Running a business is expensive, and that’s only taking day-to-day operations into account. Unexpected incidents like a machine breaking takes even more of a toll on your bank account. So what can you do to mitigate your financial worries? Nothing can ensure complete financial security, but there are steps you can take to bring yourself peace-of-mind and save money at your gym.
Here are 5 money-saving strategies when funds are tight at your gym:
Focus on retaining existing clients
It’s more expensive to gain a new client than it is to keep an existing one. Because of that, it saves you money to focus on creating the type of client experience that keeps people wanting to come back for more. Talk to your clients about their experience at your gym–what could be improved? Once you have enough feedback, begin taking action.
A bonus of having happy clients is that they tend to tell their friends about it. Focus on retention, and you may end up bringing in more new clients than you think.
Empower and incentivize your staff
The client experience at your gym is driven by your staff and how they interact with clients. Empower your staff to manage their own clients and train them on client retention. Incentivize them by offering a bonus for a percentage of clients retained. When staff understands that their success is tied to business success, they’ll go the extra mile–and that saves money in the long-run.
Take advantage of free marketing strategies
One way to save money at your gym is to take advantage of free marketing. As I said above, happy clients have a tendency to talk to their friends. This is your most effective method of free marketing. The friends that your existing clients bring in are more likely to stick around because they already have a connection to your community.
But there are other free advertising methods, too. The most effective is organic, or content marketing. Consider starting a blog or creating social media channels to get your content out there. Pay attention to SEO best practices so that your content can be found.
Consider building new revenue streams
It seems counter-intuitive to spend money on building a new program, but they say you have to spend money to make money. In addition to your existing classes, you might consider offering retail, nutrition coaching, childcare, etc. You might also start offering new classes based on client demand. If you aren’t sure what your clients want, don’t be afraid to ask them. There are several ways you can communicate with your clients to build your business together.
Trust Your Software
Pike13 reporting is designed to help you save money by alerting you when you have unpaid clients, or if you have a client whose membership is expiring soon. By quickly following up with these clients–or empowering your staff to do so–you can increase retention and balance your accounts before any serious issues arise.