Category: Blog

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How a Software Solution Could Maximise Your Time

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If you run a sports center, health club, gym, or niche exercise venture, chances are you don’t have enough time. It would take someone superhuman, after all, to open a facility early in the morning; oversee employees, attend meetings, troubleshoot, pay bills, coordinate with contractors, and do all the other zillion things required of business owners (including maybe even running a class or a training session or two); perform end-of-the-day accounting and shut-down routines (the end of the day often being 10 p.m.); and tend to post-work familial and social obligations while still having time leftover. Never mind finding the hours needed to grow your business in whatever way you dream of growing it.

Where Does a business software solution come in?

Software packages designed for the sports and fitness industries automate many of the processes that consume a great deal of time if you do them by hand or using basic word-processing or spreadsheet programs designed for other purposes. Business software solutions produce user-friendly reports, convey messages to employees and members, send out automatic notices to collect member dues, schedule trainers and instructors, track equipment, manage leagues, provide marketing tools, and much, much more. Automating these functions gives you more time for the things you want and need to get done. It also gives you the security that comes with knowing that one, overarching system is running your entire operation.

How do you choose the solution that’s right for your facility?

First, you have to know what needs the software must meet. Take the time to study your current business requirements, design, and mission. Review the hardware and software you already have in place, and analyze their current strengths and shortcomings. Consider also what kind of financial investment you are willing and able to make in a software package. (If all of this seems like too much of a burden on your already stuffed schedule, consider hiring an organizational analyst who can come in, determine your needs, and make recommendations. Sometimes having an outsider’s perspective is more helpful anyway.) A key part of this step: Consider not only what your business needs now, but also what it will need a year, five years, ten years down the road. You don’t want to invest in something your business will outgrow quickly.

Second, consider security.

With each passing day, more and more business applications use the cloud: that mysterious, invisible place where so much of the world’s data is stored. The more applications that use them, the more vulnerable businesses are to hackers and malware. Before you choose a software solution, ensure that the company that provides it has a reputation for security. Ask what security options the software includes. Does it encrypt stored data? What level of encryption does it support? Doing your homework in this area could save you many headaches down the road.

Finally, don’t evaluate just the software — also evaluate the vendor.

You don’t want to choose a company that executes great ideas poorly or mismanages its people or products. You do want a company with proven vendor stability. That’s not to say it has to have been around for decades, but the executive team should include industry leaders. You should consider the size of the vendor, what its core business is, and whether its software truly supports the sports and fitness industries.

Finding the right software can mean reduced expenses, increased profits, happier employees and members — and more time for you. If you’re not already using a software solution, start looking into the possibilities today. And if you are, consider an overall assessment to be sure the one you’ve got is the best one for you.

 

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gym community

The Core Is Core

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So, here’s a question: How many of your facility’s offerings have to do with helping your clients strengthen their core? If you answered, “A lot,” that’s a good start, or so would say some industry leaders who believe focusing on the core is the best possible strategy right now — for both fitness businesses and clients. If you answered, “All of them,” you’re at the forefront of a new trend: facilities that make core-training the foundation of their entire business model. A recent, fascinating article on the IHRSA website takes a close look at the growing trend and at the expansion of core-training offerings at fitness facilities around the country.

Mike Z. Robinson, IDEA’s 2015 Personal Trainer of the Year and owner of MZR Fitness, a training studio in San Luis Obispo, California, told IHRSA he’s “seen a definite increase in the number of boutique studios that feature core-based movements — facilities that focus, for example, on Pilates and barre. Their main selling point is a workout constructed around the core. At the same time, traditional gyms are offering more core-centric classes, because consumers have become aware of the benefits. Program schedules are reflecting the trend, the demand.”

Some trainers go so far as to say the trend is taking over. Amy Dixon, the national creative manager for group fitness for Equinox Fitness and a master trainer for BOSU and Shockwave, told IHRSA, “For a while, we saw a push toward the high-intensity end of the spectrum. Today, I believe, the pendulum is swinging back…. We’re seeing clubs integrate core into all their classes.” In other words, the focus now is turning toward exercises necessary for sharpening the core and away from the kinds of high-intensity activities that stress the importance of raising, and then resting, the heart rate.

