Welcome to our 2009 town hall club industry meeting. I hope that you have started the New Year with a bang. In 2008, we had one roller coaster ride of a year. We started off great in the first quarter, then we were up and down through the second and third quarters, and unfortunately, we finished the year down in the fourth quarter, along with the rest of the world. We saw great companies and industry leaders like Life Time Fitness and Town Sports International have their market caps reduced by more than 80 percent, and we watched in amazement as Bally Total Fitness moved back into bankruptcy protection for the second time in 18 months. We also watched other industry leaders react in desperation with heavy layoffs, cutbacks and price drops. We pretty much hit the wall after a great six-year run as an industry.

Now, we have to ask ourselves, "What have we learned from all this, and how should we adjust to ensure success in 2009?" Well, as my friend Bob Brooks would say, "It's double chin strap time!" So here are five tried and true strategies that can be your game changers for 2009:

Member Service. While the fourth quarter may have been a bit slow from a revenue perspective for most of the industry, what we did see were increases in member workout traffic for many of our clubs. Why? To start with, people had more time on their hands. They weren't out shopping as much, that's for sure. They were probably a little stressed out from all the media's doom and gloom. Somehow, all the negativity related to the economy sparked an increase in club usage, which means that even in the toughest possible environment, people care about their health and level of fitness. So how do we capitalize on this?

The answer is simple. Keep your members loyal and happy by delivering this simple message to your staff: "Remember, our members are really not here for you; you are here for our members." Focus on increasing staff and member "touch points" throughout your club(s). Work on the little things like smiling, saying hello and goodbye, and offering assistance to each member with whom staff comes into contact. Get your team focused on improving the member experience with every opportunity.

We know it's all about retention, so let's focus on one area: saving a cancellation. You'll need some tools, such as free personal training sessions, lowering dues rates for less expensive options, allowing membership transfers to a friend or family member, and freezing dues. This doesn't happen with a memo or a conference call. It happens by you getting into the club and leading by example. Your team's actions and attitudes are the direct result of the "trickle down" effect from each of you.

Ancillary Revenue. You will need to focus on three key areas to improve your members' experience while maximizing revenue.

The first key is personal training. Members join clubs to get results, and the best way to help them achieve this result is through personal training. Offer free orientations for both new and current members. Get your trainers out on the floor talking with members and offering assistance. Offer a free group session on a specific topic, and offer a discount for anyone who buys a training package after the session. The more you can connect with the members, the greater your personal training revenue will grow. Evaluate key performance indicators and make the necessary adjustments to drive revenue. For example, how many orientations are converted to personal training packages, or how many sessions per day are you doing with training versus workout traffic? You should be north of 10 percent.

Nutrition is another key. Fitness and nutrition (including dietary supplements) have a powerful connection. If you don't have a nutrition component integrated into your platform, you should immediately look to implement a solution that can help you add additional revenue while providing your members with a powerful solution to achieving their goals. One of the newest and most powerful fully integrated solutions is www.dotFIT.com. You might also look at some weight-loss programs. Do the homework, and you're guaranteed to make the grade.

The last key is retail. Offering even a limited retail selection provides you with tremendous opportunity. If your club averages more than 1,000 workouts per day, you should strongly consider a retail solution. On the plus side, if you implement the nutrition piece listed above, the supplement component will be the primary piece of your retail business.

Want to use this article? Click here for options!
© 2012 Penton Media Inc.