Customizing Your Client- Information Systems Chapter Three

Introduction  Evaluation is client-information  Record keeping is key  Head counts vs patterns  What do you want to know  What info can be used from health history questions

Introduction cont…  Use of computer spreadsheets  Most programs file personal data in folders  Client surveys are lumped by date  Data is unobtainable  Information can show who your client base is  Tracking is comparing info across times

Head Counts  How many people at a given time  Does not tell you demographics?  Payment is an easy tracking tool  Renewal rates compare over time  Payment for classes tells single use stats  Sign-in sheets may also be used

Tracking  Membership growth  New minus old members  Member attrition rates  (# at start/# at end) x 100  Avg. length of membership  1/member attrition

Tracking cont…  Net difference in growth is pos. or neg.  Should be tabulated monthly and annually  Compare over time for patterns and trends  Who is a drop-out  Someone not currently enrolled  Not enrolled for 12 months

Aggregate User Rates  Low enrollment or user rates may determine life of a program  User periods such as day of week and time of day  Use sign-in sheets for treadmill and pool  Determine where people are and what they use

Aggregate User Rates cont…  Still no demographics  Individual rates show demographics  Gender  Age  Skill level  Monitor users for drop-outs  Improvement vs user rates

Aggregate User Rates cont…  Page 32  Table 3.1  User rates  Male vs female  Skipping patterns  Individual rates show more detail

Client Profiles  Who is attracted to the programs  High and low frequency users  Adherers vs drop-outs  Who improves most  Does client profile change over time  Compare to other sectors

Client Profiles cont…  Use client history forms to gather info  Gender and age are only two  Height and weight  Ethnicity  Working vs retired

Client Satisfaction  Get clients annual money then show indifference  Clients are more discriminating now  It costs 5x more to attract than keep members  Must keep clients satisfied  Satisfaction surveys are simple

Response Bias  Surveys are skewed positive  80% of consumers will report satisfaction no matter what the service  2/3 of consumers will switch because of the instructor  Satisfied consumers tell 3 other people  Dissatisfied consumers will not complain but tell 9 or 10 people

Response Bias cont…  Word of mouth is critical  People will switch because of service not because of the program  Service provider is technical but service is not  People leave before the survey is handed out

Representativeness  Surveys at end of program  Only those in attendance fill them out  Include and envelope for self delivery  Avoid holidays  Survey more than one class  Instructor should not do survey  Consider mailing the survey  Look at % of respondents