How fitness studios increase revenue per member

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Due to Corona and growing competition, many operators have replaced long contract terms with monthly cancellable contracts and are selling well below their value. This development is not healthy and can be stopped, because even before the pandemic, it has been shown that society's focus is on health.


Together with my family, I have been running seven of my own fitness clubs in the Remstal valley near Stuttgart for about 30 years. These health facilities are struggling with the same problems and the pain points mentioned are well known. In our facilities, too, the ancillary sales of protein powder and bars, among other things, were not a relevant per capita turnover for a long time and thus did not contribute to an improvement of the situation. On the one hand, there were no internal processes and no attractive offer to place the products better, and on the other hand, the employees in particular lacked the sense to place upselling with the customer.


This is how upselling not only makes sense, but also fun

Target group analysis: Anyone planning to increase their ancillary sales must first understand what problems customers have and what could help them achieve their goals more quickly. Zott Fitness conducted an elaborate analysis on new customers, with the following findings:


  • 60% complained of sleep problems/bad sleep
  • 45% had digestive problems
  • 40 % suffered from inflammation


Most of the (new) customers were also found to have a complete lack of nutrients at the beginning of their membership. All these problems meant that the training could not develop its full effect; because the undersupply was not actively addressed or no solution was presented.


Problem solution: Superfoods to eliminate deficiencies: Superfoods, i.e. foods from the fruit and vegetable sector that are particularly rich in vitamins, minerals and antioxidants, are very much in vogue. With Jungbrunnen Superfoods, I developed a product range that contains all these positive properties and thus offers a solution to the problems of the target group. But without proof of efficacy, the trainers and the Zott team would not sell Superfoods any better. For this reason, a cooperation with InBody was agreed upon. The goal was to be able to prove the effectiveness and the connection between training and nutrient supply with the help of body measurements and thus convince not only the customer, but also the employees.




The data collection

Initial situation: A total of 200 new customers were clustered into two test groups of 100 participants each at the three premium facilities. One group was given supportive superfoods for daily use in addition to training and the other group trained without this support 1 to 2 times per week. Body measurements were taken for each trainee before the start of the first training session and after 6 weeks, and the results were recorded and compared. Explicit attention was paid to two measurement results, phase angle and visceral fat.


Phase angle is an important indicator of cellular health and can be used to assess health and nutritional status. The greater the phase angle, the more resistant and healthy the cell membranes are. This means that the best possible exchange of substances across the cell membranes can be ensured. Visceral fat, known as inner abdominal fat or organ fat, is a risk factor for serious diseases, such as cardiovascular diseases as well as metabolic diseases.


The results

The test group with superfood support performed significantly better in terms of both phase angle and visceral fat improvement than the comparison group in which undersupply was not actively influenced.


  • 10% of all participants with superfood support achieved a double-digit percentage improvement in phase angle.
  • The maximum value was 21%.
  • On average, the phase angle was improved by 4% in this short time.
  • In the group without superfoods, training had almost no effect on this parameter.
  • A quarter of all participants with superfood support achieved a double-digit percentage improvement in visceral fat, i.e. a significant reduction.
  • The maximum value was 70%.
  • On average, visceral fat was reduced by 6% in this short time.
  • In the group without superfoods, exercise had a significantly smaller effect (- 3 %) on visceral fat reduction.


The data collection was able to prove the presumed connection between nutrient supply and training and shows how important this topic can be for training success. These measurement results not only convince customers, but also the team.


Superfoods as a massive sales booster

After evaluating and proving the effectiveness of superfoods, the entire team was informed of the results. After that, the process of implementing superfoods during customer meetings was worked out and common goals were defined. Since then, body measurement has been integrated into every new client appointment and especially the phase angle and visceral fat are addressed and evaluated. Due to the constantly optimized conversation process for addressing superfoods, Zott was able to increase ancillary sales by 1,000% with superfoods only. Both the team benefits from the Superfoods through provisioning and team events when goals are achieved, the customer through even better training successes, and the entrepreneur through increased sales and referrals.


Superfoods - as simple as natural in upselling

Measuring body composition is now an integral part of a customer's customer journey for almost all operators. And it has never been easier than with Superfoods to make the measurements a win-win situation for everyone involved. The target group analysis and the proven positive influence of accompanying nutritional supplements kills two birds with one stone:


  1. Studio operators gain access to a new, much larger target group that was previously not in focus.
  2. In addition, this new target group is much better understood and their problems can be addressed. Goals become easier to achieve for both sides.


Take advantage of your upselling opportunities in the gym now with nutritional supplements! You can find great products on fitnessmarkt.de:


Buy nutritional supplements



Source and image source: BODYMEDIA

Published on: 3 February 2023

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