Data is inevitable for almost any type of business. And yes, including your health club. But it can seem like quite a mouthful to get started. Don’t worry – it doesn’t have to be complicated. It takes four steps, but once you have them in place, you are all set to go.
The four steps cover:
These four steps are equally important. So basically, it’s all or nothing if you want to utilise data in your business. Let’s have a closer look at the four steps, so you can get started making data-driven business decisions.
There are all sorts of data available about your members. Before going all in and just collecting all kinds of data you can imagine, take a second to consider: What do you really need to know about your members to be able to make the right data-driven decisions?
It can be a tricky balance, as you don’t want to collect too much information – and come across as intrusive. On the other hand, you need to collect enough data, so you can utilise your data insights in the best possible way.
We have listed some data categories that can be relevant for you to keep in mind when choosing the right data points to collect.
Get specific examples of data points for each category in our e-book.
There are multiple ways to collect data. Here, we will introduce three of the most common ways to collect data.
When a member wants to join your gym, you can collect a lot of data about the member in that particular situation – especially contact and demographical data.
The data can be collected manually by your receptionist, or the member can fill out the data themselves by signing up via your website.
Software solutions can be set up to automatically collect data when certain behaviour takes place. For instance, when a member books or attends a class, when they enter your gym or when they buy some of your services or products.
These are just examples of actions. Remember that each action contains multiple data points. For instance, when booking a class, you can collect data regarding:
So, think of data from an action and a data point perspective to make sure you collect all the necessary data.
Surveys work great if you have to get new or updated data from your current members. You can use a survey platform to set up and distribute your survey.
When doing surveys, it can be a good idea to focus on themes, so the survey won’t be perceived as too long or overwhelming for the members to answer.
Examples of themes include:
Quit the long spreadsheets and the frustrations of setting up the right formulas. Use software instead. The software does all the sorting and calculations for you. All you have to do is point out what you want to analyse, and you are good to go.
At BRP, we know how important the analytical step is. That is why we have built a BI module, you can use to analyse all your data with a snap of your fingers.
When interpreting your data, dashboards can be of great use. They visualise your data and can put another perspective on the state of your business. It’s all about finding trends and patterns and then determining how to act upon them.
For instance, let’s say that based on your data, you can conclude when it’s the busy time of year at your gym and when it’s more quiet. Use this knowledge when you have to push communication, offers or promotions.
In busy times, increase the efforts of on-site communication at your facility. It’s a great way to target the members with messages when they are using your facility. When it’s less busy at your gym, increase the efforts of pushing your message via digital channels like email, SMS, web and in-app notifications.
Want the full guide to exploiting data in your business – including more examples? Get our e-book about Business Intelligence and how to get started utilising data in your health club.