"Zero to Hero" - new gym member motivation

There is a plethora of “Couch to 5k” style apps on various app stores, and they’re hugely popular, as well as being reasonably successful at getting inactive people active. Breaking down the huge (to some) goal of being able to run 5km into manageable chunks, and offering motivation and encouragement is why people buy into these apps.

What if your club could offer people a similar plan to make more new members into fully fledged gym members within a month? Your member engagement and retention would improve, members would get better results, and would tell their friends. And if you were to sell the ‘plan’ you might even see sales increase too!

The leaving process - Health Club Management Article June 2014

If you want to stop members leaving, there are lots of lessons from other industries. Take a look at the rapidly diversifying TV subscription sector; offering different packages, payment holidays or discounts, and ‘value-add’ (tie-in) services such as on-demand. They are competing for our monthly subscriptions.

Once a member has decided to leave, there’s often little you can do to change their mind, so the best option is to make it relatively easy. You have two priorities; find out why they’re leaving, and then to stay in touch with them.

Get the message right (part 2) - "Pop in for a chat"

We know that in-club interactions are most effective and most valued by members, but we can also boost contact between members and staff in the club through external messaging like SMS, email and letter… if we get the message right. 

Some new members need that extra nudge to make their next visit or to talk to an instructor. As a club manager, you should know how many visits your new members have made, so give them that nudge if they are below your minimum threshold. Include a call to action; for example try a class or speak to an instructor.

Get the message right (part 1) - Segmentation

“How often should we be communicating with members” is a question we often get asked. Of course, the answer is “it depends”. How often do they visit, how much news (content) do you have, and how do you communicate inside and outside the club. All these factors are key, but how you segment your members for communications is the most important of all.