When the unexpected happens, you can count on data to tell you the full story. Whether business is booming or busting, there are 5 metrics that fitness studios should be tracking for success and longevity.
Revenue
Revenue is classically important and allows you to sustain your business. Important numbers to monitor are your Month-to-Date and Year-to-Date revenue. While there may be many societal or even cultural reasons for differences in revenue month to month (summer vacation, winter holidays, etc.), Year-over-Year revenue can provide you with a better baseline for where your business is trending. Knowing a downward trend can help you prepare and create a new plan of action.
Class Utilization
Attendance can be an important indicator of the health of your business. No one wants to teach or attend an empty class. One metric we use is “Class Utilization.” To determine this percentage, you need to divide the total spots available in a class by the number of spots filled. Put simply, class utilization is your portal into understanding your class offerings and whether they work for your client base. Knowing your class utilization calculation can help you determine the average revenue you are making per class. Knowing this information can mean the difference between keeping a class or altering your schedule. It is important to pivot your schedule in real-time when the situation warrants and when your clients’ behaviors shift.
Memberships
Members are the heart and soul of your business. Your monthly memberships are your recurring revenue and this is the amount of money you can count on each month. This money helps you set a baseline to determine your payroll, your overhead costs, and your profit. It is important to have memberships that are valuable for clients and profitable for your business. The metrics that you should monitor with respect to members include your churn rate, your numbers of new and active clients, as well as the number of suspensions or freezes you have. These numbers show you trends in your client base and can alert you to changes for which you should prepare.
Leads
A great way to look at leads is as potential clients. Unfortunately, there is no one-size-fits-all marketing solution for every studio. This is why testing and tracking your most cost-effective referral sources is so important. One of the most important metrics in regards to leads is tracking your conversion rate. With regards to this number you should be measuring how many leads are in your funnel and of those leads, how many converted to a client? After all, getting first timers into your studio is only half the battle. Your introductory offer conversion rate can tell you a lot about your business. A lower conversion rate should alert you to take a hard look at your customer experience, your customer service, your teachers/instructors performance, and your memberships and other offerings.
Visits
How often do your members, class-pack clients, and drop-ins come to your studio? These numbers are important for you to determine your pricing, your class offerings, and more. Equally important is having a pulse on your “at-risk members.” These are your members who have spent money with your business who have not been to your studio in a certain amount of time. Once you identify these at-risk members, your staff should make efforts to reach out to them to remind them of what they love about your studio and incentivize them to come back. Visits are a good indicator of your customers’ preferences and can show you how their behavior is changing over time. Measuring their behaviors allows you to tailor your schedule to them and better meet their wants and needs.
Who is iKizmet?
We are a data analytics solution software that integrates with your business management platform (ABC Financial, Club Ready, Mariana Tek, MindBody, zingfit). We specialize in the fitness industry, providing industry best-practice metrics to meet the unique demands of fitness businesses and class-based offerings. Data doesn’t have to