To measure the value of affiliation in the fitness world, we’ll break it down into steps.
Step 1: Check How Many People Are Searching for the Brand
Use Google Trends or the Keyword Planner tool in Google Ads to check the search term:
- “CrossFit near me [your city]”
- “Hyrox gym [your city]”
How often do people search for the term monthly? If the brand is generating local searches, it has value.
Step 2: Track Your Leads
Manually ask every new client:
- “How did you hear about us?”
- Record answers consistently during intake.
If your new clients found you because of an affiliated brand, it has value.
Example: One Two-Brain gym owner knows that 40 percent of his leads are coming to him because he offers Hyrox training. He’s happy to pay an affiliation fee of £120 (USD$160) a month just for those leads.
Step 3: Calculate Marketing ROI From Affiliation
Use this formula:
Example:
- 5 leads per month from “CrossFit”
- On-ramp is $500
- 5 x $500 x 12 = $30,000 per year brand value
Step 4: Calculate Additional Revenue from Affiliation
If you pay an affiliation fee for an add-on service (Hyrox, for example), you can measure the revenue generated from that affiliation versus the cost.
Use this formula:
Example:
- 15 people sign up for your Hyrox training program at $99 per month
- You run it 4 times a year
- 15 x $99 x 4 = $5,940 per year
That’s a great ROI for something that costs $130 per month.
Example 2, from a real gym:
- The gym offers a quarterly Hyrox simulation because official Hyrox races always sell out.
- The gym takes in £2,000 (USD$2,650) per event.
- Annual revenue from events: £8,000 (USD$10,690) balanced against an annual affiliation fee of £1,440 (USD$1,925).
Step 5: Calculate Retention ROI From Affiliation
Make a list like this, adjusting for the brand you are affiliated with:
- How many people signed up for the CrossFit Open through CrossFit LLC?
- How many people traveled to the CrossFit Games?
- How many talked about or used CrossFit.com workouts?
Multiply each by your monthly membership rate.
Example Calculation:
- 30 people pay $150 per month and joined the Open → $4,500
- 6 people went to the Games → $900
- 4 people requested CrossFit.com Hero workouts → $600
Total: $6,000 vs. $4,500 annual affiliation fee = positive ROI
Data for the Win
It can be very hard to measure the value of affiliation if:
- You don’t track lead sources.
- You don’t sell an on-ramp or front-end program.
- You don’t charge extra for extras (you add more costs without revenue attached).
- You can’t retain people for 12-plus months.
If you can’t measure the value of affiliation, you can’t determine if it’s worth the cost.
There’s more. If you run your numbers and decide to deaffilate from a brand, you must also know the cost of doing so:
- You will have to change all physical signage and branding, including your logo if it incorporated aspects of the brand.
- You will have to change email addresses and web properties, including URLs containing the brand you are removing.
- You will have to adjust social media and Google Business Profile accounts.
- You will likely see a decrease in web traffic if you prominently feature the affiliation on your website or if people find you by searching for “[brand] near me.”
- You will need to change class schedules and coach bios.
- You will need to change any logins that use an email address attached to the brand you are removing.
- You will need to start telling a new story without the assistance of the old brand.
Conclusion
Affiliation means you’re renting a brand. It’s up to you to leverage that brand and see a positive return.
In the old days, paying for a franchise was a virtual guarantee of success. Today, you can be just as profitable and maintain control of your business by leveraging licensing well.
That said, affiliation is not a silver bullet. If your operating systems, marketing and client results aren’t dialed in, no brand will save you.
Get the basics right first—then measure the brand’s contribution clearly.
The great part: If you’re not getting clear ROI from a licensor, you can decouple yourself, sometimes within a month and usually in less than a year. That’s a big deal: If you’re connected to a giant franchise, you’re probably locked into a lengthy contract.
As always, run your numbers and make smart decisions. To get expert help making the best choices for your business, work with an expert mentor.