Why the renewed interest in core-based exercising? Dixon, Robinson, and other trainers argue that a strong core is the foundation of good fitness. “When you help clients improve their core strength,” said Kim Ingleby, founder of the Energised Performance studio in Bristol, England, “you’re making it possible for them to progress to more complex exercises while simultaneously reducing the probability of injury.” A strong core, therefore, lowers the chances of sprains and other pains, and increases the chances of improved results for members. At the same time, it reduces liability concerns for clubs, because clients are progressing through strength-training safely and appropriately.

How do you jump on the trend? It’s easy to incorporate core basics into an existing program. Think beyond crunches, which are effective but not as effective as other moves; it’s better to focus on motions that truly integrate the core, such as squats, push-ups, or lateral lunges. As Dixon puts it, “Multidimensional movement is the key.” Think about how you might pull such movements into, say, classes for skiing or triathlons. Also, keep in mind that manufacturers are coming out with more and more core-focused pieces, such as BOSU, CoreTex, and Core Stix. Other equipment mentioned by some of the trainers IHRSA spoke with include TPX, ViPR, and Life Fitness’s SYNRGY360. Also, consider designing a core-for-beginners class, one aimed at a population that never has thought much about its core, let alone exercised it before. “Everyone, no matter their age or their initial condition, needs core work,” Dixon pointed out, “and, with the right training, they will improve.” But they need to be given the chance to get started.

Wherever you boost up your core offerings, keep in mind that it’s crucial to let your clients know, first of all, that you consider core-work vital, and second of all, that you’re creating more possibilities for clients to focus on the core. Use social media, email blasts, face-to-face sales, and attractive flyers to get the word out. And make sure you emphasize the possibility for fun when it comes to core-training — and the great potential benefits.

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What Do Best-Of Lists Mean?

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“The 20 Best Gyms and Health Clubs in New York City,” “The Best Gyms in America for Every Workout,” “The 31 Best Gyms in America 2015”: Gyms, fitness centres, and sports facilities are subject to the near-constant publication of such lists, ones which, with varying degrees of validity, have great power to influence consumer decision-making. Every time you turn around, some magazine or other is ranking our businesses, comparing them with one another, and fitting their comparisons into some possibly arbitrary list that consumers might swallow wholesale when they’re contemplating putting money down. What’s a fitness facility to do?

First of all, don’t ignore the lists. It might be painful to read them, you might feel disempowered by them or frustrated by what you see as their meaninglessness, but you’ve got to keep in mind that your members are reading them, your competition is reading them, and your employees are reading them. And while you might not agree with their criteria or believe in their research methods, you need to keep up with what they’re saying about the industry. So, read the lists, even if you never appear on one or if you appear low down — or if you’re high up.

You want to read them not just because they give you information about what your colleagues, competitors, and membership know or believe to be true about fitness facilities, but also because they can give you clues about how to improve your business. Are the cleanest and hippest gyms the highest rated? If so, maybe it’s time to impose draconian standards for cleanliness and get yourself a new look. Are the sports facilities with former pro athletes the top-ranking ones? If so, maybe you need to reconsider who you’re hiring. Use the criteria in the best-of lists to help you make decisions about changes you could instigate in your facility.

That said; don’t give every list equal weight. Some best-of lists are drawn up with minimal research, and the meaninglessness you sense in the conclusions they draw is very real. Consider the publication the list appears in — is it one you think highly of yourself, or one you don’t really care about? Is it one with a large readership, or not much more than a cheap brochure? If it’s a web-only publication, how prominent is the advertising? That, more than anything, could determine who makes the publication’s lists and who doesn’t. Another factor to consider is reader input: Was the list created based on results of a survey that readers responded to? Or was it drawn up in an editorial meeting by people who perhaps have never been in a gym in their lives? If the latter, maybe you can take it with a grain of salt (read it, for the reasons stated earlier, but don’t pay it too much heed). If the former, you should tune in: The votes of readers and consumers probably do hold meaning, or at the very least probably can tell you what it is many of your members and prospective members consider important and attractive in a facility.

