5 min
Between managing your staff and keeping the lights on, it is hard to find time for things like improving member loyalty. And yet, keeping your gym’s members loyal is absolutely critical to the long-term success of your business.
According to Forbes , it costs 5 times more to attract new members than to nurture the existing ones. It makes sense to focus your efforts on increasing the number of loyal members who already spend money on your services rather than pushing to increase the number of people who might be interested in your services.
Here are 7 ways to ensure that your members develop loyalty and become committed members of your business.
Put Your Staff Center Stage
Give them the gift of knowledge and make training available for all employees. Your front desk staff are members’ first point of contact with your gym. So it’s important they understand everything from how the equipment works and what kinds of amenities you offer to where people should go when they need help.
A progressing employee is a loyal employee, and loyal employees make for loyal members. Let them know they matter by involving them in the decision-making. Spot members in your staff with great leadership potential and boost their loyalty by expanding their role in your business.
Offer Unique Perks
Let’s face it: If someone can get a similar experience at another gym for less money, they might not feel compelled to stay in yours. And with today’s competitive landscape, it’s likely that there are other gyms nearby offering similar options at better prices.
So how do you set yourself apart? Think about what kind of value to add to your business that would make it worth paying more for than your competitors.
For example, a specialized fitness coaching app for your coaches to create tailor-made workouts, personalized nutrition plans, or keep tabs on progress no matter what the goal is. Whatever it is, make it valuable to boost your membership yield.
Go Digital
You know your space by heart, and you’re probably running a lot of your marketing through word of mouth but in this day and age, most of the time that’s not enough. Here are some examples of how you can go digital and foster member loyalty:
- Create SMS automated messages that send out to recent joiners
- Create a post-workout email sequence that reinforces their workout habits and includes relevant content
- Set fitness challenges and offer rewards to your winners
- At the end of every month, send out an email with the top 10 tips from trainers to remind your members what they should be thinking about during workouts
Create A Community
One of the biggest reasons people stop using online stores or subscription services is because they don’t feel connected with the company behind the product.
Create a sense of community among your members, and they’ll be much more likely to stay with your brand, even if they encounter a problem or two along the way.
Share stories of how other members have improved through their membership in your online community . Clients love hearing stories about clients like them who found success by working hard to achieve their goals. Members want to know that they’re not alone in their passion, and they want to learn from each other’s experiences.
Make It Personal
Your members have fitness goals, and it’s your job to help them meet their goals. Everyone wants to look their best and feel their best, but sometimes it’s hard for people to stay motivated.
Offer a personal coaching experience to gym members. Just like athletes have coaches that keep them on track with their training and goals, why not do the same thing at your gym. The only difference is that you don’t need to be a personal trainer or nutritionist in order to help your members achieve their goals.
Provide your members with a free one-on-one consultation when they join your gym. This will give you an idea of what they want to accomplish and how to take action. It will also give the member a chance to get to know you better before committing long-term. Building this trust is important when it comes to keeping member loyalty high at your gym for years rather than months.
Provide Flexibility
The best way to avoid member churn is to give your clients flexible membership and multiple ways to use your facility. For instance, a busy parent who is strapped for time might prefer drop-in visits rather than a monthly commitment.
This type of client also might prefer a 10-class punch card instead of a long-term contract. As another example, some people might not like being tied down to one location. If you have several locations close together, consider offering memberships that provide access to all of these spots.
Understand the pain points of your clients and don’t always go for the one size fits all option. When you meet their needs your members will be more loyal and less likely to churn.
Member Management Software
One way a gym management software will help you increase member loyalty is by making it simple for your members to book classes online . We all have busy schedules, and if it’s not easy to sign up for classes, they’ll probably just skip them.
By making it easier for your clients to see what classes you’re offering and where classes fit into their own schedules, you encourage them to participate more frequently. This means that they get more value from their membership, and makes them feel better about the investment they’re making.
Good gym management software gives you the ability to track member progress over time. Not knowing how much progress someone is making at your facility makes it hard to keep them engaged or show them where they could improve on their fitness journey. Provide members with detailed data about their progress and motivate them to show up more often.
The primary goal of a gym or fitness center should be to provide an outstanding experience for its gym members. The 7 ideas suggested in this blog can assist you with doing just that, which will undoubtedly lead to greater member satisfaction, increased retention , more referrals, and an increase in your bottom line!
