The Intelligence Advantage: Why Gym Owners Who Leverage Data Will Win
Partnership
Sponsored By Xivic
How Xivic enables clubs to reduce risk, increase ROI and scale with confidence.
To “win” in today’s fitness market, it’s not about who has the newest class format or flashiest equipment, it’s about who has the data. Operators who understand their members on a deeper level — what drives them, when they disengage and where they find value — aren’t just guessing their way forward, they’re building intentional, profitable growth.
“Data is the true differentiator,” says Melissa Marquart, COO of Xivic, a leader in digital strategy and business intelligence. “To run a successful gym, you need to uncover trends, understand churn, pinpoint what makes members happy and know where they’re coming from. Brands that fail to harness this business intelligence (BI) are at a disadvantage.”
Yet the reality is, most gym owners aren’t equipped with the time, tools or training to capture and make sense of all of that information.
That’s where Xivic comes in.
Xivic is a digital innovation agency that helps businesses leverage data, technology and user experience design to create smarter, more impactful products and strategies. Xivic’s services span business intelligence, platform engineering, UX/UI design and digital transformation—enabling clients to turn insights into measurable growth.
The company’s recent collaboration with public sector leader NEOGOV offers a powerful playbook for fitness operators ready to level up how they use data to enhance member engagement, retention and drive business decisions.
Turning Insight into Impact
NEOGOV approached Xivic with a major challenge: build a mental wellness app specifically for first responders — people facing burnout, trauma and high-stakes mental health challenges.
Xivic launched a full-stack solution that included:
- Competitive and consumer analysis
- Focus groups and behavior research
- Experience design (UX/UI)
- Custom content strategy
- Engineering and implementation
More importantly, the project was anchored in listening. “We gathered market data and interviewed the target audience to deeply understand their specific needs,” says Marquart. “That process allowed us to build something truly resonant.”
Xivic’s work with NEOGOV offers a blueprint for how fitness businesses can use data to drive smarter decisions, stronger engagement and scalable growth.
“The NEOGOV collaboration was rooted in three key pillars: deep customer understanding, strategic collaboration and personalized delivery,” says Marquart. “Those same principles can transform a gym’s member experience.”
For NEOGOV, Xivic conducted detailed focus groups, competitive analysis and behavioral research to understand the unique wellness needs of first responders. That research shaped everything from onboarding design to app content, resulting in a highly personalized solution with a 95% adoption rate in just six months.
“Gym owners can apply the same model,” Marquart explains. “Start with real data about your members’ goals, frustrations and behaviors, not assumptions. Then design personalized programming or services that meet the actual demand.”
Putting Business Intelligence to Work
Business Intelligence isn’t about dashboards for the sake of dashboards. It’s about answering meaningful business questions before making expensive decisions.
“Gym owners can use BI the same way NEOGOV did — to validate demand before investing,” explains Marquart. “That could mean piloting a new group training format, testing recovery services or launching a retail line.”
Xivic’s preferred approach? A three-step BI loop:
- Start small with data-informed pilots.
- Track member behavior and results.
- Scale only when insights support it.
This “test and learn” model allows clubs to reduce risk, increase ROI and scale with confidence.
One recent example: the team supported Bunda, a fitness brand launching a new protein powder line. Using rapid data analysis and ecommerce optimization, Xivic helped them test demand, launch quickly and scale efficiently. The result? Inventory sold faster than expected, and the business is already ramping up production.
In another case, Xivic helped a gym owner analyze member data across several locations to inform an expansion strategy. What they uncovered changed everything.
“The owner assumed proximity was key, so they planned to open in a dense downtown corridor,” Marquart says. “But our analysis showed their most loyal, high-value members were actually traveling further because they loved the gym’s community, coaching and programs.”
Instead of choosing a more obvious location, the team pivoted. That suburban site is now outperforming projections, and the expansion strategy is more targeted than ever.
“These are the kinds of insights hidden in fragmented data,” she says. “BI doesn’t just confirm what you know, it reveals what you didn’t.”
For many operators, the word “data” still feels intimidating. But Xivic’s tools are built for usability, not complexity.
“We design custom BI dashboards that pull together data from all your systems into one intuitive platform,” Marquart explains. “From predictive analytics to simple segmentation, you don’t need a data scientist. You need a tool that speaks your language and drives your goals.”
The Metric that Changes Everything
Marquart says if Xivic could implement just one Business Intelligence strategy in every gym tomorrow, it would be member value segmentation.
“Go beyond tracking attendance. Use BI to understand the full journey — why a member joined, how they engage, what they spend and what keeps them coming back,” she explains.
This approach helps operators:
- Identify high-value advocates
- Detect at-risk members before they churn
- Personalize offerings that align with actual behavior
“Gyms that act on these insights see higher retention, more referrals and stronger lifetime value,” says Marquart.
Simply put, in today’s fitness economy, smart growth depends on smart decisions — and smart decisions are powered by data.
“Whether you’re launching a new product, redesigning your member journey or just trying to reduce churn, BI helps you do it with intention,” says Marquart. “At the end of the day, the gym that understands its members best will always win.”