The members at Snap Fitness in Douglassville, PA, made a request through a recent member survey. It wasn't a big request, but it was enough to get the attention of club owner John Stockton.

The problem? The TVs were placed too high in the club.

Members said that they sometimes got cricks in their necks when they looked up at the TVs while they worked out on the treadmills. Problem identified, problem solved for Stockton, who had the TVs lowered 14 inches.

Those 14 inches went a long way toward creating good will at the club.

“I had a couple of members come up to me and give me hugs saying thank you,” Stockton says. “When members feel that you're listening to them, they're going to tell you more.”

Club members expressed a lot more of their opinions in two member satisfaction surveys conducted by the Health Club Development Co., Providence, RI, in conjunction with the International Health, Racquet and Sportsclub Association (IHRSA) and Les Mills International.

About 7,600 members were surveyed in more than 20 health clubs in the United States and Canada. The clubs in the surveys ranged from coed multipurpose facilities to wellness centers. The responses also came from multiple- and single-location clubs that were both corporately and privately owned.

The majority of the respondents had previous health club experience and had been members at their current club for anywhere from three months to three years. Three-quarters of the respondents worked out at the club three or more times a week. Women represented 62 percent of the respondents.

“We've learned quite a bit about the industry and our members,” says Chris Gallo, president of Health Club Development Co. “There's tremendous consistency. It's very enlightening. You learn how to become better operators. You listen to your members.”

Price and Convenience

Given the condition of the economy, one might think that price was top-of-mind among the survey respondents in choosing or staying with a club, but that wasn't always the case.

When asked about the factors that led them to join their current health clubs, members ranked affordability fifth in one of the two surveys. Convenience was the No. 1 response, followed by club facilities, club appearance, atmosphere and hours of operation.

Price ranked higher in a similar question that asked members what factors are likely to have the biggest influence over their long-term commitment to a club. In that question, their personal financial situation ranked third behind cleanliness and convenience.

What's interesting is that local competition ranked a distant 14th after other factors — including staff interaction, fitness programming and social relationships. This led Gallo to question whether club owners are paying too much attention to the club or clubs down the street and not enough attention to their own clubs.

Programming ranked 10th in both questions, but that should not be a reflection on the value that programming brings to a club, Gallo says.

“Only a small percentage of people are interested in programming,” Gallo says. “But even if it's 20 percent of your members, it does not mean you still can't bring in some good revenue and creative value proposition by having [programming].”

That convenience ranked No. 1 or No. 2 in these two questions was of no surprise to Gallo, who presented the surveys at the IHRSA show earlier this year in San Francisco. It's common knowledge in the industry that the majority of people join a club within a 5-mile radius of either their home or work.

Because convenience is all but a given in the decision-making of most members, Gallo took convenience out when he asked members what factors would prompt them to check out a new club next door to their current club. In that question, 35 percent said lower prices. (See chart on page 41.) However, a majority of respondents — 56 percent — selected one of these three factors: group exercise/fitness (25 percent), a new building (21 percent) or a larger facility (10 percent).

“It's not surprising that lower price is the first thing that people think of when it comes to new clubs,” Gallo says. “Lower prices get people interested, [but] I think it's what's inside that counts. I think they still decide on value once they get in there. That's why we're looking for what deals we can put in promos to get them to come in the door.”

Branding and Value

Only 4 percent of respondents said that brand recognition would cause them to check out a new club next door. (For more about branding, see sidebar on page 29.) This is good news for mom-and-pop club owners, Gallo says, because it again illustrates what really matters to members: value.

“There is always that fear when someone bigger and better and more powerful invades a smaller guy's market,” Gallo says. “Members don't leave because that brand has come to town. They may leave because that brand puts up more facilities or is more convenient or is newer or has a better price.”

Giveaways

When asked to rank which club promotions would most entice them to refer a friend to the club, survey respondents ranked receiving the next month's membership free as their top pick, followed in order by a luxury holiday package, a $50 restaurant gift certificate, a $50 gas card, complimentary personal training session, $50 in club cash and club merchandise.

One marketing executive who has been in the club industry for almost 20 years says club owners should be careful about giving away these items, especially the one month free, which would dilute the average price of the membership. Instead, club owners should give out as many free samples, such as gym bags and nutrition booklets, as they can, he says.

“Anything that you can get somebody else to pay for is a good idea,” he says. “When a member joins, they should leave with something.”

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