By Ian Mullane, CEO & Founder, Keepme
AI is everywhere, from suggesting what we might listen to (eg Spotify) and watch (Netflix), to providing navigation guidance (Waze) and diagnosing medical problems (Health Tensor). It is, effectively, a prediction machine, taking what we have (data) and filling the gaps we don’t (knowledge) for example:
- Based on what they’ve listened to, I predict they will like…
- Based on my understanding of the road system and reported traffic conditions, I predict an ETA of…
So, where could AI add value to your gym business? At the risk of sounding simplistic, the answer is ‘everywhere’. Take a look at all the business metrics you work with, most of which report on the past. Now ask yourself: “What could I do with this insight if it were predicting forward?”
How valuable would it be if, for example, you knew which members would leave you in six months? What changes might you implement in your retention strategies? If you could send a commercial offer to a member, knowing it was highly likely to be of interest, how might that impact your bottom line?
What about if you could predict (with 90% accuracy) your sales figures for the next six months, if you knew which lead would convert and which would not, if you knew which sales channels would decrease in performance next quarter? By asking yourself these questions, and others like them, you’ll immediately appreciate how the transparency provided by AI allows you to take consistent, positive action.
Let me bring this to life with some examples. One UK operator – aware their ability to predict long-term retention was really no better than a coin-toss – gave us their data for the previous two years and held back the current year. The challenge was to identify which members would still be with them in six months’ time, which Keepme predicted with 82% accuracy straight out of the gate (with even higher accuracy later, as AI continued to learn).
The platform confidently targets those at risk – including those who didn’t know they were yet – in a timeframe where the outcome could still be changed.
And how about class scheduling? AI can take all the variables, work through millions of scenarios and create an optimised timetable for maximum member satisfaction – even telling you the expected retention improvement for each variation, and which members may be unhappy so you can pre-empt.
Another great example covers ‘non-dues spend’. Perhaps at your facility you offer PT as individual sessions, or in packs of five or 10. Your AI first identifies those who will purchase, then segments further – around your specific packs – to ensure no revenue is left on the table. Andrew would buy a five-pack, but he’s just as likely to purchase a 10-pack, so serve him that offer. Cathy is highly unlikely to want anything but a single session, so don’t scare her off with a five-pack offer. Bank the one-session sale.
The potential is massive: one customer grew non-dues revenue by 43% in six months. As Troy Morgan, MD of Willows Health & Lifestyle Centre in Queensland, Australia says: “Quite simply, AI is the future. We have high expectations for everything we do now.”
For more advice, read Keepme’s latest white paper, ‘Everything You Need to Know About Data & AI’. For your free copy, register here.
Keepme is a member of the ukactive Strategic Partner Group – find out more here.
Disclaimer: Any views or opinions expressed are solely those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of ukactive.
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