SUTER AND BROWN RESEARCH FEBRUARY 2012 A Deeper Understanding
of Avery Fitness Center Customers
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Presentation Outline Introduction Method Results Section One
Overall Demographics and Usage Statistics Section Two How Members
Initially Learn about AFC Limitations Conclusions and
Recommendations 2
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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 3
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Method Exploratory Research Literature Search AFCs 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 4
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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 5
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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)
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Results Section One Overall Demographics and Usage Statistics
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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) 8
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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) 9
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Results Section One Overall Demographics and Usage Statistics
Light Visitors Past 30 days Average Number of Visitors Past 30 days
Heavy Visitors Past 30 days 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 10
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Results Section One Overall Demographics and Usage Statistics
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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 12
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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 13
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Results Section One Overall Demographics and Usage Statistics
Not at Very All Important (1) Important (5) General Health &
Fitness4.7 Social Aspects3.2 Physical Enjoyment3.9 Specific Medical
Concerns4.1 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 14
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Results Section Two How Members Initially Learn about AFC
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Results Section Two How Members Initially Learn about AFC
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Results Section Two How Members Initially Learn about AFC Not
at All Likely (0)Extremely Likely (10) 9.3 How likely is it that
you would recommend AFC to a friend or colleague? 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) 17
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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 18
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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 19
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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 20
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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
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