In this new face of the pandemic, we find most businesses are starting to reopen. The question is if members are willing to go back. This crisis has created new behaviors in our society, not only economically but also socially. Members might rethink their subscriptions or look for alternatives like training from home, or in an open space.
This is hard to hear, but probably most gym members won’t be back after you reopen your business. A study carried out by Run Repeat tells us that 46.6% of gym members will not return upon reopening.
The future is unclear for every gym owner right now. With more than a third of all gym members globally canceling or thinking about canceling their memberships, it makes it hard to see the light at the end of the tunnel.
What If Your Members Are Not Coming Back to Your Gym?
Members might not return to your gym when you reopen. When asked clients about their memberships, 59.06% of respondents stated they have already canceled or are considering canceling their memberships (20.51% canceled - 38.55% considering canceling).
When talking about the future, they were asked about their plans regarding their gym moving forward, more than half of all gym members stated that they don’t intend to return to their gym (55.29%).
After all this negative information, you might be brainstorming for new ideas on how to avoid churns. We will give you all the information you need to adapt and improve your membership retention plan.
Adapt and Avoid Churns
Exercising has changed due to the pandemic, now we prefer training from home or outside where we feel safer from the big crowds. There have been shifts in our way to act and live. That is why, the at-home, internet streaming-based fitness sector has boomed during these hard times.
You have to prepare your business not just for the 2nd pandemic wave, but also for when Coronavirus is over. Your Members are constantly changing: answer their needs!
Adapting your business should be your main focus right now to avoid churns.
What is PRO+?
Virtuagym is offering the PRO+ software , to fix your gym membership problems. It will help your business with online coaching and digital engagement.
Your members will feel engaged with all the features PRO+ offers. They will be able to access online coaching and a community, so they can always feel connected to your business.
Connect with your members at a different level and keep them hooked to your workout videos and coaching and meditation sessions. They will be involved in your community with all the fitness challenges and you can keep them updated with the last information through daily posts.
How PRO+ Benefits Your Business
We have designed this tool to keep your clients engaged, but not only in the short term, we want to make sure that you also future-proof your business. By combining your online and offline resources, you will boost the loyalty of your clients.
When talking about revenue, we know you have been struggling and the current situation doesn’t help. You can use PRO+ as a separate membership giving you a second revenue stream. Digital workout libraries and home workout apps are the future, don’t get left behind!
Overall, PRO+ will reduce the risk of churn and it gives you the opportunity to draw in new members. You can find other factors in this article that will explain how PRO+ will enhance and benefit your business.
What Are the Benefits for Your Gym Members?
Your members might be thinking of terminating their contract with you, this means that you need to make changes. Soon! PRO+ offers your members the opportunity to participate in workout plans and activities that they will find available on the app. With this new layer of added value, they will definitely be rethinking their membership cancellation.
With full access to online coaching and to the community, making them feel part of your business and really involved with the fitness community. As well as the advantage of training from the warmth of their home, with the workout library and the app, giving them all the information needed to train like if they were at the gym. What else could you ask for?
Is This the Future of Fitness?
As we already know, things are changing fast. So we may ask, what is the future of fitness?
According to a Sports & Fitness Industry Association survey, 53% of companies said they don’t expect sales returning to pre-COVID numbers until the second quarter of 2021. This means that the fitness business has to focus on attracting new clients and retaining former members.
The pandemic will change the fitness business as we know it. The stop of activity by the population is worrying, that is why you should encourage your members to stay active and healthy on a regular basis. You are going to have to be more creative, as the future is unclear, mainly with all the new innovations and changes in society.
There are some gyms that keep their doors open, the problem comes when you find that most of the gyms are closed and don’t see the possibility of reopening until 2021, some even come to say that it will be in the second quarter of 2021. The industry sees the finding of a vaccine as crucial for reopening the gyms. As of right now, we believe that wearing a mask in closed spaces and keeping up with your gym’s hygienic standards, are the best solutions to keep your business open.
