How to use your gym membership data to set relevant goals

The secret to a successful 2023 for your gym business - just like any other year - is having a strong, yet flexible, plan of action. 

To map out that plan, you need to know where you want to get to. You need a destination, a goal. 

And to understand the most relevant, most effective goals for your gym business, you need to understand where you are right now. You need to understand your current membership data so you can use it to inform the most effective next steps on your journey. 

That starts with effective data collection.

1.    Make sure you’re collecting and reporting on membership data correctly 

First, you need to gather your membership data to review. You’ll need an accurate, reliable way to collect all those essential numbers and present them in an easy-to-review format. 

Good membership data will be: 

• Accessible in real-time 
• Always up-to-date and reliable 
• A single source of truth for all the information you need

To collect and report on membership data effectively, you’ll need gym management software that covers all these bases. Software like Xplor Gym. 

2.    Review and compare data from previous periods 

When you have that access to reliable membership data, you can focus on the numbers that support your essential KPIs. This could be new sign ups, cancellation and retention rates, or usage statistics. 

Look at the figures from a recent period - e.g. the last month - and compare them with the same numbers for a previous month, or the same time in previous years. 

For example - The number of classes booked in January 2022, compared with January 2021, January 2020 and January 2019. (Consider the impact of Covid here, which may skew your data).

This will give you an average number to set your future goals around. 

Keep track of those metrics regularly to make sure you’re heading in the right direction, by setting up an automated report that pulls your KPIs into an easy-to-view dashboard. 

3.    Identify the trends and the causes behind them

When you’re tracking your key membership metrics regularly, you can look for fluctuations in the numbers - like surges in sign ups or drops in cancellations. 

These trends are important to spot quickly. So, you can build on the success behind positive trends or resolve any problems causing negative trends. 

If the numbers are going in the right direction, replicate and expand your efforts. 

If the trend is heading the wrong way, change your approach to turn those figures around. 

4.    Determine and set relevant, realistic targets

Those negative numbers and trends are where you’ll want to focus your efforts and set your main goals. 

Pinpoint those membership metrics that matter to your gym business most. Those that can be quickly turned around, need most improving or are vital.

Then with your data from previous years, set realistic goals to reach in 2023. You might want to focus on SMART goals, to make sure your targets are: 

• Specific 
• Measurable 
• Achievable 
• Relevant 
• Time-bound 

That means setting goals that make sense in relation to your historic data, that are realistic to achieve in 6 to 12 months and that can be tracked by your gym management software. 

For example - If your membership data shows falling class attendance, look back to see when it was at its highest. Set this as your initial goal and shake up your timetable offer to try and drive interest and bookings. Review after three months.