There are many different factors to consider when trying to run a successful business. When it comes to operations that rely on members, such as fitness studios, recreational facilities or campsites, one of the most instrumental aspects to success is analyzing member metrics. These metrics can provide intel into user behaviour and patterns and knowing what to do with them can result in higher profits, less turnover and an overall happier customer base.
Having reporting capabilities as a component of your member management software is also crucial, as it reduces costs and potential errors, and overall makes your life much easier. Not only is Univerus Member Management solution one of the most robust and affordable on the market, but it also has powerful reporting functionality built right in, allowing you to focus on making your facility better than ever.
Here are our picks for the top member metrics you should be tracking.
New Members
Keeping track of how many new members you sign in a certain amount of time can allow you to know when your busy and slow seasons are. With this information, you can have a better idea of when to put an extra push into marketing or perhaps when to offer discounted rates or promotions, in attempts to sign new members when the numbers are lagging.
Beyond just monitoring how many new members you gain a year, going a step further and looking into the demographics of those members can make your program offering more attractive, which can potentially lead to more sign-ups and positive word-of-mouth.
For example, if you find that the majority of your new members in the month of June are of a certain age group, it makes sense to cater programming to their interests. Conducting market research (in the form of email surveys, for example) is a great way to get to know your members better and adjust your offering appropriately.
Trial Conversion Rate
Does your facility offer a special promotion to new members or existing ones wishing to try a new class? Offering free or reduced-price trials is a strategic tactic to get people in the door and allow them to get a sense of your program offering and facility as a whole. However, it can be common for new participants to end their relationship with a facility once the trial has lapsed.
While it can be an effective marketing method, it is important to ensure that trials are also financially reasonable, so monitoring the trial conversion rate of your promotions is critical. Tracking how many trial participants go on to engage further with your facility can provide an understanding into whether or not offering discounts is viable in the long run.
Member Engagement
In addition to gaining insight into how you can make your facility more profitable, it is also valuable to learn about how and where your members engage with your software and marketing materials. Facilities with more engaged members have reported a number of benefits, including increased membership renewals (51%), event attendance (50%), and web traffic (31%), to name a few.
There are a variety of different metrics you can track that relate to member engagement. Some of them include how much time is spent on a certain webpage, how often emails are opened or interacted with, and how often members are logging into your software. Analyzing this kind of data can help direct your marketing vision and allows you to create content and programs that your participants will actually benefit from.
Retention or Cancellation Rates
Cancellations are a reality of virtually every facility – but understanding why and when they happen has the potential to reduce cancellation rates and increase member retention.
If you are finding that individuals are cancelling around a certain time of year, you can decide when to strategically offer seasonal promotions to retain them for longer. Or, if you find out how long the average membership is, facilities can adjust their pricing structure to potentially extend the average length. At the very least, having this data on hand can present business owners with the opportunity to find out what went wrong.
When members do cancel, it is also important to follow up with them in attempts to rectify the relationship and adjust for future memberships. However, almost 4 out of 10 facilities with memberships don’t collect feedback on those who cancel.
Do you want to learn more about how our member management and reporting solutions can help revolutionize your organization? Contact us today to get started.