Ashbourne Membership Management

How to Rethink Your Fitness Business Space and Maximise Efficiency and Profitability

Jasmin — Tue, 04 Mar 2025 12:22:06 +0000

How to Rethink Your Fitness Business Space and Maximise Efficiency and Profitability

Is your fitness business making the most of its space? Many gym owners don’t realise just how much wasted potential exists within their four walls. Whether it’s inefficient layouts, underutilised rooms, or outdated facilities, rethinking your space can significantly enhance member experience, increase revenue, and future-proof your business.

The owners of The Fit Club, a 20,000-square-foot gym, found themselves only effectively using half their space. Instead of moving to a larger (and more expensive) facility, they decided to optimise what they already had. Here’s how they did it—and how you can rethink your own space to maximise efficiency and profitability.

1. Audit Your Current Layout

2. Unlock Hidden Value by Converting Back-End Spaces

3. Open Up Your Floor Plan

4. Reconfigure Changing Rooms for Efficiency

5. Future-Proof Your Gym by Adapting to Trends

1. Audit Your Current Layout

Before making any changes, evaluate how your space is currently being used. Walk through your facility and ask yourself:

Which areas are always busy, and which are empty most of the time?
Are certain activities taking up too much room for their actual demand?
Are there any bottlenecks that affect the flow of movement in your gym?
Are some pieces of equipment underutilised while others have constant wait times?
Do your members naturally navigate the space, or do they struggle to find their way around?
Are there dead zones—spaces that serve no real function or feel uninviting?

How to Conduct an Effective Audit

Observe Peak and Off-Peak Hours: Take note of member behaviour during busy and quiet times to identify areas of congestion or underuse.
Survey Your Members: Ask them which areas they love and which they avoid, giving you insight into potential improvements.
Track Usage Data: If you have digital check-ins for classes or equipment usage reports, analyse them to spot trends.
Walk Through with Fresh Eyes: Bring in a consultant, trainer, or even a trusted member to get a fresh perspective on layout issues.

Bigger doesn’t always mean better…

The Fit Club realised that their spin class was held in a massive room that lacked atmosphere. By knocking through a wall, they created a smaller, more engaging spin studio. This freed up space for a new functional training area and additional classroom, making better use of their facility.

Food for thought: What areas in your gym could be repurposed for a better experience?

2. Unlock Hidden Value by Converting Back-End Spaces

Some of the most overlooked areas in a gym aren’t the ones members see daily—they’re the spaces tucked away behind the scenes. Storage rooms, oversized admin offices, and bulky heating systems often take up more room than necessary, limiting your ability to make the most of your square footage.

By streamlining these back-end spaces, you can unlock valuable real estate within your gym. This could mean converting an oversized storage area into a stretching zone, downsizing an admin office to free up room for a PT consultation space, or upgrading an outdated heating system to reclaim space for additional equipment. Every square foot matters—optimising these hidden areas can lead to better functionality, improved member experience, and new revenue opportunities.

How to Identify Wasted Back-End Space

Check Storage Rooms: Are they cluttered with unused or outdated equipment? Could they be downsized to free up space?
Review Admin Areas: Are offices larger than necessary? Could remote work or a shared workspace reduce their footprint?
Assess Utility Spaces: Could a bulky heating system be replaced with a compact, modern alternative to reclaim valuable square footage?

Downsizing can be your best friend…

For example, The Fit Club’s boiler room was noisy, inefficient, and taking up prime real estate near the gym floor. By upgrading to a more compact heating system tucked away in an unused corner, they freed up enough space to create an overflow dumbbell room—instantly improving member experience and satisfaction.

Food for thought: Where are your hidden gym spaces that could be repurposed for functional use?

3. Open Up Your Floor Plan

Many gyms start with segmented spaces, creating separate rooms for different training styles, but as membership grows, this can become restrictive. An open-plan layout allows for greater flexibility, making it easier to adapt to trends, maximise floor space, and improve member flow.

By removing unnecessary partitions, gyms can create multi-use zones that accommodate a wider range of activities, from functional training to group classes. This not only enhances the member experience but also ensures the space evolves with demand, supporting long-term growth and scalability.

Do walls, treatment rooms, or unnecessary partitions limit the usability of your gym floor?
Would an open-plan design allow for better class integration and member flow?
Are there areas that feel cramped or uninviting due to excessive division?

How to Open Up Your Space

Evaluate structural walls—vs. non-load-bearing walls to see what can be removed.
Consider multi-use zones—open spaces can double as areas for classes, circuits, or PT sessions.
Ensure member flow is intuitive—a clear and open space should make it easy for members to navigate.

Time to knock down those walls…

To create more usable space, The Fit Club stripped away small walls and unused rooms, opening up their gym floor. This allowed them to install additional power racks, making them the go-to gym in town for strength training.

Food for thought: Could merging two smaller areas into one larger space create a multifunctional zone for group classes and individual training?

4. Reconfigure Changing Rooms for Efficiency

Changing rooms are a necessity in any gym, but they’re often seen as purely functional spaces rather than valuable real estate. Many gyms dedicate too much square footage to locker areas that remain underutilised, while other parts of the facility feel cramped or overcrowded. With a smart redesign, changing rooms can be optimised to improve efficiency, free up space for new revenue-generating opportunities, and enhance the overall member experience.

How to Optimise Changing Rooms

Assess locker usage—do you have more lockers than needed, or could you offer smaller, more compact options?
Look at shower and toilet areas—could a better layout improve space usage?
Consider premium options—such as dedicated PT client rooms or upgraded amenities.

Your changing rooms can be a goldmine…

The Fit Club’s male changing room was much larger than necessary, so they redesigned the space, creating a more compact ladies’ changing room. With the extra space left behind, they saw an opportunity to repurpose it for something high in demand—a reformer Pilates studio. The result? A waitlist of 200 eager members before the studio even opened.

Food for thought: Could resizing your changing rooms create space for a new revenue-generating service?

5. Future-Proof Your Gym by Adapting to Trends

The fitness industry is constantly evolving, with new trends, training methods, and member expectations shaping the way gyms operate. Future-proofing your gym isn’t just about keeping up—it’s about staying ahead, ensuring that your space, services, and offerings remain relevant and competitive.

Whether it’s incorporating functional fitness zones, recovery areas, or the latest tech-driven experiences, adapting your gym to emerging trends can keep members engaged, attract new audiences, and create new revenue streams. The key is to remain flexible, listen to your members, and be proactive rather than reactive when it comes to change.

Are your members asking for new training styles like reformer Pilates, functional fitness, or recovery zones?
Would a dedicated area for personal training, stretching, or small group coaching add value?
Are wellness trends, such as cold plunge pools or sauna therapy, something your members would pay for?

How to Stay Ahead

Talk to your members—find out what new services they’d like to see.
Study industry trends—look at what leading gyms are adding to their offerings.
Test new concepts with pop-up classes or trial memberships before committing to a full renovation.

Fitness trends keep your members keen…

The Fit Club recognised that reformer Pilates was more than just a passing trend—it was a service their members were craving. By converting an underused area into a dedicated reformer Pilates studio, they tapped into this demand, keeping their offering fresh and competitive.

Food for thought: What’s one fitness trend your gym could introduce with a little spatial creativity?

Final Thoughts

You don’t always need a bigger space to grow your gym—you just need to use it more efficiently. By auditing your layout, repurposing wasted space, opening up your floor plan, optimising changing rooms, and adapting to trends, you can transform your facility into a high-performance fitness business.

Get your club in shape.

Want to discover how? Let us show you.

Simply select your preferred timeslot and we’ll be in touch to have a chat about your health club,
the goals you want to achieve, and how our system can help you.

Get your club in shape.

Want to discover how? Let us show you.

Simply select your preferred timeslot and we’ll be in touch to have a chat about your health club, the goals you want to achieve, and how our system can help you.

Get your club in shape.

Want to discover how? Let us show you.

Simply select your preferred timeslot and we’ll be in touch to have a chat about your health club, the goals you want to achieve, and how our system can help you.

The Power Of Online Reviews For Growing Your Gym

Harvey Clayton Wright — Thu, 27 Feb 2025 11:50:53 +0000

The Power Of Online Reviews For Growing Your Gym

Over our twenty five years in the fitness industry, we have worked with thousands of independent club owners to help them build a successful gym. While a gym can try and thrive on word of mouth alone, more people than ever are starting to take the recommendation of Google much more seriously than their friends and colleagues.

In fact, did you know that over

88%

of customers read Google reviews to determine the quality of a local business before they make contact for the first time.

While a loyal community is great for spreading the word, if an independent gym really wants to increase their members beyond that tight knit group of loyal regulars, they need to make sure they are showing up in all the right places. It shows prospective members that your gym is one worth their time and money!

What will we cover in this article?

(you can also click to skip ahead!)

Why Are Online Reviews So Vital?

How To Get Better Reviews...

Step 1: Deliver Outstanding Member Experience

Step 2: Optimise Your Online Listings

Step 3: Ask for Feedback

Step 4: Simplify Your Review Process

Step 5: Engaging With Your Reviews

Step 6: Hitting Multiple Platforms

Step 7: Track Reviews and Reputation

Why Online Reviews are vital for developing the online presence of an independent gym

Many consumers are so reliant on online reviews and ratings that it has almost become subconscious. Studies have shown that there is almost unthinking recognition of the number of little golden-yellow stars that appear in the top right of nearly every Google search.

Even if they don’t read the individual reviews themselves, nearly all customers are looking for the condensed summary of those reviews. And the difference between a 4.8 and a 3.8 can be seismic when it comes to attracting new members for an independent gym or fitness club.

Building a strong online presence is vital for any gym looking to bolster its reputation and help draw in new members. So we’ve put together a step-by-step guide tailored around our work with independent gyms and fitness clubs to ensure any gym owner can start to cultivate a positive web presence and reviews swiftly.

7 Steps To Getting
Better Reviews For Your Club

Step 1: Deliver an Outstanding Member Experience

It might sound obvious, and that is because it is. But that doesn’t mean it should go unmentioned. The rest of this guide and all of the steps below won’t amount to much if the service and experience that the gym members are receiving isn’t high quality.

When we talk about enhancing online reviews and web presence, we aren’t talking about deceiving potential members. First and foremost, a gym must reliably and routinely deliver an outstanding experience to their members. We have gone into great detail on how to do this in our other blogs and articles, so for now we will just focus on the things that will shine through in those reviews.

Gyms should focus on personalised service, maintain a clean and welcoming environment, and offer classes and equipment that meets and exceeds the needs of the membership. From the moment a member enters your gym, the customer journey should reflect a high standard of care and professionalism. Happy members are more likely to become vocal advocates, sharing their experiences online and leaving those all important positive reviews So above all else, make sure their satisfaction is a top priority.

Step 2: Claim, Optimise and Customise Your Online Listings

When we have talked through this step with Independent Gyms, our support teams are usually either met with “Of course” or “What?” with little in between.

Claiming your gym’s online listing, especially on Google, is crucial for building credibility, increasing findability and looking professional.

A significant number of Gyms and Clubs haven’t even set up their listing properly on significant hubs of internet traffic such as Google and Facebook. Even if a gym is still in the process of building a member base, ensuring your listings and business profiles are accurate gives potential reviewers the information they need and allows you to control your online image.

Accurate, consistent listings across platforms help establish trust and make it easier for people to find and review your gym. If members aren’t able to correctly identify your business profile to leave a review, that positive feedback is going nowhere. Equally, if prospective members are unable to access the business profile of an independent gym, that is an even worse sign.

