When choosing your membership rates, you have two options:
- Monthly unlimited
- 2x/week unlimited.
Right?
As the fitness industry becomes commoditized, and gym access moves closer to free, some Affiliates are looking for another way. I offer these as examples of OTHER models, currently being used by CrossFit Affiliates successfully. Some are amazing; some are incomplete. Some are experimental. Some are risky. Some will provide a more enriching model than the one most Boxes are currently implementing; some will not.
3. The lower-priced 'base membership' with optional premium services. Yes, you can run your CrossFit gym on a base gym membership, and charge per CrossFit class. In 2008, many Affiliates were following this model, and some of the older Boxes have reverted to this method. It's generally assumed that every member will seek coaching eventually, in some way, shape or form. The client paying the base membership fee may or may not cover the costs of running the Box, but they form the community of potential coaching clients, who pay a small premium for individual attention. Taken alone, the gym membership base may not support the gym on their own; the membership exists as a potential client pool for premium services.
4. Ad-supported content. Don't scoff. Just like newspapers and many other 'free' distribution models, ad-supported content is hitting the fitness industry hard. There are obvious examples in the CrossFit world: Reebok subsidizes the costs of some newer Affiliates for top-level Coaches; they can provide custom shirts with your logo (and theirs) for less than you'd pay elsewhere; supplement companies are quick to cut the owners a deal in return for promotion.
Some gyms take it to another level, selling ad space on the walls above the televisions. This sounds crooked, but can be done tastefully, with ads that are relevant to your target audience and make life easier. Google's argument is that the ads it sells are a boon to its clientele, because they're relevant to the reader's interests and simplify the search process. If a local chiropractor, whose son was in your CrossFit Kids program, offered you $100 per year to post his name and phone number on your wall, would you object? These revenues are substituted for membership fees, which can then be decreased to achieve the same net revenue.
5. Externally-funded /supported services. These can mean a government subsidy for providing the service, a break on rent from a landlord who sees potential crossover revenue, or a breakeven 'side' business that will provide clientele for a larger one (a CrossFit Box attached to a chiropractor's office.) Sometimes, these are done out of love: "I don't care if I make any money at this, I just want to give people the gift of health."
At the other end of the spectrum, non-CrossFit Affiliates are trying to manipulate the system. Some gyms, providing a base membership fee, will begin to provide free CrossFit knock-offs - Cross-TRX, anyone? - to their members. "I already do CrossFit at MY gym....." will become your obstacle in the next 3 years. As I wrote last week, our challenge has gone from, "What's CrossFit?" to, "I already do that, but my gym calls it something else."
6. 90/10 - 90% of clients pay for the 10% who can't. There exist at least three Affiliates, to my knowledge, where underprivileged youth attend for free, and their membership is covered by a portion of fees from others.
In one sub-example, youth are provided the opportunity to pay for their own membership through the design and print of t-shirts for members and nonmembers alike. In another, members' fees cover a given amount of 'scholarships' for kids who can't afford to pay.
There are others, of course. Some operate their Box at a loss, and make up the difference doing expert courses and coaching, maintaining their gym as a 'home base' from with to practice and publish. This is more common than you'd think, and here's why: would you buy a book on powerlifting from someone who didn't run a powerlifting gym? Would you buy a Reverse Hyperextension from him? Would you buy a prowler from someone who had never trained an athlete? A runner who didn't train other runners? A physiotherapist without a clinic? When the majority of their revenue comes from outside their immediate circle, it doesn't matter how the gym makes money; it's enough that the gym exists, even as an expense within the overall business model.
I have spoken with clients of the 321GoProject who operate under each of these models, and my own Affiliate uses one of the above (not the large-fee monthly "CrossFit Standard.")
Some gyms, of course, do very well with the monthly fee. If you're looking for something different, though, the world is your oyster. There's more than one way to run this show, and if you're within a market saturated by other gyms, you can help clients by offering something different.
How to choose? Do what you believe is best for the client. As a result of our Ignite research, we believe very strongly in the value of practice - play, if you will - and so offer Open Gym for MANY hours, every day. You may prefer to cast your shadow of influence over a client every time they visit your Box.
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