Take, for example, the article “31 Best Gyms in America 2015,” published recently by Active Times. While this magazine may not be as popular or as commercially significant as Fitness or Self, its best-of list is based on reader responses to a survey. What did the survey reveal? That cleanliness, community, and membership cost, in that order, are the three factors consumers consider most important when choosing a fitness facility. Would you ever have guessed that cost comes after cleanliness? Now look around you: How do you prioritize cleanliness vs. cost? Does your facility reflect members’ concerns adequately?

The bottom line is this: You can learn from best-of lists; you can even improve your operation based on what they say. And you should pay close attention when the lists are the result of reader responses. But you shouldn’t pay them too much mind overall — whatever list you’re not on today, you might be on tomorrow, and who can say why?

schedule

What Do Best-Of Lists Mean?

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“The 20 Best Gyms and Health Clubs in New York City,” “The Best Gyms in America for Every Workout,” “The 31 Best Gyms in America 2015”: Gyms, fitness centres, and sports facilities are subject to the near-constant publication of such lists, ones which, with varying degrees of validity, have great power to influence consumer decision-making. Every time you turn around, some magazine or other is ranking our businesses, comparing them with one another, and fitting their comparisons into some possibly arbitrary list that consumers might swallow wholesale when they’re contemplating putting money down. What’s a fitness facility to do?

First of all, don’t ignore the lists. It might be painful to read them, you might feel disempowered by them or frustrated by what you see as their meaninglessness, but you’ve got to keep in mind that your members are reading them, your competition is reading them, and your employees are reading them. And while you might not agree with their criteria or believe in their research methods, you need to keep up with what they’re saying about the industry. So, read the lists, even if you never appear on one or if you appear low down — or if you’re high up.

You want to read them not just because they give you information about what your colleagues, competitors, and membership know or believe to be true about fitness facilities, but also because they can give you clues about how to improve your business. Are the cleanest and hippest gyms the highest rated? If so, maybe it’s time to impose draconian standards for cleanliness and get yourself a new look. Are the sports facilities with former pro athletes the top-ranking ones? If so, maybe you need to reconsider who you’re hiring. Do the clubs that make the top of the list use an all-in-one gym management software? Perhaps you should think of investing in management software to streamline your business practices. Use the criteria in the best-of lists to help you make decisions about changes you could instigate in your facility.

That said; don’t give every list equal weight. Some best-of lists are drawn up with minimal research, and the meaninglessness you sense in the conclusions they draw is very real. Consider the publication the list appears in — is it one you think highly of yourself, or one you don’t really care about? Is it one with a large readership, or not much more than a cheap brochure? If it’s a web-only publication, how prominent is the advertising? That, more than anything, could determine who makes the publication’s lists and who doesn’t. Another factor to consider is reader input: Was the list created based on results of a survey that readers responded to? Or was it drawn up in an editorial meeting by people who perhaps have never been in a gym in their lives? If the latter, maybe you can take it with a grain of salt (read it, for the reasons stated earlier, but don’t pay it too much heed). If the former, you should tune in: The votes of readers and consumers probably do hold meaning, or at the very least probably can tell you what it is many of your members and prospective members consider important and attractive in a facility.

Take, for example, the article “31 Best Gyms in America 2015,” published recently by Active Times. While this magazine may not be as popular or as commercially significant as Fitness or Self, its best-of list is based on reader responses to a survey. What did the survey reveal? That cleanliness, community, and membership cost, in that order, are the three factors consumers consider most important when choosing a fitness facility. Would you ever have guessed that cost comes after cleanliness? Now look around you: How do you prioritize cleanliness vs. cost? Does your facility reflect members’ concerns adequately?

