A Deeper Understanding of Avery Fitness Center Customers Suter and Brown Research February 2012

Presentation Outline Introduction Method Results Section One – Overall Demographics and Usage Statistics Section Two – How Members Initially Learn about AFC Limitations Conclusions and Recommendations

Introduction How can we increase revenues at our current location? To answer this question, the research was approached with two perspectives in mind Determine member demographics and usage patterns Investigate how members learn about AFC

Method Exploratory Research Literature Search AFC’s role in the community was consistent with other organizations and programs across the country Older adults seek community programs and facilities that help them to be more active AFC Employee Depth Interviews The goal was to gain insights about AFC members who attend regularly AFC Member Depth Interviews The goal was to gain understanding about motivations for AFC attendance and methods for initially learning about the facility

Method Descriptive Research Mail surveys were sent to a simple random sample of current and former AFC members who had utilized the Center at least once in the past 12 months 231 usable surveys were returned over a two week period from the 400 members contacted 58% response rate The returned surveys were matched with revenues paid by those members in the past 12 months

Results Section One – Overall Demographics and Usage Statistics The average AFC member can be described as Female (80%) Older (mean age 69, with 50% between the ages of 60-77) Well educated (60% with a four-year or advanced college degree) Retired (77%) Comfortable income (29% with annual household income greater than $75,000)

Results Section One – Overall Demographics and Usage Statistics

Results Section One – Overall Demographics and Usage Statistics Weight Training (32% usage) Men (51% compared to 27% women) Higher education (37% compared to 23% with less education) Higher incomes (41% compared to 27% with lower incomes) Classes (26% usage) Women (30% compared to 9% men) Exercise Circuit (22% usage) No statistical differences among demographic categories Circulation Station (12% usage) Lower incomes (17% compared to 5% with higher incomes)

Results Section One – Overall Demographics and Usage Statistics Therapy Pool (45% usage) Women (51% compared to 20% men) Lower incomes (55% compared to 39% with higher incomes)

Results Section One – Overall Demographics and Usage Statistics Light Visitors Past 30 days Average Number of Visitors Heavy Visitors 25% visited 4 times or less 10 was the average number of days visited (with a standard deviation of 7.3 days) 28% visited 14 times or more There were no statistically significant demographic differences between light and heavy visitors

Results Section One – Overall Demographics and Usage Statistics

Results Section One – Overall Demographics and Usage Statistics Overall Revenue Annual average of $282/member (standard deviation of $166) 25% paid $155 or less per member 25% paid $400 or more per member Revenue by Demographics > 70 years = Annual average of $328 < 70 years = Annual average of $238 Employed = Annual average of $215 Retirees = Annual average of $314

Results Section One – Overall Demographics and Usage Statistics Revenue by Usage Class Participants = Annual average of $320 Class Non-participants = Annual average of $268 No statistically significant differences for Weight Training Participants/Non-participants Exercise Circuit Participants/Non-participants Circulation Station Participants/Non-participants Therapy Pool Participants/Non-participants

Results Section One – Overall Demographics and Usage Statistics Not at Very All Important (1) Important (5) General Health & Fitness 4.7 Social Aspects 3.2 Physical Enjoyment 3.9 Specific Medical Concerns 4.1 Further analysis indicated that the more strongly people were motivated by “Social Aspects,” the higher the fees they paid over the course of the year (i.e., $40 more for every point higher on the 1-5 importance scale) A respondent scoring “Social Aspects” a “5” would have paid $120 more in fees than a respondent who scored it a “2,” on average

Results Section Two – How Members Initially Learn about AFC

Results Section Two – How Members Initially Learn about AFC

Results Section Two – How Members Initially Learn about AFC “How likely is it that you would recommend AFC to a friend or colleague?” Not at All Likely (0) Extremely Likely (10) 9.3 71% of respondents answered “10” on the likelihood scale Retired members were more likely to recommend the Center (76% compared to 52% of employed members) Those who valued the “Social Aspects” were more likely to recommend the Center (87% compared to 63% of those who placed less value) Those who used the Therapy Pool were more likely to recommend the Center (85% compared to 59% of those who had not used the pool) Women were more likely to recommend the Center (76% compared to 56% of men)

Limitations 26 individuals did not respond to the employment status question The question was unnumbered so it could have been overlooked Neither of the response options might have been accurate descriptions of their employment status

Conclusions and Recommendations How can we increase revenues at our current location? To answer this question, the research was approached with two perspectives in mind Determine member demographics and usage patterns Older, well educated, retired females with a comfortable income and greater social needs The Therapy Pool is the most frequently used service followed by Weight Training and Classes AFC members visit an average of 10 days per month primarily in the mornings Investigate how members learn about AFC

Conclusions and Recommendations How can we increase revenues at our current location? To answer this question, the research was approached with two perspectives in mind Determine member demographics and usage patterns Investigate how members learn about AFC Respondents first came to AFC for rehabilitation purposes or to address specific medical needs or general health and exercise Word-of-mouth communication from friends and doctors was the most common way in which members first learned about the Center

Conclusions and Recommendations How can we increase revenues at our current location? Speak at senior citizen centers and living groups whenever possible Focus on delivering the highest quality experience possible for existing members to promote word-of-mouth This is especially true of retired members motivated by social considerations Make information materials available for existing members Allows them to learn more about the under-utilized services Gives them something to pass along to friends and their doctors Materials could also be “leave behinds” at speaking engagements