Welcome to the first edition of our new Insight e-newsletter
So, the recession is good for us?
David Minton, Director of The Leisure Database Company (TLDC), discusses if a recession may be good thing - if only for our health
I’ve been sitting in the snug at the Beacon pub in Sedgley, supping a pint of the Christmas home brew called Snowflake. Despite the enormous economic pressure on pubs from the credit crunch, from the smoking ban and from cheap supermarket alcohol, not to mention the local competition from around 40 pubs within a 2 mile radius - some selling session-ale at 99p a pint - the Beacon is so busy its standing room only for many. The heart of this classic Victorian tap house and tower brewery is the small island server with hatches, unchanged since the day it opened. At a time when confidence is plummeting and an average of 35 pubs a week are closing, whatever the Beacon has should be bottled. The Beacon is an independent brewery and is passionate about its beer; it creates a good atmosphere without the need for any background music, machines or even food, except the odd cheese cob by the till.
The difference between the Beacon in the Black Country and my local in west London is around 137 miles. My London local is also a Victorian gem, but sadly it’s been ruined since Punch took over and removed the chefs and installed ‘boil in the bag’ cooks, along with the tasteless beer. All the locals know that Punch couldn’t organise a piss up in a brewery, but they have been good at creating a highly leveraged pack of cards that must come tumbling down around the debt-financed framework soon. It seems it only requires a movement of just minus 0.3 times in value for the shares to be worthless, which could open up an opportunity for a new style of pub entrepreneur.
I was going to call the Beacon ‘iconic’ but the Lake Superior State University’s 34th ‘Annual List of Words to be Banished from the Queens English for Misuse or Over Use’ had 5000 nominations to arrive at the 15 sayings the world would most like to stop hearing; the result was that ‘iconic’ and ‘icon’ were among the most submitted. It’s going to be difficult, but I’m going on a personal crusade against that over used filler ‘you know.’ Although in fairness we all have our verbal tics, I hope I’m not as bad as Caroline Kennedy (daughter of JFK), who punctuated a 30 minute interview with 200 ‘you knows’.
I’m surprised ‘losing weight’ wasn’t one of those top 15 over used phrases, as it’s now a close third, behind debt and porn, among Google’s most popular search results. For those looking to lose weight there’s some good news. The press items we have started to see about people losing weight in a recession have been backed up by Chris Ruhm, Labour and Health Economics professor at University of North Carolina. Ruhm has studied recessions since 1970’s and found the opposite to what he thought he would. He discovered that people’s weight reduced and their health improved during recessionary times, while two further research papers by Ruhm, ‘Good Times Make You Sick’ and ‘A Healthy Economy can Break your Heart’, show we don’t carry through the changes in healthier eating habits and life style improvements adopted during the previous recession. As soon as the economy picks up you’ll be back to your un-healthy ways - so enjoy the healthy benefits of the current recession while you can.
To read more of David's articles please click here
Window of opportunity to measure performance
January’s membership sales performance is already a much debated topic in the fitness industry. Predictions are no longer relevant in this climate and true performance can only be known if the results can be set in context against competitors and relevant slices of the sector. More than ever the industry wants to know how January 2009 will fair and it is the ideal time to establish an industry benchmarking service.
The Fitness Market Monitor is a cost effective means of comparing your fitness facilities’ performance against your selected competitor’s performance. You have a last opportunity to register for your monthly performance report including number of members, joiners and leavers, pay and play and total revenue indicators for your selected competitor set. Registration must be complete by the end of January 2009!
Starting from just £145, the FMM will deliver the most cost effective market intelligence to those operators registered for the beginning of the monitor. All details can be found on
market monitor
For further details or to register your site please call The Leisure Database Company on 020 7379 3197.
Looking to gain new members and increase gym income in 2009?
TLDC has a targeted, evidence based approach, with proven success.
Our unique latent demand model will show you exactly what the potential is for your facility. Plus we can provide lists of who to target to ensure you realise that potential!
Using the Mosaic customer segmentation system, the industry standard in member profiling, we analyse your members and compare the type of people who are your current members with the population in your local catchment area. Taking into account all the competition in the area, we use our unique supply demand model to calculate the latent demand (i.e unmet potential) for your facility.
Derek Jeffrey of Valley Leisure has used the latent demand model to assess sites for investment potential and management performance. Derek has found the intelligence to be invaluable in saving money and directing resources to generate new members.
“I am very pleased with the latent demand model from The Leisure Database Company and their helpful team who worked with us.”
Graham Thomas of The Stax Group is also a client who has benefited from using the latent demand service.
“I have used TLDC for latent demand reports on a number of occasions when planning the development of new clubs. I have always found the latent demand projections to be a very useful guide to the likely membership that we could generate at these clubs. This intelligence has been essential in understanding the strength of demand for certain types of facilities, deciding on whether to purchase sites and in securing funding with the banks. I believe that any club wanting to understand the demand for their facility would benefit from commissioning latent demand reports.”
If you would like to know more email enquiries@theleisuredatabase.com or call 020 7379 3197.
Are all members equal?
Dr. Paul Bedford has joined The Leisure Database Company to offer integrated membership solutions to the fitness industry. In each issue of Insight Paul will touch on issues relevant to retention.
In this issue of Insight Paul asks “Are all members equal?”
We know that older members stay longer, so should we target those that give use greater return on investment?
Those members who receive a corporate membership generally receive a discount on their monthly fee’s but are limited to the gym that their company has signed the corporate deal with. Do they deserve more support because they don’t choose to join but have to use your club?
What about those that use the club more frequently, should they benefit from additional services just for using more?
The principles employed here involve clear thinking about different groups of members and how best to retain these groups given their different motivations for joining and using your facilities. Ask yourself ‘How do you group and support your members?’ and ‘How key is retention in your service delivery?’
For more information about retention
click here