The bottom line is this: You can learn from best-of lists; you can even improve your operation based on what they say. And you should pay close attention when the lists are the result of reader responses. But you shouldn’t pay them too much mind overall — whatever list you’re not on today, you might be on tomorrow, and who can say why?

gym healthcare

Workplace Wellness Programs: Value of Investment Over Return on Investment

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If you’ve ever contemplated partnering with businesses to offer employer-sponsored fitness programs, there’s no time like the present. No, really — there’s no time like the present. According to the ninth annual Willis Health and Productivity survey, 2015 is a “watershed year” for employer-sponsored health and wellness offerings. As has been the case for a number of years now, employers increasingly are offering programs designed to help employees achieve and maintain better health. But now employers have begun looking beyond the financial gains of such programs. “Given a choice, respondents focused on the value of a health management program…over program cost,” the report states.

What it comes down to is this: More organizations are turning away from expectations of an immediate return on investment (ROI) for their wellness programs and turning toward the value of investment (VOI) of such programs. In other words, they care less about reducing medical costs and more about boosting employee morale, increasing worksite productivity, reducing employee absence, and keeping employees safe. The Willis report states that, of 703 survey respondents, 64 percent have VOI-focused wellness programs, compared with 28 percent that have ROI-focused programs. For health clubs, gyms, and fitness centres, this means greater opportunities to provide quality programs to workplaces.

Interestingly, the report also notes that “Of those organizations without a wellness program, the majority of respondents (29%) stated that they do not have enough time or staff to start a program.” Again, this is an opening for health clubs, gyms, and fitness centres. Consider how your facility might put together predesigned packages — and customised packages — that provide full workplace health and wellness programs, including physical activity, healthy-eating plans, weight loss and management, tobacco-use reduction, and the like. Then consider the ways in which you could market such a program to businesses in your area. Knowing that companies are more interested in VOI than ROI, you might make increased productivity, better self-care, and higher employee morale some of your selling points. You might need to educate your potential partners on the advantages of focusing on VOI over ROI. You could sum those up the way the Willis Report does: “Organizations with a Value of Investment (VOI) focus tended to be more satisfied with the impact of their programs.” And you’ll definitely want to point out the time, staff, and other resources the businesses would save by partnering with you.

One thing to keep in mind is that, according to the report, “Forty-three percent of the respondents have implemented a health club reimbursement subsidy or corporate discount, and 35 percent have implemented a health club corporate discount.” Offering the businesses in your area a discount for their employees gives you a low-maintenance way of providing businesses with the health and wellness programs they want but don’t have the resources to incorporate on-site.  Make sure your club management software is capable of tracking these corportate or business membership programs. For example, a good management software system will make it simple to pull reports for each corporate plan and allow businesses to easily calculate employee reimbursements. All in all, now is the perfect time to assess your existing plan for partnering with businesses to offer workplace wellness programs or to develop a new plan — and then to get out there and sell those programs. Businesses are hungry for them.

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Ensuring Treadmill Safety

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The fitness industry joins with so many others in mourning Dave Goldberg, the CEO of SurveyMonkey, whose recent tragic death once again brings to light the potential dangers of treadmill use. Goldberg was exercising on a treadmill at a gym when he reportedly lost his grip on the railings, fell backward, and fatally hit his head.

Sadly, Goldberg’s accident was not a one-off thing. According to the government’s Consumer Products Safety Commission (CPSC), 24,400 people in the United States were injured so badly in treadmill accidents in 2014 that they wound up in a hospital emergency room. All in all, emergency room visits for injuries from exercise equipment totaled 62,700 in 2014, and, according to the CPSC, patients cited treadmills as the cause more than any other kind of equipment. Injuries included broken bones, amputated fingers, and concussions. Between 2003 and 2012 (the last year for which data is available), thirty treadmill-related deaths were reported. One high-profile tragedy in 2009 was the death of former boxer Mike Tyson’s four-year-old daughter, who was strangled by a cord hanging from a treadmill.

In light of the hazards, what can gyms and fitness facilities do to help ensure that members and clients are using treadmills in the safest way possible? Here are some measures you can adopt:

1) Establish treadmill rules, communicate them, and stick to them. Treadmill users should always — always — use the safety key. They should never jump off the treadmill while it’s still in motion. They should avoid using it if they feel at all faint, dizzy, or not at their best. Look forward, don’t run barefoot, and begin workout sessions by straddling the belt. Include such rules — along with ones customised to your facility — on a prominently displayed poster near your treadmill area or on a small placard on each treadmill. If your trainers or other employees see members breaking the rules, they should ask them to vacate the treadmill immediately.