Step 3: Ask for Feedback

“If you don’t ask, you don’t get”. Truisms are often just that. True. Asking members for reviews can be a bit of a balancing act. No business wants to annoy or bother their customer base unnecessarily. But harnessing that feedback is essential for building your online reputation.

And it doesn’t have to be blunt and apparent, by encouraging a culture where gym staff encourage members to leave feedback, especially after they’ve had a positive experience, the process can seem quite natural and unintrusive. We have even encouraged gyms to set up a “review station” in the gym where people can quickly leave a comment, or use automated follow-up emails to ask for feedback post-workout. Let members know that their experiences matter and they will make their opinions heard.

Step 4: Simplify the Review Process

This is a key rule for collecting feedback in any line of work. The simpler the feedback request, the more likely it will be completed.

For an independent gym, convenience is key when it comes to encouraging reviews. Make the review process as simple as possible by providing direct links to your review profiles in follow-up emails, on your website, or through your member app. This saves members time and makes it easy for them to leave feedback.

A quick rating of 5 stars is worth a lot, as we covered at the start a lot of members just glance at the number of stars and the number next to the stars. So while a detailed testimonial is great, a five star rating is better than no rating at all.

Step 5: Engage with Every Review (Positive or Negative)

Responding to reviews, whether positive or negative, shows members that you value their opinions and are dedicated to listening and improving in order to build a better experience.

Just as important, responding lets you control and influence the narrative. For positive reviews, thank members for their feedback and let them know you’re glad they’re enjoying the gym. For negative reviews, always stay calm and professional. Address concerns directly, offer solutions, and demonstrate that you’re open to making improvements. Engaging thoughtfully with all reviews enhances your credibility and shows prospective members that you genuinely care about feedback.

Sometimes it can take surprisingly little effort and understanding to turn a negative review into a positive one.

Step 6: Showcase Positive Reviews Across Platforms

Positive reviews are some of the best marketing tools that independent gyms have at their disposal.

Once an independent gym has started to accumulate a good number, they should start being featured on their website, social media channels, and in promotional materials.

This can help prospective members feel confident about choosing the gym and boost the gym’s credibility in the local community. A simple “Member Success Stories” section on your website can create a powerful impression and attract more fitness enthusiasts to join.People enjoy a human story, especially in the fitness world. Positive reviews and experiences can leave people feeling motivated and inspired, and gym’s can harness that to great effect.

Step 7: Track Reviews and Reputation

In order for an independent gym to keep their reputation strong they must regularly monitor review activity. It isn’t enough just to get a review score up to 4.5 or 4.8. It is about keeping it there.

By setting up Google Alerts or using reputation management tools to receive notifications when your gym is mentioned online, an independent gym’s management can stay ahead of the curve. This allows them to stay on top of reviews and address any new feedback in a timely manner. Regularly review your approach to ensure it’s in line with what your members appreciate most, and make adjustments as needed to stay effective.

What Next?

Building a great online reputation is a continuous process, but by focusing on member satisfaction, consistently encouraging feedback, and thoughtfully managing your reviews, an independent gym or fitness club will be on the right track to creating an online presence that reflects their gym’s commitment to quality and community.

By maintaining their Google Business Profile, ensuring the review score remains high and encouraging members to leave their earnest feedback, an independent gym can help create a positive, professional and genuine web presence that will instantly appeal to any prospective members that find themselves landing on their section of the internet.

If you are interested in learning more about how your independent gym or fitness club could upgrade their web presence, whether it is via reviews, membership management or investing in the actual gym website itself, perhaps you are in the right place.

Here at Ashbourne we have over twenty five years experience helping independent gym and fitness club owners raise their presence and streamline operations across their gym. Our services go much further than just web presence as well, with everything from access controls to payment collection and turnstile installation. If you are interested in seeing what Ashbourne can do for your independent gym, whether it is a new project or an industry veteran, contact our demo team here.

Get your club in shape.

Want to discover how? Let us show you.

Simply select your preferred timeslot and we’ll be in touch to have a chat about your health club,
the goals you want to achieve, and how our system can help you.

Get your club in shape.

Want to discover how? Let us show you.

Simply select your preferred timeslot and we’ll be in touch to have a chat about your health club, the goals you want to achieve, and how our system can help you.

Get your club in shape.

Want to discover how? Let us show you.

Simply select your preferred timeslot and we’ll be in touch to have a chat about your health club, the goals you want to achieve, and how our system can help you.

Building the Dream Team: How to Find (and Keep!) Amazing Gym Staff

Jasmin — Wed, 12 Feb 2025 20:52:00 +0000

Building the Dream Team: How to Find (and Keep!) Amazing Gym Staff

Here at Ashbourne Membership Management, we know how to hire great staff, both in the gyms that we have operated and in our own company. Over our 25 years of experience in the fitness industry, we have hired countless talented individuals to help contribute towards our continued success and that of our partners.

Owning and operating our own fitness clubs has been invaluable in helping our partner gym owners get the most out of their businesses. Whether it is collecting direct debits, providing bespoke software or installing sophisticated access controls.

So our article today condenses what we have learned when it comes to hiring staff for your gym or fitness club.

In the competitive fitness industry, the success of an independent gym often hinges on the quality of its staff. Great gym staff are vital not only for delivering exceptional customer service but also create a welcoming and motivating environment that keeps members coming back.

Choosing the right team is crucial, so here is our guide on how gyms can ensure they consistently hire great gym staff.

1. Define Your Gym’s Culture and Values

Before the hiring process even begins, it is essential to clearly define your gym’s culture and values. We often talk about someone being ‘the right fit’ or ‘the wrong fit’ for a role and for a business. Before anyone sits down in that interview chair, it is important to understand what the right fit and the wrong fit look like within a fitness facility.

What kind of atmosphere do you want to create? Is your gym focused on community, high-intensity training or functional fitness? The type of person who would thrive in a hard-rock pumping powerlifting club might be a little at odds with a more casual environment.

Understanding your gym’s identity will help you identify candidates who align with your vision and contribute towards the improvement of the environment and the growth of the facility you are trying to run.

Action Point: Create a mission statement and core values that reflect your gym’s ethos. Use these as a guide during the hiring process to ensure candidates are a good and positive fit with the culture of your facility.

2. Detailed Job Descriptions

A clear, specific and well-written job description is the vital first step in attracting the right candidates.

We have all seen these vague job profiles online and we understand the temptation to cast a broad, unspecific net. But a broad net will catch all the fish, regardless of quality.

Be specific about the roles and responsibilities, required qualifications and any certification that is either needed or merely preferable. Make sure to include details about the culture you wish to create, whether it is reinforcing that your gym desires creativity, energy or a community focus.

Action Point: Include not only the technical skills required but also the soft skills, such as communication, empathy, and teamwork, that are crucial for creating a positive member experience.

3. Utilise Multiple Recruitment Channels

To attract a diverse pool of candidates, it is important to use a variety of recruitment channels. Relying on just one website or method will only attract people using that method to find employment.

Post job openings on fitness-specific job boards, social media platforms and local community boards. Independent gyms should rely heavily on their local network. The fitness community is also often heavily interconnected. As such, networking within your local fitness community can also yield strong candidates.

Action Point: Attend fitness expos, workshops and local events to connect with potential candidates. Encourage current staff to refer qualified individuals from their networks. Expand the number of job search websites you would consider using in the future.

4. Conduct Thorough and Focused Interviews

The interview process is your opportunity to assess not only the candidate’s qualifications but also their personality and fit with your gym’s culture. Too often the interview process can be unfocused. Each interview should have a set number of goals in mind, information you wish to learn about the interviewee.

Consider using a combination of traditional interviews, practical assessments and scenario-based questions.

Action Point: Ask questions that reveal how candidates handle real-life situations, such as dealing with difficult members or managing a busy gym floor. Observe their interpersonal skills and enthusiasm for fitness.

5. Check References and Backgrounds

References and background checks are critical to verifying a candidate’s qualifications and character. Speak with previous employers to gain insights into their work ethic, reliability and to understand how they would interact with members and other staff.

Action Point: Always conduct thorough background checks, especially for roles that involve close interaction with members or access to sensitive areas of the gym.

6. Offer a Competitive Salary and Staff Benefits for your Area

This one might seem obvious but it is vital. As the saying goes, you get what you pay for.

To attract and then retain the top talent in your area, you have to offer a competitive salary and attractive benefits.This includes not only salary but also perks such as free gym memberships, continuing developmental and education opportunities and, if possible, flexible scheduling.

It is one thing to find a great member of staff, it is another to keep them. Other gym and fitness club owners will also be on the lookout in their local area. We talk a lot about membership retention but failure to retain staff can cause a significant degradation in the quality of service a gym is providing to their members.

Action Point: Research industry standards for compensation in your area and consider offering additional incentives, such as performance bonuses or wellness programs.

7. Invest in Training and Development

Great gym staff are often made, not only hired. We have all seen someone grow into a role. Invest in ongoing training and development to help your team grow and stay motivated. This could include workshops, certifications and mentorship programmes.

Just as members never truly stop their fitness journey, a member of staff never stops theirs either. There is always something new to learn, whether it is the latest health and safety training, new techniques, scientific or technological advances or leadership and motivation training.

Action Point: Create a structured onboarding process for new hires and provide regular opportunities for professional development. Encourage staff to pursue certifications and attend industry conferences.

On the subject of training and development, Ashbourne Membership Management has helped thousands of gym staff provide a more effective, data-driven service with our BI Dashboards and cutting-edge membership Software.

Designed in order to be powerful with very little training, find out how your staff could be utilising our industry-leading technology today!

8. Create and Maintain a Positive Work Environment

A positive work environment is key to not only retaining great staff but ensuring great service and member experience. Encourage open communication, recognise achievements and create opportunities for your team to genuinely connect. Happy employees are not only more pleasant to be around, they are more likely to go the extra mile for your members.

Action Point: Regularly solicit feedback from your staff and address any concerns promptly. Celebrate milestones and successes as a team to build camaraderie.

9. Regular Performance Evaluations

Evaluating performance can often be a balancing act. Too often and staff feel stifled or dissatisfied, too irregularly and bad habits can form. Done at the correct pace, performance evaluations can help ensure that your staff are meeting expectations and provide opportunities for growth.

It is important that these performance evaluations are centered around the experience of the members of staff and are used to their benefit. If they are seen as a purely invasive measure, they will sap morale and create a negative atmosphere. Use these evaluations to set goals, provide constructive feedback and discuss career development.

Action Point: Implement a system for regular check-ins and formal evaluations. Use these sessions to recognize achievements and identify areas for improvement.

10. Build a Community Within Your Gym

And to close off our list, great gym staff thrive in environments where they feel part of a community. We have spoken at length about the importance of building a sense of community within a gym and the profound effect we have seen it have on membership retention rates.

But these changes don’t just benefit the members, they benefit staff as well!

Encourage your team to build relationships with members and with each other. A strong sense of community can lead to higher job satisfaction and better member experiences.

Action Point: Organise team-building activities and social events for your staff. Encourage them to engage with members and create a supportive, inclusive atmosphere.

Our Final Thoughts

Hiring great gym staff, like any function vital to a business, is a multifaceted process that requires careful planning, thorough evaluation and ongoing investment in your team.

By identifying and defining your gym’s culture ahead of recruiting, leveraging multiple recruitment channels, conducting thorough, focused interviews and fostering a positive work environment, independent gyms can build a team that not only meets but exceeds member expectations. Your staff are the face and the heart of your gym, investing in them is investing in the success of your business.

