Want to boost your gym’s revenue? There are two ways of doing this: attract new customers or increase retention rates. Numerous tactics can be deployed to enhance gym members’ experiences and entice them to continue working out at your fitness centre. Putting together customer satisfaction surveys represents an effective method for compiling the data required to take action and improve the fitness experience.

What role do customer satisfaction surveys play?

Surveys help to highlight what gym goers really want to see in your fitness centre. Sometimes you think you’ve got a great idea, but customer expectations and needs beg to differ. Consequently, decisions are no longer made based on opinion. Instead, the survey establishes facts, experiences, and what customers really want.

“Real-time” feedback is vital. The right questions can expose unseen problems. Such issues may include equipment maintenance, staffing, organisation, cleanliness and even noise.

Survey answers will also clearly identify where opportunities lie to enhance your business. You can then take swift action to ensure customers don’t cancel their memberships. This is important as it ensures making financial returns every month.

Start with a simple, single-question survey about how satisfied members are with a product or service. This quickly sheds light on the overall satisfaction of your gym members.

Where should it be done?

Numerous online platforms can be used to create a survey form. Some are free, like Google Forms, and others are paid. A digital survey is more practical, as questions are sent to customers quickly in an environmentally friendly fashion.

Survey frequency will depend on how much you need the answers. Surveys may be necessary after making changes to gym operation, when you want to gauge satisfaction, or understand what is driving members to join or leave your fitness centre.

Gym receptionists are also an excellent source of information. This more personal interaction can lead to suggestions and/or criticisms provided informally, in simple fashion. 100% authentic feedback.

What should be considered when putting the survey together?

1. Don’t be intrusive

Don’t request highly personal data, such as name, email or weight, to put members at ease. This ensures more accurate data, as interviewees will not be afraid of being identified.

2. Be clear and concise

Be direct. Avoid long questions. Although your goal is to get information, long questions are confusing and result in less reliable answers.

E.g.:

❌ Considering your experience at our gym and comparing it to your expectations when you joined, how would you rate our service?

✅ How do you rate our service?

3. Provide options for different situations

Remember that some situations don’t apply to everyone. So, always provide options such as “Not applicable” or “Don’t know” for such cases.

4. Avoid multiple questions in the same question

Questioning different points in one question leads to confusion. This can result in vague answers or the interviewee might give up on the survey. Always split up the questions, even if this means having a longer survey.

5. Don’t take anything for granted

Questions that take something for granted tend to generate fewer replies. For instance, don’t assume that all members train in the morning or daily. This is not the case. Use broader terms that apply to everyone.

7 questions for enhancing user experience at your gym

  • Do you prefer training alone or in group classes?
  • Is there a class you’d like to do, but isn’t on our timetable? If so, which class?
  • Is there any piece of equipment you’d like to use that we don’t have? If so, which one?
  • Are there any activities you’d like to do, but that we don’t offer? If so, which activity/activities?
  • How would you rate our gym overall?
  • From 0 to 10, how likely are you to recommend us to a friend or relative?
  • What can we do to improve?

You can ask members multiple questions. However, always tailor them to what you’re trying to assess: instructors, the environment, classes or services. This ensures more targeted, reliable results for your survey. The right questions will help boost business revenues.