2) Require treadmill users to sign a document that explains the potential hazards and warns them against unsafe practices. Asking members to sign something makes it much more likely that they’ll actually take the time to read about the risks. An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure, and prevention is possible only through education and awareness. It’s crucial that your members know what the risks are.

3) Review your treadmill placement. Make sure the backs of the machines are far enough away from walls and other obstructions that if a fall happened no one would be thrown into anything.

4) Teach your members how to fall — that’s right, how to fall. No matter how careful a treadmill user is, accidents can still happen. How prepared will your members be if one does? Will they know to try to keep their hands away from the belt, so that skin doesn’t get scraped or burned and fingers don’t get stuck between the frame and the belt? Will they know to try to tuck or cover their heads? Have your trainers review safe ways to fall with each new member who joins your facility, and offer occasional safety brush-up classes (not just for treadmills, but for all exercise equipment).

Without a doubt, the treadmill is a great machine. Exercisers can reap fantastic benefits from regular treadmill use, easily meeting their goals for fitness and weight loss. According to government statistics, nearly 50 million people use treadmills each year. Given that giant number, the number of related injuries is relatively small, and the number of deaths even smaller. But the goal, of course, should be zero injuries, zero deaths. Do your part to help reduce the number of treadmill-related tragedies each year.

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Grow Your Business with the Right Software Solution

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So you want to grow your fitness facility but you’re not sure how to do it. The answer might be staring you in the face — literally, if you’re reading this on a computer or other device. The best way to grow your business? Find a software solution that’s going to help you do so.

The right software solution can take your business to the next level in a number of ways. First and most obviously, a good software solution helps you store your key business and client information and access it whenever you need it, from any kind of device. If you’re relying on spreadsheets to track your key financial and client information, you’re quickly going to find yourself overwhelmed — or at least less efficient than you could be. With a business software solution storing your most important data for you, you have the capacity to instantly and easily find whatever information you need. Instant, easy access to crucial information equals a smarter, faster, bigger business.

Moreover, a business software solution allows you to run reports and perform functions that spreadsheets simply can’t do. Imagine seamlessly producing reports that allow you to ensure all of your books are reconciled, analyze your membership base, monitor member attendance, track referral sources, determine your most popular sessions, pin down your busiest time of day, identify underperforming classes, and run a range of financial and point-of-sale reports that highlight opportunities for business growth. For starters. And, again, all at your fingertips, with such reports available from any device at any moment. How much more smoothly would your business run? How much more quickly would you be able to develop ideas for growth?

Of course, the right business software solution also will help you with your marketing needs. For one thing, it will enhance your website by allowing you to embed key tools and features. Embedded class schedule, anyone? Also, customizable automations can help you reach out to students who failed to join your gym after signing up for a trial membership, or supply visitors to your website with key marketing materials when they click a “request more information button.”

Another way your software solution will help you grow is by making it easy for your clients to pay you. All well and good, you say, but how does this lead to growth? Essentially, if paying you requires effort — even slight effort — your clients will be more likely to cancel their membership. Think about it: Each month, they have to make a choice about whether to remain with your club or find another one (or quit club memberships altogether). On the other hand, if payments are automatic, there’s no monthly decision point. There’s no opportunity for your clients to — consciously or unconsciously — reevaluate the benefits gained at the cost of their membership. So what’s another thing a great business software solution will provide you with? An affordable payment processing option. Looking for the right one means finding one that makes it easy for you to make it easy for your students to pay.

All in all, investing in a software solution, or shopping around for one better than the one you already use, just makes good business sense. The more smoothly your operations run, the more time, effort, and resources you can devote to growing your business. Get that software solution going today.

