How to Increase Gym Revenue without Increasing Membership

Here’s a statistic that will either blow your mind or scare you to death (or do both): according to Glofox, in 2019, roughly 62.5 million people in the world went to a gym for 104 or more days. If all these avid gymgoers were to form a country of their own – let’s call it Gymmany – then it would be the 24th largest country in the world, ranking higher than South Africa and Italy and only one step lower than France.

What has prompted this craze of gymming to the point where the word ‘gymming’ is no longer Internet slang and has actually become a word in the English dictionary that, as is obvious, means to go to the gym?

In this blog, in an attempt to understand the modern-day phenomenon of gymming, we will be mainly looking at ways in which gym revenue is generated by gym owners and also at some of the best gym revenue software. After doing this, in the second half of the blog, we will see how to increase gym revenue so that gym owners can increase their average gym revenue without necessarily increasing membership.

How is gym revenue generated?

People usually go to the gym to either regularly exercise, or have a particular body type in mind that they wish to acquire by sculpting their body and its muscles using the gym’s equipment. Either way, what is inherent to the practice of gymming is that it cannot be quickly done away with. In order to achieve either goal – of regularly exercising or developing a particular body – the gym goer needs to continually go to the gym.

Membership and Monthly/Annual Subscription Management

This is why the business model of the gym is perfectly suited to subscriptions. Your customers – if they are serious about your product – have no choice but to continue their subscriptions. This is why most gym revenue is generated through monthly/annual subscription management, for which gyms need gym revenue software. The benefits of automating your gym’s subscription management will be covered in the second half of this blog.

On top of paying your monthly/yearly fees, gyms also expect you to pay a one-time fee at the beginning which activates your membership to that gym.

Best Gym Revenue Management Software—A Brief List

In this section, after having understood ways in which gyms generate their revenue, let us take a look at some of the best software that can help manage gym revenue to make sure the average gym revenue keeps rising.

1. SubscriptionFlow

SubscriptionFlow is not necessarily a gym management platform, but it still offers various features for efficient gym management, including membership management, subscription management, invoicing, scheduling, and reporting. Its scalability makes it appropriate for both small and big gyms. Likewise, its ease of integration with various market-leading payment gateways makes the process of payments for gym members seamlessly easy.

2. GymMaster

GymMaster is a full-featured gym management software that includes member administration, scheduling, billing and invoicing, attendance monitoring, and reporting. For member interaction, it also features a member portal and a mobile app.

3. Zen Planner

Zen Planner is meant to help you manage your gym more efficiently, including scheduling, billing, attendance monitoring, and member communications. It also offers integrated marketing solutions to assist in attracting and retaining members.

4. Mindbody

Mindbody, while well-known in the wellness business, provides gym administration capabilities such as scheduling, membership management, payment processing, and reporting. It is well-known for its easy-to-use UI and interface with numerous fitness applications.

5. Virtuagym

Virtuagym provides an all-in-one gym management system, including membership administration, scheduling, invoicing, mobile apps, and online coaching. It is appropriate for gyms of all sizes and sorts.

6. RhinoFit

RhinoFit is a user-friendly gym administration software with membership management, class scheduling, and payment capabilities. It is frequently lauded for its ease of use and low cost.

7. Glofox

Glofox is a gym management tool created specifically for boutique fitness studios and gyms. It provides tools such as membership administration, scheduling, and mobile apps, with a focus on improving the member experience.

How to Increase Gym Revenue without Increasing Membership

While covering ways in which average gym revenue is generated, we already detailed how gyms generate most of their revenue via subscriptions. Therefore, an obvious solution to increasing your revenue is to simply increase your membership count.

The reality, however, is not so simple. Increasing your membership count is an effective strategy for gyms that have just started out, but for the more established gyms – most of whom already reached their cap a long time ago – increasing their membership count may not be a viable option because of two simple reasons.

Firstly, these gyms may have saturated their locality to the point where no potential customer may be left who could be allured into getting a membership.

Secondly, the gym may not be able to physically accommodate more than a fixed number of people owing to restrictions relating to equipment, space, or availability of staff.

In such circumstances, you can still boost your average gym revenue in the following ways:

1. Premium/Specialized Services

Introduce premium services such as personal training, small group sessions, specialist programs (such as yoga or spin), nutritional guidance, or fitness challenges. These services might charge greater prices and appeal to members looking for more tailored experiences.

The offering of premium services can be dubbed as upselling—on top of selling them the existing product of the gym in the form of subscriptions, you also provide your customers with the option of buying additional products/services from you. These services, usually at a small added expense, can range from locker room access, shower access, and towel service, among others.

Many gyms also offer specialized services in the form of personal trainers who, at an added expense, help your customer get the most out of their main expense, which is membership to the gym and its continued subscription.

2. Retail

Customers, especially those who are serious about gymming, usually do it in outfits and gear that are custom-designed to be worn in the gym. Often, gyms source these items from third-party vendors at a reduced cost and then sell these to their members to further maximize their profit.

3. Partnerships and Events

This applies especially to larger gyms that have the potential to engage in community-building exercises such as hosting paid events and, if they have a large enough subscriber base, then even partnering with brands to boost revenue. Community-building is arguably the most potent way of ensuring the long-term success of your gym. 50% of customers abandon a gym subscription within the first 6 months of joining because, as proven by Clubwise in this article, they do not feel a sense of comfort and belonging.

4. Tiered Memberships

Develop tiered membership programs with varied degrees of access and rewards. This allows members to select a plan that meets their requirements and budget, while also motivating certain members to upgrade for more services.

5. Personalized Member Engagement

Utilize technology to track member preferences and actions for personalized member engagement. Utilize this information to provide customized advice, fitness routines, and targeted promotions that are relevant to specific members.

6. Encourage Referrals

Create a referral program that compensates current members for introducing new members. Provide discounts, free months, or other incentives to members for spreading the word about your gym.

7. Utilize Data Analytics

Analyze member behavior and preferences to uncover chances for upselling, cross-selling, and targeted promotions using data analytics. Data-driven insights can assist you in making educated decisions to increase income.

The bottom line

Yes, membership subscriptions are the foundation of gym earnings, forming a symbiotic connection with regular gym-goers, but the conclusion is obvious: gym revenue thrives not just by attracting new members, but also by improving their workout experience and creating a true sense of belonging.

And an effective gym revenue management software like SubscriptionFlow can help you achieve just that.

Book a demo with SubscriptionFlow if you are a gym owner looking to increase your average gym revenue without having to increase your membership!