not only reduces
Read Health Club Management online at
healthclubmanagement.co.uk/digital 67
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