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Working Together to Fight Obesity

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Really? We’re getting fatter? Sigh. It’s so disheartening, especially when the news seems full of reports about this health trend or that one, about the rise of wearable fitness technology and how data-tracking has revolutionized individual exercise plans, about the extraordinary progress a person can make by exercising intensely for small periods of time, about ever-increasing awareness of nutritional realities. Nevertheless, this is what the most recent report from the United Health Foundation, the American Public Health Association, and the Partnership from Prevention tells us: We’re getting fatter.

Issued annually for the past 25 years, the report, called America’s Health Rankings, tracks state-by-state health and fitness data. The most recently released report shows that in 2014 the nation’s obesity rate rose nearly 2 percent, from 27.6 percent last year to 29.4 percent this year. That 2 percent figure may sound small, but it represents an extremely large number of individuals. Moreover, at the time surveys for the report were completed, nearly a quarter of respondents said that they had had no physical activity or exercise for 30 days. That number increased from 22.9 percent in 2013 to 23.5 percent this year. And the even more grim news? In the 25 years that America’s Health Rankings have been published, obesity in the United States has more than doubled.

The question for us becomes: How can we, all of us who are leaders in the fitness industry, do more? How can we attract the people who are not inclined to exercise, and how can we help reverse the trend?

The key, I believe, is partnerships. One gym or health club or sports facility or fitness center can do only so much, and whatever we each can do, we have to do while keeping the bottom line always in mind (or else we won’t be around to do anything at all!). But a whole network of gyms and health clubs and sports facilities and fitness centres can do a lot. Make it part of your facility’s mission to work with other facilities to help improve America’s overall health. Join programs that allow members to work out at partner facilities at a discount. Combine resources to offer free or heavily discounted training and exercise programs to individuals who can’t afford normal gym rates. Get other facilities in your area to help host a day of city- or town-wide exercise fun.

But don’t stop at other facilities. The fact is, exercise is only one part of the overall health picture. Obesity numbers won’t drop until the food industry finds a better way of providing affordable, healthy food to the population at large; until health insurance companies start seeing health club memberships as reimbursable sickness-prevention tools; until schools bring back physical education and more effectively educate children about health and exercise science. If you’re going to be a part of the force chipping away at our rising obesity rates, you’ve got to consider ways of working with a whole network of organizations and industries that have an impact on individuals’ health and fitness. We can reverse the crisis. But we can only do it together.

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Finding Time to Combat Epic Gym Fails

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Most gym enthusiasts will, at some point, observe an ‘Epic Gym Fail’ whilst working out. With smart phones in hand, there is plenty of supporting evidence that more and more people are being captured executing what can only be described as ‘Gnarly maneuvers’. These videos range from misfortunate to downright stupid. To add insult to injury (which is very likely) these videos end up online for all to see.

Putting aside the ethical debate of posting these videos in the first place, it’s clear from reading viewers’ comments that some people find these clips comedic gold. On the flip side, there are others that suggest the people capturing these videos would be better off giving advice rather than jeering at these poor souls’ lack of education and safety training.

Other than the humiliation and obvious risk of serious injury to the gym member, you have to ask what it’s saying about the facility these events take place in. Imagine signing up as a new Gym member and then witnessing some crazy guy doing a Tarzan impression with a weight machine on your social media feed? I know I’d certainly question whether the staff are giving the right advice, let alone, if I’d made the right choice in signing up for this gym.

Having witnessed several gym fails for myself, I’ve often wondered why there are no staff members monitoring the floor at all times. Surely if more staff were around they would step in to educate, combat and eradicate these events from occurring in the first place.

So how does one go about finding time when resources and budgets are already stretched thin? Make no mistake; it’s not easy juggling schedules, payments, memberships, attrition rates, marketing, disparate systems and other managerial duties involved in running a Gym. It’s no wonder some Gym’s find it hard to balance a good mix of monitoring their members whilst adhering to all the other business processes required! I’m sure, if given the chance, all Gym owners would love to find more time to nurture the wellbeing and success of their clients’ goals by giving hands-on help at all times – sadly that’s not always an option.

So my point is this: How do Gym owners and their staff free more time to spend with customers, ensuring safety, good customer care and, most importantly, no Epic Gym Fails?.

