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PROJECT PROFILES


PROJECT PROFILE PROMOTION


Research showed that SIV members wanted a bigger free weights area, which has seen high usage since being installed


Knowledge is power Clients: Sheffi eld International Venues & University of Dundee Supplier: GYMetrix


I


n today’s economic climate, few operators can afford to waste money on equipment that may look great, but members won’t


use. Whether it’s an upgrade or a complete refurbishment, operators need to make informed decisions to maximise their investment and improve the customer experience. And for that they need reliable data. Sheffi eld International Venues (SIV)


and the University of Dundee wanted a clearer insight into members’ usage patterns and equipment preferences before investing in new facilities, to ensure these met customer demand. The University of Dundee’s 450sq m


Institute of Sport and Exercise (ISE) gym is one of the largest in the region, with some 6,200 members comprising students, staff and the general public. “The results of the GYMetrix study


showed the layout of the gym and the balance of equipment did not meet the needs and expectations of


our customers,” says Brian Ewing, director of sport at ISE. Members were frustrated by the shortage of treadmills and cross-trainers, while some pieces of kit were barely used at all. As a result, customer satisfaction measured by the Net Promoter Score was just 42. Guided by the results of the


GYMetrix research, ISE increased the number of treadmills from 17 to 23 and its cross-trainers from 15 to 21 to meet member demand. It also removed the equipment found to have very low usage. The changes resulted in an increase in


membership, a 12 per cent rise in gym usage, and an improvement in customer satisfaction – the facility now reports a Net Promoter Score of 53. SIV had similar success at the English


Institute of Sport Sheffi eld, the country’s largest multi-sports training centre, after following the recommendations of GYMetrix, which it had appointed to establish the optimum mix of equipment for its new three-storey gym.


76 Read Health Club Management online at healthclubmanagement.co.uk/digital “The new facility represented a


signifi cant investment for us and we had to be sure it would meet customer demand. We worked with GYMetrix to fi nd out exactly how we should equip the gym to keep our members happy and capitalise on our investment,” says SIV’s corporate health and fi tness manager Peter Clark. The results of the research were


surprising. “We had planned to offer a large cardio area with a small free weights section, as we believed this would appeal most to our members. But the research showed that members wanted a far bigger free weights area,” says Clark. Acting on the fi ndings, SIV created


a dedicated free weights gym – one of the largest in Sheffi eld. “GYMetrix encouraged us to be bold – we would never have considered investing in such a large free weights gym,” says Clark.


“But it’s really worked for us. Usage fi gures are through the roof. People are travelling across the city to use our facilities and we haven’t had any negative comments. In fact, our Net Promoter Score, which was in the low 20s, is now in the high 40s.” Details: www.gymetrix.co.uk


August 2014 © Cybertrek 2014


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