And remember, our advice isn’t theoretical. Not only have we helped countless gyms and fitness clubs transform vast swathes of their operation, with everything from cutting-edge software and access controls to streamlined direct debit collection and professional membership-facing customer service, unlike many other Membership Management companies, we know what it is like to run a facility.

So if you are a gym or fitness club owner and you are interested in only working with the best, our demonstration team is standing by, ready to understand how we here at Ashbourne can help take your facility to the next level!

Get your club in shape.

Want to discover how? Let us show you.

Simply select your preferred timeslot and we’ll be in touch to have a chat about your health club,
the goals you want to achieve, and how our system can help you.

Get your club in shape.

Want to discover how? Let us show you.

Simply select your preferred timeslot and we’ll be in touch to have a chat about your health club, the goals you want to achieve, and how our system can help you.

Get your club in shape.

Want to discover how? Let us show you.

Simply select your preferred timeslot and we’ll be in touch to have a chat about your health club, the goals you want to achieve, and how our system can help you.

Planning Social Media for Gyms and Fitness Clubs: A Guide to Boosting Engagement and Membership

Jasmin — Tue, 04 Feb 2025 21:15:18 +0000

Planning Social Media for Gyms and Fitness Clubs: A Guide to Boosting Engagement and Membership

Here at Ashbourne Membership Management, we have been helping gyms and fitness clubs plan, predict and prepare for the future for over twenty five years. In that time we have not only assisted countless gym owners in everything from payment collection to access control, we have helped gyms manage their finances, store-fronts, classes and apps.

As such, the expertise that helped build this blog and our entire business comes from knowledge of both sides of the divide, experience of running a physical facility and behind the scenes.

And our topic today is an interesting fusion of both. While social media is a medium that feels like it should be about instant reactions and trends, in order to be successful it requires meticulous planning. Anyone who has tried to run a social media campaign knows that it isn’t as simple as posting when inspiration hits.

What will we cover in this article?

(you can also click to skip ahead!)

What Does Social Media Planning for Gyms and Fitness Clubs Require?

Why Does Social Media Planning Matter?

Step-by-Step Guide to Planning Social Media

Tips for Social Media Success

Social Media Planning for Gyms and Fitness Clubs Requires:

Communication between members, the facility staff and the social media organiser/team

Preparation to generate materials and plan events ahead of time

Feedback, to understand what events members want to see

As more and more of the gym-going demographics fall into either Millennial or Gen Z generations, social media is becoming increasingly indispensable for gyms and fitness clubs.

No longer a simple tool for promotion, social media is becoming THE way for an independent gym to stand out in their crowded local area. It isn’t just enough to offer great facilities and classes, it is about getting images of that facility and those classes onto the phone of members and prospective members alike.

It demands a strategic approach to social media marketing that not only attracts potential members but also engages, retains and involves your existing membership. If done correctly, it can be a powerful tool to drive engagement and growth.

Why Social Media Planning Matters for Gyms and Fitness Clubs?

Social media has become much more than just a platform for sharing photos and updates, it’s a powerful tool for building relationships, developing and showcasing your brand and driving engagement into conversions.

Like any serious marketing campaign, it requires planning in order to be effective. Here’s why it is crucial for gyms and fitness clubs to plan ahead

Increased relevance is KEY to increased engagement:

Social media is all about “now”.

The reason billions of people keep logging on every day is the hype-relevance. Whether something is on the other side of the world or right next door, social media offers the ability to see it immediately.

As such, it is that much more noticeable when a social media campaign for a gym or fitness club is sluggish, out of sync or lagging behind. Even one day late to an event, a key date or a reaction can create a disconnect between the social media account and reality. There is a thin line between appearing genuine and appearing out of touch.

As such, planning for big events such as New Year, Valentine’s Day, Easter, the Summer Holidays and Christmas are vital. These posts need to go out at the time they are relevant and that window can be vanishingly small!

Maintaining momentum has several benefits:

Planning is vital for keeping the momentum up. Not only from an algorithmic standpoint, but in order to keep the appearance of a thriving and energetic social media account.

Large gaps between posts won’t only make a gym’s social media account less likely to hit the feeds of those members and prospective members, it will also look sloppy and sporadic to anyone who goes onto the account.

Social media is about keeping up appearances. Planning ahead of time to make sure a steady stream of content comes out is vital to ensuring the long-term success of a gym’s social media marketing campaign.

Community Building - Inside and outside the Gym:

Fitness is inherently social. Planning out the pace and structure of that socialising can help maximise attendance at events and engagement online.

Social media allows a gym to create a sense of community among their members, fostering loyalty and encouraging referrals. It is about building a community online and offline.

Brand Authority - Social Media is a vital part of the brand image:

Consistently sharing valuable content positions a gym as an authority in the fitness space, helping them stand out from competitors.

Conversely, posting low quality or poor posts will damage the authority of the brand and the gym:

Posting irregularly

Posting too regularly

Posting repetitive content

Posting poor quality or misleading content

Posting unprofessionally

Planning content that is professional, well-informed and well-composed will have a positive impact on the perception of the brand compared to an unorganised, irregular or uninterested social media presence.

Costing-Effective Marketing:

It is important for a gym or fitness club to consider their social media accounts as part of their marketing strategy. That doesn’t mean the tone has to be joyless and corporate, but a balance is necessary.

Compared to traditional advertising, social media is a more affordable way to promote your gym and reach your target audience. A gym should make sure they are reaching out to members and prospective members in a way that seems both structured, organic and genuine.

Member Engagement:

The final reason that independent gyms and fitness clubs should plan their social media is that all important topic we at Ashbourne keep returning to. Engagement!

Social media provides a direct line of communication with your members, allowing you to share updates, gather feedback and keep them motivated. This has a direct impact on everything from retention to growth. Engagement can be the difference between forming an energised community or a demoralised environment.

Plan out a social media content calendar so it can help play a key role to play in energising members!

Step-by-Step Guide to Planning Social Media for Independent Gyms and Fitness Clubs

Define Your Goals and Your Target Demographics/Audience

Before diving into detailed plans and content creation, it is essential to define your goals and identify your target audience and core demographics.

As we have talked about previously in several blogs, market research in the local/operational area is vital for an independent gym or fitness club.

Analyse the area your independent gym operates in. The type of people you are trying to attract. Are they students? Suburban workers? A mix of different demographics?

Are you looking to increase membership sign-ups, promote a new class, or engage existing members? Once you understand what you want to achieve, these goals will help shape your content strategy.

Target Audience?

Consider demographics like age, gender, location, and fitness goals. For example, are you targeting busy professionals, students or fitness enthusiasts? Perhaps specialist niches such as MMA, Yoga or Bodybuilding? Tailor your content to resonate with their needs and interests!

Choose the Right Platforms

Not all social media platforms are the same. Different content does better on different platforms. Focus on the platforms where your target audience is most active:

Answering the questions above about your target audience will make the decisions in this step all the easier.

Instagram: Ideal for visual content like workout videos, transformation/journey photos, and behind-the-scenes glimpses of your gym or fitness club.
Facebook: Great for community building, event promotion, and sharing longer-form content.
TikTok: Perfect for short, engaging fitness challenges, tips, trends and snippets of interviews. Also works well for short-form Question and Answer formats to keep audiences engaged.
YouTube: Use it for in-depth workout tutorials, class previews, long-form interviews and member testimonials.
LinkedIn: If you’re targeting corporate clients or promoting B2B offers and services, LinkedIn can be a valuable platform but has little appeal outside of that specific remit.

Create a Content Calendar

As we have reinforced throughout this article, consistency is key to a successful social media marketing campaign. A content calendar helps you plan and organise your posts in advance, ensuring a steady stream of engaging content.

As we covered above, relevance and pertinence are key on social media. Members and prospective members are more likely to connect with and share posts and content if it is relevant to the specific day or season (E.g Valentine’s Day, Easter, Christmas).

Here’s what to include:

Workout Tips and Tutorials: Utilise and enhance the expertise and authority of your fitness brand. Share quick exercise routines, stretching techniques, or nutrition tips.
Member Spotlights: Keep members engaged. Highlight success stories and transformations to inspire other members and prospective members.
Behind-the-Scenes Content: Showcase your trainers, staff, and gym facilities to humanise your brand. Showing the facility is especially important, many people will only ever see the outside of your facility, show them inside, get them interested!
Promotions and Offers: Announce membership discounts, referral programs, or free trial classes. If members know that genuine and valuable offers can be found on your social media accounts, they are more likely to return and recommend it to others!
Feature User Content: Encourage members to share their workout photos and tag your gym.
Trending Challenges: Participate in fitness challenges or create your own to boost engagement.

Leverage Visual Content

Fitness lends itself very well to visuals. People want to see demonstrations, impressive feats and new techniques.

So prioritise high quality photos and videos of the inside of your facility. Whether it is seeing the equipment in use, the positive atmosphere or classes in fullswing, a gym always looks better in motion.

Investing in good lighting, equipment and editing tools can help make your content stand out as well as helping to reduce and standardise the time it takes to make it.

Engage With Your Audience

Social media is a two way street and it is important to plan your content as such. Too often we have seen a content calendar that doesn’t include the followers!

Social media isn’t just a lectern, it is a conversation!

Don’t just post continuous content, engage with your audience by responding to comments, answering questions and acknowledging your members and non-members alike. Not only does this boost your content algorithmically, it also helps to engage and reward those posting. Hosting interactive content such as Q&A sessions, polls and contests to keep your followers involved as well as making them feel valued.

Use Hashtags and Geotags

Content isn’t just for your existing followers and the people they share it with. Hashtags and geotags are powerful tools for increasing your reach. Hashtags can help users interested in certain subjects and niches hone in on a topic, while geotags are perfect for independent gyms and fitness clubs operating in a specific area.

Doing research on the fitness hashtags that are most popular can help increase your reach in the local area and more broadly. Geotags can help you attract local members by making your gym more discoverable and help narrow down where your content is shown. While it would be nice to be very popular in London, not much point if your gym is in Inverness!

Track and Analyse Performance

Now this comes back to our roots as a data-driven Membership Management company.

Any gym or fitness club that isn’t monitoring their social media outputs is leaving valuable information on the table.

Regularly monitor your social media performance to see what is working and what isn’t. Many different social media management tools condense these metrics into usable data but it can also be tracked individually on the individual platforms.

Use analytics tools to track metrics like engagement rate, reach and those all important conversions. Adjust your strategy based on the data to optimise your results.

Tips for Social Media Success

Collaborate with Influencers: Partner with local fitness influencers to promote your gym and reach a wider audience.
Run Paid, Targeted Ads: Boost high-performing posts or run targeted ads to reach potential demographics, audience or locations in your operational area.
Host Virtual Events: Organise online fitness challenges, webinars or workshops to engage your audience.
Stay Authentic: Authenticity resonates with audiences. Share real stories, struggles and successes to build trust and connection.

What Do We Think?

Used correctly, social media can be a game-changer for gyms and fitness clubs looking to grow their membership, increase engagement and build a strong community.

But that all starts by defining your goals, creating engaging content and staying consistent.

Social media is a unique combination of genuine, heartfelt member stories and data-driven metrics that when harnessed can produce incredible results.

Here at Ashbourne Membership Management, we have been maintaining that balance between data-driven success and a genuine human approach for over twenty five years. We have helped countless gym and fitness club owners take their fitness facility to the next level through a combination of cutting-edge technology and innovative systems, all while never forgetting that it is people that make these facilities what they are.

