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La Mariposa is religious about providing quarterly Group Fit celebrations for their members. With more than 46% of members regularly attending Group Fit, you can understand that members are happy to register in advance for spaces and even go on a waiting list if a quarterly relaunch class if fully booked.
After 5 years of offering Group Fit to members, this family owned independent club is expanding its retention machine. They are footing the bill for a further 4,000 square feet of Group Fit real estate with a capex budget of circa USD 400,000.
Why? Well… La Mariposa’s Group Fit engine is running hot. Guest passes are like gold dust and members are keen to keep their spaces in the studios. Membership is 1,275 with a full membership roll currently being 1,400. The trouble is that La Mariposa doesn’t have enough GF studio space for new members at peak and shoulder slots. So the new GF studio is designed to drive growth as well as help existing members to get more quality GF time. |
- 68% retention rate in year 5 of GF
- 46% GF attendance
- No room for new members at peak slots
- So, capex spend of USD 0.4m on more GF space
- Premium priced in area USD 45 per month
- 4 relaunches per annum for existing members
- USD1000 – USD2000 spent on each event
- Events are themed for fun and excitement
- Raffles, T Shirts, food and drink provided
- Instructors paid a management rate for relaunch
- Events planned with professionalism
- Members are refreshed and inspired
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Not surprisingly, the stats for this multi-use facility make interesting reading. Retention* of 68% is supported by a total of 65 classes offered each week in 3 GF studios, where peak slots are over-subscribed. Average capacity usage is estimated as being 65% including off peak slots. The club maintains high retention despite being premium priced in the area, with membership fees costing USD 45 per month compared to large chain and independent competitors, which charge USD 30 – USD 40 per month.
Continuing success finds the owners of La Mariposa investing consistently in GF events. They and their GF Manager, Holly Lloyd, see quarterly relaunches for existing members as critical to maintaining member excitement, repeat attendance and hence profitability. La Mariposa organizes 4 relaunches per annum. Holly is empowered to organise a “huge party” twice a year as part of the quarterly relaunch strategy. The other two quarterlies focus on a power-packed event without the ‘after party” hang-overs!
La Mariposa invests between USD 1,000 and USD 2,000 for each quarterly relaunch to pay for a range of event highlights. Each event is themed, such as ‘the beach’ or ‘Phantom of the Opera’, the club and studios decorated appropriately and Instructor outfits designed for each ‘show’. In addition there are the expenses of Instructor wages, food, drink, class raffles for guest passes and T shirts and celebrity Instructors, when available. La Mariposa even pays Instructors a quarterly relaunch ‘management’ rate (which is lower than hourly teaching fees) to make sure that each event is inspired, professional and a talking point for weeks afterwards.
We can only imagine what Holly and the team is planning for the launch of its 6th programme this year, when BodyAttack hits the studios. Go hard La Mariposa!
La Mariposa is a privately owned club in Tucson, Arizona, USA.
*Retention has been calculated using the IHRSA formula of [1-(Aggregate dropped memberships for 12 months/12 month average beginning memberships) *100%]
Phillip says……
Group Fit has always been recognised as a powerful retention tool, yet La Mariposa’s story demonstrates that GF can also drive growth.
New member acquisition is constrained due to insufficient space in peak and shoulder slots for both existing and new members. As per Key Element 7 of the Group Fitness Management System, La Mariposa is implementing its “Plan for Success”. By driving GF hard, nearly 50% of visits are in the studios and retention is high. Hence the investment of USD 0.4 million is less risky because there is existing demand for the space being developed.
La Mariposa also shows how effective consistent investment in member excitement can be, by refreshing GF every quarter with relaunches. We salute this commitment, which is recommended in Key Element 6 of the Group Fitness Management System “Create a GF Marketing Plan”.
It would be great to see what La Mariposa could achieve using relaunches for new member acquisition!