Hot locations: Anytime Fitness UK’s data-driven tool boosts franchise success with unmatched location intelligence

Last September, Anytime Fitness UK launched Hot Locations, a bespoke advanced location intelligence platform aimed at revolutionising decision-making for franchisees when choosing a territory, and one year since the initial launch it’s been growing from strength to strength.

Backed by rich data and analysis based on proven characteristics from our most successful clubs, this data-driven approach has transformed our franchise recruitment process. Franchisees now get unmatched analysis and information to tap into prime locations, strengthening their understanding and confidence in the brand and their decision to invest.

What is Hot Locations?

Hot Locations was developed in partnership with our location intelligence software provider. We embarked on an 18-month project to develop a bespoke version of the system that would provide greater levels of insight to support franchisees in choosing territories.

We identified six criteria to benchmark and rank potential locations against:

• Volume of people
• AI intelligence
• Competition
• Wealth
• Footfall
• Existing club data

Each criterion has a weighted score which results in an overall location score i.e. the higher the score, the ‘hotter’ the location. This is represented on a heat map, providing an instant visual cue of how well the location has scored, and therefore its potential.

Three reports are reviewed in a scoping call between the franchisee and the Franchise Recruitment team. This is important as, with any data, there are nuances, and so our experience helps the franchisee to interpret the information. The decision is ultimately the franchisee’s, but we work together to ensure the location is as strong as possible, giving their club the best chance of growth and profitability.

Why is Hot Locations unique?

We’ve been using location data analysis since launching in the UK. However, this new level of detail and the depth of analysis, with the relevance of the data to the brand supports the significance of making the decision to invest.

Using CRM data from over 200,000 members, we match people within a location against our membership profile to determine the propensity that fit our demographic. This is a real USP and goes beyond typical demographic profiling to align the analysis with our target market.

How does Hot Locations support franchisees?

Daniel Penn, Head of Network Development comments: “Like many franchises, location can be the difference between success and failure; it’s therefore critical we help our franchisees to get this right. Views on locations are often subjective, and Hot Locations helps mitigate preconceived and anecdotal opinions by providing rich levels of data that support or challenge their original views.

This data-driven approach builds the franchisee’s confidence and aids their understanding of the market. It shows commitment and support from the central team – we’ve invested significantly in Hot Locations because we knew its potential, and we now use it in every conversation, at no additional cost to the franchisee.

It also benefits existing franchisees who are looking to expand their number of clubs, often into locations that are lesser known to them.”

The results

Hot Locations has transformed Anytime Fitness’s franchise recruitment process since its launch last September and has been cited by franchisees as a driving factor in their decision to join the network. We have also applied Hot Locations to the clubs that have opened this year – all ranked highly with scores of 10+, and all clubs are performing strongly.

Brixton broke the international pre-sales record in February, opening with more members than any other Anytime Fitness facility outside of the US. Its Hot Locations score was 11, based on 188,000 people within a 2km radius, strong transport links, proximity to free parking and low competition vs. high population.

Franchisee Cihan Gokensel continues: “The information is powerful and the context that the team provide when they take you through the data helps to understand it to another level – it’s what ultimately led me to choose my first territory, as Hot Locations highlighted the potential for the location.“

“I’ve previously worked in both fitness and property management, and I knew from my early conversations with the team that they knew what they were talking about. The process is really well thought-out; it was just four weeks from my initial conversation to confirming a territory, and Hot Locations played a key role in that.”

Informing our location strategy

Hot Locations has already had a major impact, and we have plans to grow this further. We are working with property partners to identify potential sites within ‘hot locations’, so new franchisees can join the network already with a property secured; this can significantly reduce the club opening timeframe.

We also continue to develop the system with new data analysis. This multi-dimensional modelling approach is the future for our location strategy, and we’re educating and advising our franchisees to give them the best possible chance of success with Anytime Fitness.

To learn more about Hot Locations and see where your desired location ranks, get in touch with Anytime Fitness.