If all this talk of planning, data and methodical approaches has got you thinking about what comes next, perhaps you are in the right place already. Book a demo with our demonstration team today and we can start to understand if Ashbourne is the right partnership for your independent gym or club.

Get your club in shape.

Want to discover how? Let us show you.

Simply select your preferred timeslot and we’ll be in touch to have a chat about your health club,
the goals you want to achieve, and how our system can help you.

Get your club in shape.

Want to discover how? Let us show you.

Simply select your preferred timeslot and we’ll be in touch to have a chat about your health club, the goals you want to achieve, and how our system can help you.

Get your club in shape.

Want to discover how? Let us show you.

Simply select your preferred timeslot and we’ll be in touch to have a chat about your health club, the goals you want to achieve, and how our system can help you.

Supercharge Your Gym: The Power of AI for Independent Fitness Clubs

Jasmin — Tue, 21 Jan 2025 21:57:46 +0000

Supercharge Your Gym: The Power of AI for Independent Fitness Clubs

Remember when AI was just a buzzword? Well, those days are long gone. AI is exploding, and it’s about to revolutionise the fitness industry.

At Ashbourne, we’ve been helping gyms like yours stay ahead of the curve for over 25 years. And trust us, AI is the next big thing.

This guide will show you:

How AI can boost member engagement: Personalised workouts, AI-powered chatbots, and more!
The secrets to increasing efficiency: Automate tasks, predict demand, and optimise energy use.
How to gain a competitive edge: Leverage AI to attract new members and keep them coming back.

We’ll cut through the jargon and show you how AI can actually help your gym thrive.

Let’s dive in!

What will we cover in this article?

(you can also click to skip ahead!)

AI in Gyms: What's in it for You?

How AI Can Help With Predicting Your Demand

Collecting and Analysing Feedback and Surveys

Creating Tailored Training Programmes

Introducing an AI-Powered Gym Website Chatbot

Implementing a Personalised Membership Recommendation System

AI Analysis and Optimisation of Energy Consumption

Implementation of ‘Virtual Personal Trainers’ and ‘Virtual Workout Monitoring’

AI-Powered Equipment and Facility Management

How AI Can Boost Member Engagement, Satisfaction and Retention

How AI Can Increase Data, Data Quality and Data Analytic Capacity

The Future of AI For Your Gym

AI in Gyms: What's in it for You?

Before diving into the details, we’ll start with a quick overview of how AI can be used in the fitness industry and the benefits it offers gym owners. This will cover the main ways AI is already being used or is expected to be used soon.

With all the hype and misinformation around AI lately, it’s important to clarify what AI can and can’t do right now. This section will help you get a sense of whether AI’s benefits are a good fit for your gym.

As with any new technology, there are a lot of exaggerated claims. Here’s a quick look at AI’s key benefits in the fitness world, especially for gym owners.

Key Benefits of AI for Gym Owners:

More Actionable Data: AI helps generate valuable insights quickly, allowing gym owners to make informed decisions. Even small gyms can access the kind of data that would usually require a full-time role or outsourcing.
Increased Staff Efficiency: Automating routine tasks frees up time for staff to focus on more important work. This boosts productivity and can improve staff morale, which in turn can enhance member retention.
Lower Outsourcing Costs: AI can handle many tasks that would typically require outsourcing, helping reduce operational costs and boost profit margins.
Scalable Growth: AI makes it easier to scale your gym without losing efficiency. It helps manage the challenges of expansion and cuts down on additional costs.
Better Member Experience: AI can handle member inquiries instantly, 24/7, improving satisfaction. While it can’t fully replace human interaction, it’s a great way to enhance communication and feedback collection.

In short, AI can be a game-changer for gyms, driving efficiency, improving staff and member experiences, cutting costs, and providing valuable data insights. When used correctly, it can help grow your business and make day-to-day operations smoother.

How AI Can Help With Predicting Your Demand

Before AI and automation, predicting gym attendance was either a guessing game or a time-consuming process. Now, gym owners are using AI to analyze past data and better understand demand. By looking at things like seasonal trends and equipment usage, AI helps predict peak times—down to the day, hour, or even minute.

This data lets gym owners fine-tune class schedules, balance peak/off-peak times, and even make smarter decisions about equipment repair or purchases. It all adds up to a better member experience, boosting retention, satisfaction, and growth.

Collecting and Analysing Feedback & Surveys

AI is making it easier than ever for gym owners to collect, analyse, and use feedback. Whether it’s from the gym’s website, social media, or in-person, AI and automation are speeding up the process of turning feedback into valuable data.

Feedback and surveys have always been important in the fitness industry, but the process of sorting through and analysing them used to take a lot of time and effort. Now, with tools like sentiment analysis, AI helps gym owners quickly understand feedback from surveys, social media, and reviews, saving hours of work.

This shift allows gym owners to make data-driven decisions faster, improving member experience, boosting retention, and driving growth.

Creating Tailored Training Programmes

AI is changing member expectations when it comes to personalised training programmes. Gym owners are using AI tools to create custom workout plans based on each member’s goals, fitness level, and workout habits. These plans can be updated and improved over time, giving members a sense of continuous support.

While gym owners should still review the quality of these plans, AI-driven programs keep members engaged and help them feel valued, shifting the gym experience from just a place to work out to a place that actively supports their fitness journey.

Many AI systems also integrate nutrition plans, which can be key to keeping members motivated and on track with their goals.

The best part? AI systems can be used at any scale—whether you have 100 or 500 members—without straining resources. When paired with staff and trainers, AI can be a powerful tool to boost retention, satisfaction, and engagement, offering great value with minimal cost.

Introducing an AI-Powered Gym Website Chatbot

AI-powered chatbots are becoming a go-to tool for gyms, handling basic customer service tasks quickly and efficiently. They can answer common questions like membership prices, class schedules, facility crowd levels, and more—saving time and resources.

While chatbots aren’t meant to replace all customer service, they’re great for handling routine inquiries 24/7, freeing up staff to focus on more complex questions. This boosts communication with both potential and current members, helping increase sign-ups and improve overall member satisfaction.

Implementing a Personalised Membership Recommendation System

AI is also being used to recommend personalised workouts and classes based on each member’s goals and preferences. These recommendations help boost engagement with classes, which can lead to increased spending if they’re paid, or better attendance if they’re free.

Just like with tailored training plans, this personalised approach makes members feel more valued, improving retention and satisfaction. Plus, if the recommendations work, it boosts morale and overall engagement. The best part? AI systems can quickly learn to make accurate recommendations, especially since many classes have similar structures.

AI Analysis and Optimisation of Energy Consumption

AI is also making a big impact on energy management in the fitness industry. Running a gym can be energy-hungry, with equipment, lighting, and amenities like saunas or pools driving up costs. For 24/7 gyms, the bills can get even higher.

Thankfully, AI-powered tools are helping gyms track and optimize energy use. By analyzing energy consumption patterns—comparing peak and off-peak times—AI helps gym owners cut down on waste and adjust energy use accordingly. This can lead to significant savings and a more efficient gym overall.

Implementation of ‘Virtual Personal Trainers’ and ‘Virtual Workout Monitoring’

Virtual personal trainers and workout monitoring might sound futuristic, but they’re already being used in some gyms. While still in early stages, these AI-powered tools are rapidly evolving as the tech improves.

Virtual personal trainers aren’t new—they became super popular during the Covid-19 lockdowns. But soon, the mix of human and AI trainers will take over, offering round-the-clock support via gym apps or websites. These AI trainers use member data to provide personalized workout plans, track progress, and offer feedback.

Some gyms are also experimenting with AI video feedback, where the AI analyses members’ form in real-time or from recorded workouts. Though still developing, this could have a huge impact on members’ fitness journeys.

With AI handling some of the personal training duties, gyms can keep members motivated and engaged even when they’re not at the gym, reducing pressure on staff while increasing retention and satisfaction. It’s a powerful tool for both member experience and marketing.

AI-Powered Equipment and Facility Management

AI tools aren’t just great for managing energy usage in gyms—they’re also game-changers for equipment maintenance. By tracking factors like the time since last service, typical maintenance intervals, and the performance of similar machines, AI builds a clear picture of when repairs are needed.

This proactive approach helps gym owners reduce downtime, keeping more equipment available for members, which boosts satisfaction and retention—especially during peak seasons like New Year’s and summer. Plus, AI can even anticipate maintenance needs ahead of these busy periods, ensuring smooth operations when it matters most.

How AI Can Boost Member Engagement, Satisfaction and Retention

One of the biggest takeaways from this guide is how AI-powered tools can transform the member experience in gyms and fitness clubs. With the right implementation, these tools let owners deliver more value, personalised support, and attention than ever before, giving them an edge in attracting and keeping tech-savvy members.

Gyms are no longer just workout spaces—they’re service providers offering guidance and expertise. AI plays a vital role in this shift by complementing staff, filling in gaps when they’re unavailable, and providing insights into member preferences and routines. This boosts engagement and retention while freeing up staff to focus on deeper, more personal interactions.

The result? A smarter, more responsive gym experience that runs efficiently around the clock. By automating routine tasks and using data to fine-tune services, AI helps create a seamless member journey, ultimately improving satisfaction and loyalty without replacing the human touch. The potential impact on both member retention and overall operations is huge.

How AI Can Increase Data, Data Quality and Data Analytic Capacity

At Ashbourne Membership Management, we believe data is key to transforming any business. AI-powered and automated tools make it easier for gyms and fitness clubs to capture and analyse data more effectively, and fast.

The personalised, member-focused approach we’ve discussed relies on smart data management—handled by both AI tools and staff. AI doesn’t replace people but enhances how they work, streamlining processes and unlocking untapped potential for smarter operations.

As personalised service becomes the new standard, the gyms that stay competitive will be those investing in advanced data systems now. Whether big or small, using AI to power data-driven decisions is the next step toward better member experiences and lasting success.

The Future of AI For Your Gym

As we wrap up this guide, let’s look ahead at the future of AI and automation in the fitness industry—and how we’ll continue covering this exciting, fast-growing field.

AI tools are already making waves, even in their early stages, highlighting the massive potential for gym and fitness club owners who invest in these technologies now. From sentiment analysis to virtual personal training, the capabilities will only expand as adoption grows and systems evolve.

Gyms that embrace AI today position themselves to thrive as the technology becomes more sophisticated. Beyond short-term advantages like better efficiency and engagement, adopting AI now is a smart move to future-proof your business for long-term success. If you’re in the fitness industry, AI should be firmly on your radar—it’s the key to staying competitive in the years ahead.

The Main Benefits of AI...

Increased Member Satisfaction, Retention and Engagement: With the correct application of AI-powered systems, Gym and Fitness Club owners can deliver a more personalised service with significantly increased coverage and ability.
Improved Data Capture, Quality and Analysis: Given the ability of AI-powered tools to verify, validate, capture and analyse vast amounts of data at a rapid pace, it will help transform how gym and fitness club owners handle and process their data.
The Potential to become ‘Industry Standard’ and ‘Early Adoption’: As more Gyms and Fitness Clubs start to adopt this technology, the more expected it will become for facilities to embrace it. This is a well-known ‘tipping point’ within business. Any Gym or Fitness Club that adopts and masters AI-powered technologies early stands to not only stay competitive but may gain a vital edge over less tech savvy competitors.
Integrated and Partially Automated Facility Management: By using AI-powered tools to automate mundane, daily and predictable tasks, significant amounts of staff-hours can be freed up. By harnessing the predictive abilities of AI-systems, efficiency savings can be made in areas such as energy and maintenance.

