Most fitness businesses, hospitality companies, and parks and recreation departments in the U.S. are overlooking one of the biggest opportunities to help fill their spaces: daytime populations. People who commute to and work in your area are prime candidates to fill your 5am to 8am, 11:30am to 1:30pm, and 5pm to 7pm time slots. Traffic planning for your business should be like pitching in the major leagues (you need four types of pitches for career longevity) or game planning for a professional women’s soccer match (you must plan according to your opponent’s talents and style of play) in that there should be a strategy for every block of time. Your working daytime population can help fill three of the six traffic times in your club. Good feasibility groups can provide you with information on drive times that can help you identify potential members.

Example:

Fitness enthusiasts will drive up to 12 minutes to work out
People will drive up to 20 minutes for a one-hour massage
Pickleball and tennis players will drive up to 20 minutes for a game
Group X will drive up to 15 minutes for a favorite instructor

Businesses in your drive times are broken down into the following categories:

Agriculture & Mining
Retail Trade
Finance, Insurance, Real Estate
Services
Government
Unclassified

This information can also open up opportunities for corporate memberships which come in many shapes and sizes and can be economic drivers in and of themselves to support your dues line. Once you have specific information about the number of businesses that fall within your drive times (number of employees, profession vs. trade, etc.), it is then up to you to identify companies in your area with which you can build a relationship and then move forward to offer services.

If you would like to learn more about the tapestries and lifestyles of the people in your area, contact Health Club Management at quint@healthclubmanagement.com or Quint Essential Consulting at lou@quintessential-consulting.com.

Posted in Coaching, Leadership