There are two very simple answers: The more obvious one is to employ more staff, which we have already established isn’t always a viable option due to lack of funding. The second less obvious answer is to work out how to streamline, consolidate and automate some of your business processes to free up valuable time and resources. As with any business the first place you can always look to do this is by assessing the software you use to run your business.

Generally speaking, finding an all-in-one software solution is usually the way to go. Having a unified system to manage all aspects of your business will always significantly increase efficiencies/productivity, save time and, ultimately, money.

Luckily, here at EZFacility, we offer exactly that! If you want to benchmark your existing systems to see how much time we can save you, then sign up for a free demo/trial and assess for yourself what EZFacility can do for your business! Streamline, grow, nurture, inspire – it’s EZ

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Keeping Members Motivated

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A musically talented friend of mine recently joined a band and was thrilled to have the opportunity to create new songs and practice regularly with other musicians. But after a while she found it difficult to keep going. “It’s hard,” she said, “when you have no goals and no ambition.” She meant that without a set date for an on-stage performance, the band’s enthusiasm and drive were flagging. My friend is prone to exaggeration — in reality the band has plenty of ambition, and they honed their goals enough that they played their first live gig a few weeks ago — but she was right to pinpoint goals and ambitions as the keys to motivation. Researchers in the field of exercise psychology have long understood that without these ingredients, an exercise program is a recipe for disaster. In a 2009 study, for example, Kylie Wilson and Darren Brookfield estimated that only 50 percent of new members in a gym remain after six months. Without specific goals, they concluded, it’s highly challenging for an exerciser to remain committed to any workout plan.

Of course, it’s in your best interest to help your members stay motivated. How can you get them coming to your facility more than once a week? How can you get them to keep coming after six months, and to return year after year? Here are a few tips for helping them define their goals, feed their ambition, and stay loyal to you and your brand for a long time.

1. Highlight the importance of tracking results. We all know that it’s easier to stay committed to a goal if we can see progress. This begins with establishing a baseline — make it a practice to offer new members a free consultation with a trainer. The trainer should help the member identify exactly where she stands at the start of her new exercise routine and teach her how to measure her progress. Beyond that initial meeting, encourage your members to track their workouts by documenting the machines they used, their weight levels, and the number of reps and cardio routines they’ve performed. Offer them logbooks and workout sheets for this purpose, and promote fitness tracking apps that allow exercisers to stay on top of their performance electronically. Take it a step further by creating your own app or website function that allows for fitness tracking.

2. Design and host collaborative events, and get members to join in. Offering positive challenges that rally your club as a whole allows members to feel truly connected to the community you’re providing. Seasonal hooks can be a great way to get started. For example, around Halloween, host a costume fun-run. During the build-up to major marathons, challenge members to run or walk one or more miles of the marathon until the full distance is completed. Have dance-a-thons on Valentine’s Day, and get a huge volleyball tournament going at the start of summer (you might even cart in loads of sand and set up an indoor beach for this one). Whatever the event, get your members working together. The more fun they have, and the more of a community feel there is, the more likely they’re going to stick to their goals — and keep coming back.

3. Encourage members to think about the kinds of goals they’re setting. Emphasize the idea of SMART goals: specific, measurable, attainable, relevant, and time-based. With goals clearly defined along these lines, members are well-poised for success. In order to set the right SMART goals for themselves, though, members have to understand what types of goals would work best for them: performance, process, or outcome. You can help them determine which goals they’re best suited for. Performance goals use an objective or measurable standard with a specific due date. Process goals focus more on method — how will an ultimate goal be achieved? What are the steps along the way? Outcome goals measure achievement in comparison to other people. For many individuals, identifying some combination of these three types of goals works well; a performance goal might be best relied on at the start of a membership, while process and outcome goals might be more effective later on.

On the whole, seek opportunities to connect with your members, the new ones and the existing ones, to elicit their feedback and create a caring, responsive, dynamic community. If your members know that you’re there to help them, if they feel you supporting their goals and cheering on their successes, they’re much more likely to stick around. In that sense, helping members stay motivated is helping your own bottom line.