Our Final Thoughts

The future of AI in the fitness industry looks brighter than ever, promising even more transformation in a field that’s already evolved dramatically over the past decade.

If this guide has sparked ideas for your gym or fitness club, you’re in the right place. At Ashbourne Membership Management, we’ve been helping gyms stay ahead of the tech curve for over 25 years. Whether you need advanced membership management, cutting-edge access controls, or powerful BI dashboards for smart data insights, we’re here to help take your facility to the next level.

Interested in learning even more about how AI can support you in supercharging your gym? Check out our eBook for a more in depth walkthrough of the power of artificial intelligence and see what you can implement in your gym today!

Get your club in shape.

Want to discover how? Let us show you.

Simply select your preferred timeslot and we’ll be in touch to have a chat about your health club,
the goals you want to achieve, and how our system can help you.

Get your club in shape.

Want to discover how? Let us show you.

Simply select your preferred timeslot and we’ll be in touch to have a chat about your health club, the goals you want to achieve, and how our system can help you.

Get your club in shape.

Want to discover how? Let us show you.

Simply select your preferred timeslot and we’ll be in touch to have a chat about your health club, the goals you want to achieve, and how our system can help you.

Different Ways to Grow Your Gym in 2025

Jasmin — Tue, 14 Jan 2025 21:42:47 +0000

Different Ways to Grow Your Gym in 2025

With the victories and defeats of 2024 now set in stone, it is time to turn our attention to 2025 as a year. Not just preparing for the New Year Rush as was our focus in November and December, but taking the time to look over strategies for the whole year.

With over twenty five years experience helping our partners collect, analyse and act upon data insights, we know the importance of a year and how much a gym can achieve if the year approached correctly.

If you have come here looking for sage advice on how to deal with January and the New Year rush, take a look through our articles and blogs over the last month or two. Whether it is how to prepare for the New Year rush here or how best to capitalise and utilise seasonal trends here our website has something for everyone at this famously busy and profitable time within the fitness industry.

But in our first blog of the year, we will be pulling back to look at 2025 as a whole. We now know the contents of 2024, but what does 2025 hold? Our first topic will be that all important topic…Growth!

The New Year represents a perfect time for independent gym and fitness club owners and management to separate themselves from the events of 2024 and reflect on the year as a whole. In a business that often operates seven days a week and increasingly 24 hours a day, it can be hard to know when to sit back and focus on the bigger picture.

In order for an independent gym or fitness club to thrive, we know it is vital to have a coherent and active approach to strategy the whole year through. So let’s take a look at some ways that independent gyms can build on the successes of 2024 and maximise growth as we move into 2025.

What will we cover in this article?

(you can also click to skip ahead!)

Market Research: Study the Area, Identify Unique-Selling-Points and Poorly Serviced Interests

Partnership and Collaboration: Securing Partners in the local area

Tech Refresh: Innovation and Integration in 2025

Digital Content Refresh: Review Social Media and Digital Marketing campaigns

Custom, Flexible Membership Tiers: Agile pricing for an Agile Generation

Events, Open Days and Outreach

Smart Fitness: Equipment, Infrastructure and Choices with Purpose

Investing in Staff: Training, Development and Encouraged

Growth and Retention

Market Research

Study the Area, Identify Unique-Selling-Points and Poorly Serviced Interests

For those of you who know us here at Ashbourne, you know we have always advocated a data-driven approach without ever losing sight of the people who constitute that data.

And our first method for growing an independent gym in 2025 encapsulates that perfectly. Understanding the area, the community and the people within it is vital to increasing growth.

One unique advantage independent gyms and fitness clubs enjoy is the ability to truly know and integrate themselves into an area. And this is a never ending process. Areas change, and people change. Moving away, getting older, having children. The market research that you undertook in 2018 might indicate a very different area to the one you will discover in 2025.

This advice is even more pertinent for any independent gym or fitness club that has never taken an extensive market research project into their local area. Understanding what the competition is offering, what markets are catered to and what niches are not being served is absolutely vital to maximising growth.

The goal of this market research is to understand what your club can better cater towards when it comes to your service in general, or how you can best communicate with your members via both your socials and your website. And the good news is that people are often very keen to tell you what they would like to see and every gym should have a list of their offerings on their website.

Collecting and collating this information can give a significant edge when it comes to determining what classes to introduce and expand as an Independent Gym continues through 2025.

Some of the big questions it can raise might be: Is your area significantly lacking functional fitness offerings? Has the most popular spot for High-Intensity Interval Training closed down? Is there more demand for yoga or pilates than there is supply in your area?

The information is out there, it only needs to be gathered and processed into usable data.

And if you’re stuck on ways to collect this data, then why not try any of the following:

Create a simple form using Google Forms or another free form service, to create a simple location to store all the responses.
Try sending this out in a short email to your members asking for their feedback.
You might even pair it with a reward or competition to incentivise people filling it in e.g. everyone who fills in the form gets put into a draw to win a prize or discount.
Send out this feedback form automatically to any members who cancel. You can also use this as a way to try and get them back by fixing any issues they raise.
Your personal trainers or staff can ask members who they speak to or provide sessions while on the gym floor.

Your business is all about supply and demand, and while this is a simplified version of it, identifying the demands within the local area and providing the supply can only fuel growth for an independent gym.

Partnership and Collaboration

Securing partners in the local area

Our second growth fuelling method continues our focus on the local operating area. As we said above, these areas represent a unique advantage that independent gyms enjoy over their corporate and chain counterparts.

The ability to partner and collaborate with local businesses is a powerful asset for self-promotion, integration and brand recognition. A positive association or endorsement from a trusted local business can be invaluable in establishing or development the brand and reputation of an independent gym within the area.

Not only that, but partnering with businesses in the area that share your values and operate in adjacent fields such as health, sports, health food or fitness clothing can lead to a significant increase in exposure for an independent gym.

By cooperating and forging meaningful and impactful partnerships in the area, an independent gym can help project their brand well beyond their four walls in a measurable and impactful way.

Tech Refresh

Innovation and Integration in 2025

As we mentioned in the introduction, when an independent gym is operating 7 days a week and often 24 hours a day, there can be a tendency to get complacent once things hit BAU (Business-As-Usual), at least on the tech front.

After all, if the software and hardware is working, why change?

Only much like the local area, hardware and software change and change rapidly. The local area isn’t the only thing that looks very different in 2025 when compared to 2018.

Which is why it is good to use a benchmark such as a New Year as a good time for a tech review. Survey and capture data from members, staff and management to understand what parts of your software and hardware are regarded as positive. What deficits and bugs have just become ‘accepted’ or worked-around.

A lot of staff time and energy can be lost working around inefficient software and outdated hardware. Identifying this can free up a significant amount of capacity at very little cost.

So when embarking on a tech overview, an independent gym should look for a software and hardware provider that streamlines important daily functions such as class bookings, payment and debt collection, membership categories and access controls.

Automated emails save time on having to onboard new members as much in-person. A reliable access control allows your staff to be more comfortable leaving the front desk without the concern that non-members are getting on to the site. More comprehensive business software can cut hours out of your bookkeeping by giving you detailed reports of how many members you have and how much revenue you’re bringing in.

All these things add up and just a few software updates can give you dozens of hours back a month that you can focus on doing other tasks without the need to hire more staff and add more costs to your business.

A new piece of tech is always cheaper than a new member of staff and might be just as effective at helping you run your club.

It is important to fight the feeling that the software and hardware you have is good enough to do the job. In our experience, you would be surprised by how much time outdated software can take up in a team and distract you from working on other projects to grow your business.

No part of your business works in isolation and inefficient, outdated or hard to operate software and hardware can be a key inhibitor of growth for an independent gym. The benefits that a tech review and shake-up could bring might reverberate through 2025 and beyond.

Digital Content Refresh

Review Social Media and Digital Marketing campaigns

Social media has been one of the defining marketing tools of the last decade and as we enter 2025 that trend is showing no sign of abating for independent gyms and fitness clubs. Not only does it remain one of the most cost effective for independent gyms to reach new members, strides in algorithmic and ad-targeting mean that it is even more effective for independent gyms looking to target specific demographics.

As with software and hardware above, it is important to review the campaigns, strategies, brand voice and templates that your gym has been using. The social media landscape changes quickly. It is important to make sure that the approach to your socials is keeping up with the trends of the day, so you can be sure that people are paying attention to what you’re sharing, and not simply yelling into the void!

Not only that, but it is important that the templates, brand voice and content still represent your independent gym as a brand and community. Has a certain aspect of the branding changed? Is there a new section of the facility or a new class offering?

There’s no point in promoting your club as a corporate space, if it’s got a casual edge to it, and vice versa. You need to ensure that you’re always marketing your gym honestly, so it actually attracts a membership who will feel at home on the gym floor.

Custom, Flexible Membership Tiers

Agile pricing for an Agile Generation

The industry has come a long way from its ‘one-size-fits-all’ heyday. The rise in smartphones and digital technology has meant an increased focus on flexibility, modular services and proactive pricing strategies. With tech-savvy ‘Gen Z’ and Millennials making up an ever-larger demographic of the ‘typical’ independent gym and fitness club, it is important that these generational headwinds are acknowledged and catered to.

Increasingly members want to be able to pick and choose what they do. A single membership tier that lumps in all the services is not going to be seen as good value for money, even if it is!

This is where the ability to adjust membership tiers on the fly, respond to popular demand and set up and manage multiple bespoke tiers of membership will be invaluable in making an independent gym or fitness club stand out from their local competitors.

With the right gym membership management tools, these tasks can become as easy as clicking a few buttons. The ability to react to the desires of the membership and the competition in the local area (see point 1) means that members feel like they are getting a cutting-edge and responsive service that wants to cater to their desires. Combine that with discount codes and social media-backed promotions and you have a powerful and versatile engine at the centre of an independent gym to drive growth through 2025.

Events, Open Days and Outreach

In the past we have focused on the importance of getting prospective members through the door of an independent gym or fitness club and the difference it makes. Both surveys and our vast experience has shown that a prospective member that comes through the doors of a functional, clean and welcoming gym or club are significantly more likely to sign-up or recommend others sign-up.

If an independent gym owner or management team believes that the facility they have built is good enough to sell itself then there is no reason not to hold events such as Open Days, community-focused programmes and charity fundraisers.

These events will not only help generate goodwill and engagement across the local community an independent gym is operating within, they will also get more people in for the first time. And they’re also a great excuse to invite over other local businesses to discuss how you can partner up and cross market together.

Word of mouth is a powerful tool when it comes to reaching out to the local community. Imagine the difference between two people talking about an independent gym where neither has been in and two people discussing that same facility when one of them attended a charity fundraiser last month. Not only did they see the facility, they can vouch for the good cause and hopefully the positive condition the facility was in.

Holding events can transform these conversations from people discussing a relative unknown to a fully engaged discussion where the facility comes away with a positive review.

Any independent gym or fitness club that doesn’t engage in these events risks leaving a key engagement and growth avenue underutilised.

Smart Fitness

Equipment, Infrastructure and Choices with Purpose

We have talked about how an independent gym could use their 2025 to refresh their software and hardware, but what about the actual equipment? Another powerful engine that keeps our independent gyms and fitness clubs running, sometimes we have found gyms that have overlooked their equipment for half a decade or more.

Now we all know equipment can be expensive, so we aren’t advocating going on a blind spending spree just because it is 2025. But with a new year ahead of us, it is a good time to take stock of the equipment in your club.

