As a gym owner, you’re bound to have a lot of questions about your services and how you’re performing, and who better to ask them to than your gym members, right? After all, they are with you each day and night and they likely have some beneficial feedback. It could help you identify what you’re doing right and what you need to improve on. The problem is, how do you ask them?
The answer is- with some questionnaires and surveys.
Questionnaires and surveys might sound like a big ask, but they don’t have to be. You can keep them quick and concise and even offer incentives for doing them, if you want.
They are great tools to use and can help you in two major ways. Not only do they gather important information, but they also make your fitness club members feel like their opinions are valued (because they are!). Both of those things combined lead to happier customers and can help increase retention.
Incoming Member Surveys
Why not kick it off with an entrance survey?
It can be short and sweet and still tell you a lot about what you want to know. Like, how your new member found you and if they are brand new to working out or if they are a seasoned pro. It can also help you to understand why they left another fitness center and what they hope to gain from their experience with you.
Are you curious about what inspired them to reach out to you in the first place? That can be asked on an incoming survey as well. It’s never a bad idea to find out if your marketing efforts are getting good reach or if they happened upon you by chance.
Fitness Goal Questionnaires
Most people sign up for the fitness club with a specific goal in mind. So, ask them what theirs is!
When you know your member’s goals and what motivates them, you can better map out your class schedule and calendar of events with that information in mind. Maybe it will even allow you to uncover a trend worth looking into such as a new piece of equipment or a new class.
Knowing your members interests also helps you to curate special push-notifications and nurture emails on your software management program.
Teacher/Class Evaluations
Members start the gym for several reasons but ultimately they stay for one: the way they feel when they’re in the gym environment. A big part of that has to do with great customer service and the interaction they receive with your teachers during classes. Great customer service is a big deal.
Teacher and class evaluations can tell you which ones are preferred, why or why not, and if they are able to follow along, feel comfortable asking questions and if they’re being challenged enough.
General Feedback
A general survey is just you checking in with your members and helping you to create happier customers. You’re saying, “I’m happy you’re here and I hope you’re enjoying your time with us but if there is something we can be doing to make it even better, we’re all ears.”
Ask them how often they come, how they feel about parking, cleanliness, gym equipment, member perks, how you could increase referrals, and if there’s anything else they want to mention.
One Question Surveys
One-question surveys are exactly that—a super simple survey with one direct question on it such as, “Did you enjoy the new class tonight?”
Members appreciate one question surveys because they’re quick and to the point and they never feel like a chore.
Cancellation Surveys
No one likes to see their customers cancel but you can turn it into a positive by learning something from it.
Sometimes, people leave the gym for circumstances out of your control like they simply need to cut back on their finances or they’re moving out of state. But if it turns out it does have something to do with your studio, a cancellation survey can address it so you can fix it for other members moving forward and increase retention.
Ask them what the best and worst parts were about their time with you and how likely they’d be to recommend you to their friends.
Have fun creating your surveys, we know they will bring you some good information about your business and hopefully increase referrals.