Where Do You Spend Your Money In 2023?
We all know the past 24 months has been like we have never experienced. Our priority has been to keep members while still acquiring members! We have scrambled and pivoted to get those member numbers back up! The question to ask ourselves, “have we been spending energy in the right place?”
For years, there are numerous sessions at conferences on member acquisition and retention where we are taught strategies to have success in these areas. Even now we saw more webinars on solving the great member number challenge with marketing.
One of the most compared key performance indicators at REX Roundtables is the marketing spend as a percentage of turnover. Then the conversation turns quickly to how is that marketing dollar spent. The focus on marketing for the member number challenge.
And one of the fastest growing categories on the vendor side of the industry is technology. Companies want to help us funnel, automate and communicate efficiently with prospects and members.
However, the clubs with a strong community and growing and the glue to any community is the people. A club is where you feel like a member, not a number.
Your team, your people give that ‘club feel.’
It is not the bells and whistles of your incredible equipment and facility, it is the people that ring the bells and blow the whistles that make a difference to the members.
The problem is good people are leaving our industry. As an industry and as operators, we are not marketing what an incredible industry it is to work in.
A mid-2022 Gallop survey found that 48% of the US working population are actively searching for new employment opportunities. So then we hire a new person, there is a higher than average probability that that new hire will be trained by a highly disengaged staff member – perpetuating a dysfunctional culture. Further, the same survey showed loss of productivity of non-engaged staff is equal to 18% of their annual salary. So the current scenario is costing us money and people.
The survey dove deeper and found that it is not a role or pay issue causing disengagement. It is a workplace issue.
We have also changed the way we all view work and their quality of life. People want managers who care, engage and give them a sense of purpose, inspiration and motivation to perform. They are looking for these as reasons to stay.
What does all this mean?
The key to your success in 2023 is your people. You must be willing to invest to find great people and invest to keep great people. Just as you use energy and resources to find and keep members you must do the same for your staff. Add a line item in your budget to spend on your people and marketing to attract the best people.
This is not about lavish staff parties and team building activities. Look at what people want, so bake that into the culture of your business – caring, engagement and purpose.
This means you have two tasks. Firstly, ensure you have this culture and secondly market to the labor force you’re a great place to work. Testimonials from happy staff. Success stories of career progression. And your list must continue as you are no longer competing for good people with other gyms and studios, you are competing with other industries.
To help plug the member retention hole or fill the prospect funnel, is provide a phenomenal place to work. This requires you to step up as a leader and every day work on making your workplace the best place to work. At REX Roundtables, we use the checklist in First Break All The Rules by Marcus Buckingham to always check in with staff and then for us to learn from each other on to how to score higher.
Your role in 2023 is to be the leader of people and become an employer of choice. Your goal should be to have line of people wanting to work for you. When you have people lining up to work with you, you’ll have a line of people wanting to join you.
You’ll know when you get it right because as the late Tony Hsieh said at IHRSA in 2011 most positions vacant at Zappos were filled before going to the general public. The current staff found people to work for them because they loved working at Zappos. Just like with members, staff referral is the key to building the culture of your business. When your staff are happy they’ll tell their friends to work with you.
Now is the time to learn and tomorrow is the time to act. Your greatest asset is your people, so focus on your people and you will reap the rewards in 2023.
Justin is the Managing Director of Active Management, which he began January 2004. He offers coaching to businesses worldwide in everything from start up and design to marketing and sales systems. Justin also facilitates four Australian and New Zealand ‘fitness industry roundtables’ events, which allows him to see a huge cross section of business models.