With features like Fitbit and wearable tech integration, digital media players, charging stations and phone interfacing all becoming increasingly popular, it might be worth considering whether some of the equipment on the facility floor is still making the cut for what the modern gym goer expects from their club.

Once again, this is where surveys can be invaluable for getting an idea of what your members want from their club, to see the areas where you should be investing, especially when it comes to your equipment.

And as always, we encourage independent gym owners to consult their staff. While they aren’t paying to be there, they do spend the most time at the facility.

Is there equipment they are always asked about and have to say ‘sorry, we don’t have that’?

Is there a feature that more and more people are asking for?

Is there something they know would enable them to better conduct their classes or engage members?

This information can be the difference between growth and increased retention and dissatisfaction, and it is all available within the walls of every independent gym!

Understanding what members and staff want from their equipment can be a great way for an independent gym to start 2025 strong and drive growth.

Investing in Staff

Training, Development and Encouraged

To expand on the last point, investing in staff is something that every independent gym and fitness club should be doing already. And as the thrust of this blog is to use 2025 as a reason to focus and reinforce areas where growth can be achieved, caring and investing in the staff of an independent gym represents one of the most vital sectors for a gym.

As you might have noticed, much of what we have spoken about already has revolved around staff, whether it is the software and hardware they use, the tools they are given, the events they will be asked to run or the equipment within the facility itself. The staff members of an independent gym represent the beating heart of the facility and go a long way to determine the culture.

If they are well-trained, well-motivated and welcoming, the independent gym will soon develop a reputation for being the same. On the other side of the scale, if they are poorly trained, poorly motivated and abrasive, members will not be keen to recommend the facility.

And that training isn’t necessarily down to their knowledge of the equipment, nutrition, fitness or even the processes of your business. Even the best staff members need to be regularly reminded about the little things which can make all the difference to your club’s atmosphere and perception.

Here are some questions to ask about your current training regime to ensure you’re covering all the bases:

Are your team being efficient with their time? Are they making the most of their time on the gym floor by checking in with members and offering additional customer service in between their regular tasks?
Can your staff reliably spot mystery shoppers and ensure your gym is always putting its best foot first to these influencers?
Do your staff understand the social media channels they’re in charge of? Have you provided any training for staff on these platforms other than the fact they know how to use them? There can be a surprising amount to learn to really master them.
Are your latest promotions and campaigns being passed on to your whole team effectively? Do they all know your marketing calendar so they can be sure your marketing is being pushed as far as it can?

While no member of staff will stay in one job forever, while they are there, they are a representative of your business, embodying the values and delivering the service that your gym wants to be known for.

As such, it is more than worth investing in a regular training regime to ensure every member of your team is able to deliver quality service, every hour of every day, reinforcing the brand of your gym as they do so.

Growth and Retention

And for our closing point on this list, we are going to go against the grain of the blog to talk about retention rather than growth.

Because while growth is absolutely vital, it should never come at the expense of retention. When, as we talked about earlier, there are new promotions and partnerships designed to bring in new members, it should never engender negative feeling among existing members.

That is why so many of the points on our list have tried to focus on boosting the quality for everyone, prospective members, new members and old members of an independent gym alike.

Chasing growth at the cost of retention can only result in an unstable and unreliable membership base. While 2025 can and should be a year focused on growth, it is important for every independent gym and fitness club not to lose sight of the people that make up their gym. Those members that were there in 2024 and before.

There’s an old rule in business that it costs three times as much to get a new customer, than keep an existing one!

While making some of the changes, refreshes and innovations we detailed above, it is also important to communicate to the existing membership what is being done and how it is to their benefit.

If there are promotions and partnerships, make sure that they focus on improving the experience of the existing membership as well as trying to reach out to new members for the gym.

Collecting opinions through surveys and through staff feedback can be an effective way to understand the opinions and experience of the two main groups on the facility floor. In addition to generating usable, actionable data for an independent gym, surveys also have a powerful psychological benefit for existing members. It signals to them that their opinions are being sought out.

So while 2025 can be a year of growth, there is no reason it shouldn’t also be a year where retention rates improve. An independent gym does not need to sacrifice one to bolster the other.

Conclusion

And if our plans for 2025 have got you motivated to start the year correctly, perhaps you are in the right place. Here at Ashbourne Membership Management we have helped thousands of gyms unlock potential.

Did our section on restrictive software and hardware sound a bit too familiar? With our cutting-edge software and access controls we have freed countless independent gyms from restrictive, costly and growth-negative membership management software.

Our software and hardware has helped independent gym owners and management teams to empower their staff, reshape their member experience and drive growth more effectively through each quarter and year.

And with our powerful BI dashboards and data outputs, they have been able to witness these results firsthand and in real time.

So if you are interested in taking your independent gym or fitness club’s operation to the next level, please don’t hesitate to contact our demo team here today. Within no time at all our staff can help understand what Ashbourne can do to make sure your 2025 will be a year of increased growth, retention and much more!

Get your club in shape.

Want to discover how? Let us show you.

Simply select your preferred timeslot and we’ll be in touch to have a chat about your health club,
the goals you want to achieve, and how our system can help you.

Get your club in shape.

Want to discover how? Let us show you.

Simply select your preferred timeslot and we’ll be in touch to have a chat about your health club, the goals you want to achieve, and how our system can help you.

Get your club in shape.

Want to discover how? Let us show you.

Simply select your preferred timeslot and we’ll be in touch to have a chat about your health club, the goals you want to achieve, and how our system can help you.

Free Webinar: How To Save A Failing Gym – A Case Study On The Fit Club Redditch

Harvey Clayton Wright — Mon, 13 Jan 2025 06:02:17 +0000

Free Webinar: How To Save A Failing Gym – A Case Study On The Fit Club Redditch

When it comes to growing clubs, we don’t just like to make promises, we also like to put our systems and knowledge to the test.

In this talk from The Gym Owners Workshop in Dublin, Grant Harrison and Toby Wassell took to the stage to review their 2 year project to turn around The Fit Club Redditch. Once a failing gym on the brink of closure, the Ashbourne team took over the site to use as a test gym and put their words into action using their own software, service and knowledge gained from working with thousands of gyms from across the UK and Ireland.

As you’ll see in this talk, we not only managed to turn The Fit Club into a local success story, but also left with a point by point plan of how to save a failing gym, which we are happy to share with you right now!

Be sure to download the slides to keep all the notes from the talk!

The Talk In Short: How to Build a Sustainable Club

Let’s be real – running a club or business, especially while holding down an additional job to fund the project, can feel like juggling flaming torches. But it doesn’t have to be that way. With the right systems and approach, you can set up a club that practically runs itself, giving you some much-needed breathing room.

Start with a Strong Foundation

Taking over or rebranding a business is a massive opportunity to set things up your way. Start by putting systems in place that make life easier. Automation can handle repetitive tasks, delegation lets your team take on responsibilities, and strong management structures keep everything ticking along smoothly.

The less your business depends on you, the better.

Make Sustainability The Goal

The dream is to build a club that doesn’t rely on you showing up every single day. Here’s how you can work towards that:

Create processes that keep everything running consistently, even if you’re not there.
Trust your team to step up and handle the day-to-day.
Design your operations so they’re efficient and don’t require constant oversight.

Experiment, Learn, And Adjust

Think of your club as a laboratory for new ideas. Some things will work beautifully, others will flop—and that’s fine!

Every experiment teaches you something. Keep trying out new systems and approaches until you find what sticks. And when something clicks, take it to the next level.

Share What Works

Here’s the thing about lessons learned, they’re often universal.

Some quick insights that might help and be useful in most situations are:

Keep it Simple: Design systems that are easy to follow and tweak as needed.
Empower Your People: A capable, trusted team can keep things moving without constant check-ins.
Stay Flexible: If something’s not working, don’t be afraid to pivot. Quick adjustments save time and headaches.

It’s Not About Size

Whether your club is small and scrappy or a big operation, the same principles apply. Don’t worry about how you compare to others – focus on finding what works for you and your setup.

Take Action!

Look at what’s taking up most of your time and figure out where you can step back. Is there a task you can hand off or automate? Start with small changes, see how they go, and build from there. Progress doesn’t have to be all at once – steady wins the race.

Let Ashbourne Help You...

Running a sustainable club isn’t easy, but it’s totally doable. With the right systems and a willingness to adapt, you can create a business that thrives on its own.

The bonus? You get to focus on other parts of your life, knowing your club is in good hands.

And as you’ve seen from the talk, Ashbourne can’t only provide you the tools to achieve all these goals, but our dedicated team comes with decades worth of knowledge that we can help you put into practice to build a solid foundation to grow your business on!

Get your club in shape.

Want to discover how? Let us show you.

Simply select your preferred timeslot and we’ll be in touch to have a chat about your health club,
the goals you want to achieve, and how our system can help you.

Get your club in shape.

Want to discover how? Let us show you.

Simply select your preferred timeslot and we’ll be in touch to have a chat about your health club, the goals you want to achieve, and how our system can help you.

Get your club in shape.

Want to discover how? Let us show you.

Simply select your preferred timeslot and we’ll be in touch to have a chat about your health club, the goals you want to achieve, and how our system can help you.

How Can Independent Gyms Convince Councils to Invest in Employee Wellness?

Jasmin — Fri, 03 Jan 2025 22:12:52 +0000

How Can Independent Gyms Convince Councils to Invest in Employee Wellness?

In an effort to promote employee wellness and boost overall community health, many gyms are now preparing compelling proposals to offer discounted or free gym memberships to local council employees. This initiative not only benefits individual employees by encouraging physical activity and improving their well-being but also has the potential to significantly impact the health and productivity of the entire council workforce.

Join us as we explore the key elements of a successful proposal, including highlighting the benefits for both employees and the council, addressing potential challenges, and providing tips for effective communication and presentation.

Establish the Objectives of a Partnership with the Council

First it is important to understand what you want to gain from contacting your local council. Every partnership requires a certain level of commitment and it will be important to define early on what you are offering and how this partnership will benefit your Gym.

Is it purely an increase in paid memberships? If so, think about how best to achieve this with minimal other engagement.

Offering discounted Gym memberships to Council employees is a good start. Furthermore, councils will have existing relations with other aspects of the town infrastructure. Consider asking them if this discount could be extended to say, the local NHS trust, police department or cleaning contractors.

Do you want to set aside an amount of resources to assist in community efforts?

If so, think about what resources this might consume. This could include.

Time from your PTs schedules
Training areas
Class Rooms
Equipment
Event preparation/Post-event cleaning

Consider if you’d be willing to have your staff support efforts in the community? This could include holding events in park spaces or a town centre. Could involve participating/volunteering for events such as Race for Life.

Consider your location within your given town, city or community. If your Gym is in a central location and easy to access location, consider the benefits that this brings in.

If your Gym is out of the way, consider who you are trying to offer this service to within the community with the help of the council. Maybe there are other, equally out of the way communities that do not usually receive support. If so, these might be more appreciative of the facility you are allowing them to access more easily.

What Our Gym, The Fit Club Did:

When we decided to approach Redditch Borough Council, we determined that we were willing to not only offer a discounted Gym Membership Scheme, but that we were also willing and able to assist with broader activities within the community.

As we had already worked on a corporate and business membership package, we knew the approximate rates we wished to charge for this.

The Fit Club – Redditch is located at the very centre of Redditch, just across from the main Redditch Borough Council offices. As such, it seemed apparent that we were in a prime position to offer their staff a beneficial deal on membership.

Furthermore, due to the central position of the Gym, we knew that it would be an ideal location for community activity and engagement. So we incorporated this into our objectives.

Objectives:

Approach Redditch Borough Council in order to increase our profile within the community and to offer their staff some form of either discounted or paid as benefit membership.
Explore potential partnerships with the Redditch Borough Council

Researching your Local Council

Once you have understood what you wish to achieve through partnership with your local council, the next stage will be to understand more about the council you will be contacting and hopefully dealing with.

You will want to look into:

What your local Councils current objectives and goals are.

Where their office or offices are based.

What existing fitness partnerships they have.

What existing fitness assets they currently own or administrate.

Who you need to talk to within the council leadership or staff.

Before starting, we would recommend creating a document to store the information that you will be collecting throughout this research task. This will be where you are putting any e-mails, PDFs, objectives or notable people that you discover in your research.

Council websites can be overwhelming. Focus on identifying key information like:

Council goals: Look for “Strategic Objectives,” “Community Goals,” or “Council Plan” (often spanning several years).

Office locations: Find the main office(s) and compare their location to your gym.

Existing partnerships: Research any fitness partnerships mentioned on the website. Compare your gym’s offerings and coverage area.

Council-owned facilities: Identify any fitness centers owned or operated by the council.

Contact information: Find relevant departments (e.g., HR, Partnerships) on the website or by calling the main office and searching online.

What Our Gym, The Fit Club Did:

1. Council Goals:

Reviewed Redditch Borough Council’s “Council Plan” PDF.

Identified key goals: increase adult activity levels, improve youth sports access.

Found alignment with The Fit Club Redditch’s services (e.g., minibus accessibility, community-based classes).

2. Office Location:

Council office is conveniently located across the street from The Fit Club Redditch.

This proximity allows for easy access for council employees.

3. Existing Partnerships:

Identified partnerships with a golf course (irrelevant) and a council-owned stadium.

Researched the stadium, noting its location and impersonal nature.

4. Council-Owned Facilities:

Focused on the council-owned stadium, analysing its location, size, and potential limitations.

5. Contact Information:

Easily found relevant email addresses: HR, Partnerships & Engagement, and Council Plan enquiries.

Understanding And Articulating The Services You Can Provide

Next, it’s time to work on constructing the basis of your proposal.

From our research in the previous section, you should know now what the appetite for fitness and sporting initiatives within your local Council is.

Given that it is very unlikely that any council would have no fitness or sporting aspirations within their plan, we will be assuming that there was at least some interest within the theoretical council agenda.

Now combine the strengths of your Gym or fitness club and the service it provides with what you have ascertained the Council is looking for.

Maybe your Gym is located in an area that the Council has not formed any significant partnerships within. Maybe they have formed a partnership with a swimming pool but not a fitness centre in the area you operate in.

If you have gathered all the necessary information from the first two steps, you should be able to reconcile your objectives with the research you have done on the council and see to what extent they align.

What Our Gym, The Fit Club Did:

While looking into this for The Fit Club – Redditch, we identified that there was seemingly a gap in the partnership services being provided to the Council, as indicated by their public-facing literature.

We also ascertained that there appeared to be a significant appetite at the Council for fitness initiatives, given the number of strategic goals and community priorities dedicated to this outcome.

This means we could draft our potential services around their own wording. Mimicking their language to ensure that we are as compatible with their goals and wording as possible.

This is an important step, as it will show genuine engagement with the goals of the Council. The goal here is to create an immediate desire to engage from the representatives of the council who will be reading your contact and proposals.

It is important to appreciate the Council of the UK work on their own highly specialised targets, jargon and metrics. As such, it is important to break down the services and products you are willing to provide in language that will be meaningful and impactful to the Council representatives you’ll be contacting.

We looked into crafting a proposal that covered off all of the goals that we could help the Council meet.

This covered the following goals:

“Strategic Purposes – ‘Living independent, active and healthy lives’”

This was an easy win. We focused on how our modern and central facility would be a natural hub for activity in the community. Drawing attention to how The Fit Club is very close to both bus and rail links, as well as having its own car park. This means that it is very able to facilitate independent living.

As mentioned earlier in this article, this is where we deployed our knowledge of the Dial-A-Ride scheme that is run by the Council. This will help show our knowledge of their operation and our capacity to support their goals.

“Community Priority – Improved Health and Wellbeing”

When addressing this second goal, we were keen to focus on the potential of the location and its ability to aid in the priority of improving wellbeing.

We highlighted that the Council Plan expressed the desire to ‘Work with partners, including Rubicon Leisure, to increase activity levels in the Borough’.

Because we had done our research, we knew that Rubicon Leisure was the company that administered Abbey Stadium. This is the stadium that we already established earlier was out of town. Therefore, in this section we focused on the fact that we would be covering an area that was seemingly not yet covered by the Redditch Borough Council’s network of partners.

We then laid out how we could support the other, minor goals detailed in the Council Plan. In our case, this was addressing the following:

Number of people who access targeted activities
Increase the percentage of physically active adult
Number of children & young people accessing sports development sessions

For each of these we focused on how our facility at The Fit Club – Redditch could assist with their goals. The first two were quite broad in nature, which is both a positive and a negative when it comes to proposing your ability to help fulfil an objective.

It is important to remember that there is a dual purpose to listing these goals. It was not only to show the ability of our Gym to assist, but to show we had genuinely engaged with the material and documentation that the council had published.

Contacting The Council And What You Should Say

When contacting a council about your gym membership offer, emphasise the win-win situation. Highlight the positive impact on employee health and well-being, leading to increased productivity, reduced absenteeism, and improved morale. Showcase how your gym aligns with the council’s own health and wellness initiatives. Mention specific programs or services that would be beneficial to council employees, such as discounted memberships, group fitness classes, or on-site wellness workshops. Express your enthusiasm for a potential partnership and your willingness to discuss customised options that best suit the council’s needs and budget.

What Our Gym, The Fit Club Did:

With their increased focus on increasing the ease of accessibility to government officers, the website for Redditch Borough Council had the relevant e-mail addresses quite clearly presented.

This included a HR mailbox, the staff member at the council office responsible for Partnerships and Engagement and the email address that handles inquiries relating to the Council Plan. In addition we were able to find the email address for the representative running the sporting development initiative, as well as the officer in charge of the Dial-A-Ride scheme.

This gave us a solid base of contacts to begin approaching different departments.

Given that our outreach had several different aims it was necessary to ensure that the right message got to the right person.

For example, when enquiring into the possibility of setting up an Employee Benefit system for paid Gym Memberships at The Fit Club – Redditch, we believed we would be e-mailing a member of the HR department, as opposed to say the Sports Development initiative representative.

Our Final Thoughts

By fostering strong partnerships with local councils, gyms can play a vital role in promoting employee wellness and creating healthier communities. A well-crafted proposal, combined with effective communication, can pave the way for mutually beneficial arrangements that benefit both employees and the organizations they serve. By embracing these opportunities, gyms can not only enhance their business but also contribute positively to the overall well-being of their communities.

Here at Ashbourne Membership Management, we have been helping independent gyms and fitness clubs for over twenty five years. Whether you are interested in membership management, cutting edge app technology, automated access control or sleek websites, we are here to help. Contact our demonstration team here and they can start to understand how your gym thrives, no matter which demographics you are targeting.

Get your club in shape.

Want to discover how? Let us show you.

Simply select your preferred timeslot and we’ll be in touch to have a chat about your health club,
the goals you want to achieve, and how our system can help you.

Get your club in shape.

Want to discover how? Let us show you.

Simply select your preferred timeslot and we’ll be in touch to have a chat about your health club, the goals you want to achieve, and how our system can help you.

Get your club in shape.

Want to discover how? Let us show you.

Simply select your preferred timeslot and we’ll be in touch to have a chat about your health club, the goals you want to achieve, and how our system can help you.

Part Four: Understanding the Next Generation and How to Appeal to Them – The Content Generation

Jasmin — Fri, 20 Dec 2024 14:19:39 +0000

Part Four: Understanding the Next Generation and How to Appeal to Them – The Content Generation

How Can Independent Gyms Harness Gen Z’s Drive for Connection, Content, and Authenticity?

In part four, we delve deeper into how independent gyms can attract and retain Gen Z and younger Millennials. Building on our previous article, we’ll explore strategies to appeal to this tech-savvy generation, focusing on creating engaging experiences and building community.

To succeed, gyms must go beyond simply offering workout space. They need to create a lifestyle hub that aligns with these generations’ values: social connection, authentic interaction, and flexible affordability. This involves incorporating class-led activities, leveraging digital content, and understanding their evolving fitness preferences.

What will we cover in this article?

(you can also click to skip ahead!)

The Power of Group Classes

Content Demand

Authentic Instructors

Flexible Pricing

The Power of Group Classes

Gen Z prioritises fitness as a social experience, heavily favoring class-led workouts. Growing up hyper-connected yet often socially isolated, this generation craves in-person connection. The pandemic further intensified this need.

Unlike previous generations, Gen Z sees fitness classes as social events, akin to happy hours. Independent gyms must capitalise on this by:

Prioritising group classes: Offering a diverse selection that’s easy to book and fits busy schedules.
Ensuring app-accessibility: Seamless booking is crucial for this tech-savvy generation.
Building community: Fostering a strong sense of belonging within the gym.

In the digital age, word-of-mouth spreads rapidly. Gyms that successfully cater to these preferences will thrive in attracting and retaining Gen Z members.

Meeting Gen Z’s Content Demand

“Content is King” has never been truer, especially for Gen Z. This generation views content as a primary means of brand engagement, seamlessly blending entertainment, social interaction, and self-expression.

Fortuitously, fitness content resonates strongly with Gen Z. Independent gyms can leverage this by:

Creating targeted content: Producing engaging workout videos, fitness tips, and interactive social media challenges.
Building a digital presence: Establishing themselves as trusted sources through their own app-based content.
Collaborating with creators: Partnering with influencers or encouraging staff to produce content.

High-quality content enhances online visibility, driving organic reach and attracting new members.

The Importance of Authenticity and Authentic Instructors

Gen Z and millennials seek authenticity in a world of AI and manufactured expertise. Raised in a hyper-connected environment, they value genuine, personal experiences.

Independent gyms can leverage this by:

Hiring authentic instructors: Emphasise warmth, approachability, and genuine energy over rigid instruction.
Prioritising human connection: Offer an experience that fitness apps and online resources cannot replicate.
Empowering staff: Invest in and support staff to foster meaningful member connections.

By prioritising authenticity, independent gyms can cultivate loyalty and improve retention among younger members who value genuine human interaction.

Flexible Pricing Options

Gen Z and Millennials prioritise wellness but face significant financial constraints. They are discerning spenders.

To attract this demographic, independent gyms should:

Offer flexible pricing: Implement tiered memberships and explore options like pay-as-you-go or class packs.

Run targeted promotions: Utilise flash sales, discount codes, and other incentives.

By addressing financial concerns and offering a diverse range of pricing options, gyms can make fitness more accessible.Furthermore, by embracing community, content, authenticity, and financial flexibility, independent gyms can evolve into social hubs and lifestyle destinations for this generation.

Conclusion

And so we reach the end of our fourth article in our deep dive on appealing to Generation Z and Millenials. It is a topic as fascinating as it is relevant, and we have not finished yet.

But if this article has left you eager to understand how your independent gym or fitness club can increase both appeal and retention across these core demographics, you might just be in the right place already.

Here at Ashbourne Membership Management, we have been helping independent gyms and fitness clubs for over twenty five years. That is a lot of generational experience. We have helped make sure countless gyms weren’t left behind, making sure we play a vital role in ensuring the successful day-to-day operations of independent gyms up and down the country.

Whether you are interested in membership management, cutting edge app technology, automated access control or sleek websites, we are here to help. Contact our demonstration team here and they can start to understand how your gym thrives, no matter which demographics you are targeting.

Get your club in shape.

Want to discover how? Let us show you.

Simply select your preferred timeslot and we’ll be in touch to have a chat about your health club,
the goals you want to achieve, and how our system can help you.

Get your club in shape.

Want to discover how? Let us show you.

Simply select your preferred timeslot and we’ll be in touch to have a chat about your health club, the goals you want to achieve, and how our system can help you.

Get your club in shape.

Want to discover how? Let us show you.

Simply select your preferred timeslot and we’ll be in touch to have a chat about your health club, the goals you want to achieve, and how our system can help you.

What To Do With Cancelling Members?

Jasmin — Wed, 18 Dec 2024 20:46:18 +0000

What To Do With Cancelling Members?

Member retention has always been a top priority. While attracting new members is crucial, it should never compromise the experience of existing ones. Achieving record new member sign-ups is meaningless if a gym simultaneously experiences record cancellations, resulting in an unstable and unsustainable membership base. Long-term members offer significantly more value than an equivalent number of new members.

This blog focuses on the worst-case scenario: a lost member. Specifically, we’ll explore what can be done about membership cancellations. As anyone in the fitness industry knows, cancellations take many forms. We will examine these different types, the reasons behind them, and what independent gym and fitness club owners can do to address them.

What will we cover in this article?

(you can also click to skip ahead!)

Understanding Cancellation

Cancellation Reasons

Beware of The Silent Quitters

Feedback Questions

Understanding Why Your Members Cancel

To solve a problem, you must first understand it. To effectively address membership cancellations, we must first define what we mean by the term. “Cancellation” can encompass various reasons, from burnout and financial strain to illness and lifestyle changes.

Understanding the different types of cancellations is crucial for asking the right questions. As the Ashbourne system emphasizes, data and feedback are essential. The insights gained from departing members can be invaluable for improving retention. While high cancellation rates can signal systemic problems, it’s important not to overreact to normal turnover. There are enough challenges in the fitness industry without misinterpreting routine churn as a deeper issue.

While it’s obvious that new memberships should exceed cancellations, the reality is often more complex. Therefore, what questions should independent gym owners ask cancelling members? What feedback should we gather from this crucial stage of the membership lifecycle? And most importantly, how can we ensure this information is easily collected and utilised?

What Are The Reasons A Member Might Cancel?

1. Contract/Membership Plan Ending

Members may choose not to renew when their existing contract expires. This could be due to price changes, the expiration of introductory offers, or simply a change in their purchasing habits.

2. Change in Economic Circumstance

Increasingly, members cite financial constraints as the reason for cancelling. Gathering feedback can reveal whether this is due to broader economic conditions or if the gym’s pricing is misaligned with the local market.

3. Location/Routine Shifts

Changes in lifestyle, such as moving, returning to the office, or switching to remote work, can lead to cancellations. This is an important factor to track, as it’s often outside the gym’s control. Increased mobility and changing work environments contribute to this trend.

4. Medical/Lifestyle/Schedule Changes

Similar to relocation, these changes are important to document, as they typically don’t negatively affect the gym. However, injuries, illnesses, and other personal circumstances can necessitate cancellations.

5. Motivation/Enthusiasm

Cancellations due to lack of motivation are a key area of focus for gyms. Unlike medical or location-based reasons, this is something the gym can actively address.

6.Dissatisfied with the Gym/Poor Experience

This is perhaps the most critical category. Feedback from members citing issues with the gym itself requires careful attention. While hopefully infrequent, this data provides invaluable insights into potential gym operations problems. Asking the right questions can reveal specific areas for improvement.

Beware of The Silent Quitters!

Despite the many reasons for cancellations above, there is one type of cancellation that is puzzling for all independent gym owners… silent quitters!

Silent quitters, those members who simply stop attending without any formal cancellation or communication, present a unique challenge for gyms. Unlike members who provide feedback upon leaving, silent quitters offer no direct insight into their reasons for departure. This lack of information makes it difficult to identify potential problems within the gym’s services, facilities, or overall experience that may be contributing to attrition. While some level of silent quitting may be unavoidable due to personal circumstances unrelated to the gym, a high number of these “ghosting” members can indicate underlying issues that need to be addressed to improve retention.

What questions should independent gyms ask departing members to understand the reasons for cancellation?

While our typical focus is on member retention, we’ll now shift our attention to the most effective questions independent gyms and fitness clubs can ask departing members. As previously discussed, a member leaving doesn’t automatically signify a failure or mistake on the gym’s part. However, it’s crucial to determine if that’s the case. For example, if a gym’s monthly report shows 50 departures, it could be cause for concern. But if they know 40 of those departures were due to factors outside their control, they can then focus their attention on the remaining 10.

Based on feedback from independent gym and fitness club owners and managers nationwide, we’ve compiled some popular questions they use to gather valuable data.

Cancellation Reason: This crucial question allows for the categorisation of cancellations. As discussed, a cancellation due to health reasons requires less investigation than one stemming from a negative experience. Placing this question first maximises accurate responses and allows for efficient sorting of feedback, enabling gyms to quickly identify areas needing further attention versus those outside their control.
Summary of Membership Experience: Following categorisation, this question explores both positive and negative aspects of the member’s experience. While understanding reasons for leaving is essential, capturing positive feedback is equally valuable. This is a prime opportunity to learn what the gym did well, as member feedback can be difficult to obtain.
Staff Experience: Staff play a significant role in the member experience. This question determines whether staff interactions contributed to or mitigated the decision to leave.
Improvement Opportunities: This question invites feedback on potential improvements, such as new equipment, classes, or facilities. While it’s impossible to satisfy everyone, compiling frequently requested improvements can effectively gauge local demand and member sentiment.
Visits Per Week: This metric helps identify patterns among departing members. For example, if most cancelling members visited five times a week, it could indicate dissatisfaction among a specific segment, such as those affected by peak hours.
Possibility of Returning (and Criteria): While answers to previous questions often suggest the likelihood of return, directly asking this question can yield valuable insights. This feedback can be surprisingly useful for future strategies.
External Factors: Even well-managed gyms can lose members due to circumstances beyond their control. While often revealed in the initial categorisation, directly asking about external factors ensures these influences are captured. This can uncover additional economic or personal factors contributing to the cancellation.
Recommendation Test: Similar to the return question, this assesses whether a member would recommend the gym to others. This provides insight into overall satisfaction and the gym’s reputation, as word-of-mouth referrals are crucial in today’s digital landscape. A positive response, even from a departing member, signals the gym is on the right track.
Additional Comments: This open-ended question allows members to express any further thoughts. While these responses can be challenging to categorise, they often contain valuable insights and can inform future feedback surveys. Providing this opportunity ensures members feel heard and can uncover unforeseen issues.

Our Closing Thoughts...

By using this approach and asking these targeted questions, independent gym and fitness club owners gain a much clearer understanding of why members leave, distinguishing between normal attrition and potentially problematic trends. However, simply collecting feedback through surveys is insufficient if gyms and clubs don’t thoroughly analyse the data they receive.

Ensuring the gym management software you use within your facility collates the data that will help you to understand patterns in your members attendance and general gym habits is the first crucial step to being able to review your cancellations in depth and look to finding solutions to increase your membership retention.

Whether it is data, access control, payment collection or software, our demonstration team are on stand-by here, ready to understand how we can help any facility build on their success and reach new heights.

Get your club in shape.

Want to discover how? Let us show you.

Simply select your preferred timeslot and we’ll be in touch to have a chat about your health club,
the goals you want to achieve, and how our system can help you.

Get your club in shape.

Want to discover how? Let us show you.

Simply select your preferred timeslot and we’ll be in touch to have a chat about your health club, the goals you want to achieve, and how our system can help you.

Get your club in shape.

Want to discover how? Let us show you.

Simply select your preferred timeslot and we’ll be in touch to have a chat about your health club, the goals you want to achieve, and how our system can help you.

Ashbourne Membership Management

How to Rethink Your Fitness Business Space and Maximise Efficiency and Profitability

How to Rethink Your Fitness Business Space and Maximise Efficiency and Profitability

1. Audit Your Current Layout

Before making any changes, evaluate how your space is currently being used. Walk through your facility and ask yourself:

Bigger doesn’t always mean better…

2. Unlock Hidden Value by Converting Back-End Spaces

Downsizing can be your best friend…

3. Open Up Your Floor Plan

Time to knock down those walls…

4. Reconfigure Changing Rooms for Efficiency

Your changing rooms can be a goldmine…

5. Future-Proof Your Gym by Adapting to Trends

Fitness trends keep your members keen…

Final Thoughts

More to Read...

Get your club in shape.

Want to discover how? Let us show you.

Get your club in shape.

Want to discover how? Let us show you.

Get your club in shape.

Want to discover how? Let us show you.

The Power Of Online Reviews For Growing Your Gym

The Power Of Online Reviews For Growing Your Gym

In fact, did you know that over

88%

of customers read Google reviews to determine the quality of a local business before they make contact for the first time.

What will we cover in this article?

Why Online Reviews are vital for developing the online presence of an independent gym

7 Steps To Getting Better Reviews For Your Club

Step 1: Deliver an Outstanding Member Experience

Step 2: Claim, Optimise and Customise Your Online Listings

Step 3: Ask for Feedback

Step 4: Simplify the Review Process

Step 5: Engage with Every Review (Positive or Negative)

Step 6: Showcase Positive Reviews Across Platforms

Step 7: Track Reviews and Reputation

What Next?

Get your club in shape.

Want to discover how? Let us show you.

Get your club in shape.

Want to discover how? Let us show you.

Get your club in shape.

Want to discover how? Let us show you.

Building the Dream Team: How to Find (and Keep!) Amazing Gym Staff

Building the Dream Team: How to Find (and Keep!) Amazing Gym Staff

1. Define Your Gym’s Culture and Values

2. Detailed Job Descriptions

3. Utilise Multiple Recruitment Channels

4. Conduct Thorough and Focused Interviews

5. Check References and Backgrounds

6. Offer a Competitive Salary and Staff Benefits for your Area

7. Invest in Training and Development

8. Create and Maintain a Positive Work Environment

9. Regular Performance Evaluations

10. Build a Community Within Your Gym

Our Final Thoughts

More to Read...

Get your club in shape.

Want to discover how? Let us show you.

Get your club in shape.

Want to discover how? Let us show you.

Get your club in shape.

Want to discover how? Let us show you.

Planning Social Media for Gyms and Fitness Clubs: A Guide to Boosting Engagement and Membership

Planning Social Media for Gyms and Fitness Clubs: A Guide to Boosting Engagement and Membership

What will we cover in this article?

Social Media Planning for Gyms and Fitness Clubs Requires:

Why Social Media Planning Matters for Gyms and Fitness Clubs?

Increased relevance is KEY to increased engagement:

Maintaining momentum has several benefits:

Community Building - Inside and outside the Gym:

Brand Authority - Social Media is a vital part of the brand image:

Costing-Effective Marketing:

Member Engagement:

Plan out a social media content calendar so it can help play a key role to play in energising members!

Step-by-Step Guide to Planning Social Media for Independent Gyms and Fitness Clubs

Define Your Goals and Your Target Demographics/Audience

Choose the Right Platforms

Create a Content Calendar

7 Steps To Getting
Better Reviews For Your Club