As gyms in the UK start to re-open, it might seem too soon to start thinking about ex-member campaigns. But as your loyal members return, and you start to measure your capacity, it is likely that you will need to get some ex-members back too, to boost your revenue.
We’re going to explore when you should be getting in touch with members who have cancelled, how and what you need to say to them, and how to balance this message to ensure you keep your regular members happy.
You are open, and so are they
The first thing to remember is that your ex-members did not all leave on bad terms. Even the ones who said they were going elsewhere have not all joined another club just yet. Some will want digital fitness solutions, and may not know you offer this too.
You need to be clear on your objectives for contacting ex-members. There are three reasons to get in touch; to find out what they are up to now (information gathering), to keep them engaged (are they still interested?) and finally, depending on their previous answers, would they like to rejoin? Simply asking them to come back or offering a rejoin deal is jumping straight to the sale, which is likely to disengage more people than rejoin.
Reasons to contact ex-members
- Information gathering
- Maintain engagement
- Ask to re-join; in-club or online
If you find out what your members are doing now for their fitness, and keep them engaged with your club or brand, then this should be seen a win. Not all ex-members are going to re-join right now, but you’ve left the door open for the future.
Data segmentation
Your ex-member database is probably the biggest it has ever been. You need to put it to good use, as it is unlikely to be this valuable again.
The simplest campaign is one that contacts all members who left or have engaged with your club in the last two years. However, it would be sensible to segment and send a tailored message to members who cancelled during lockdown, versus those that left at the start of the year, or longer ago. You can track the effectiveness of different campaigns, send a slightly different survey, or point them to an alternate landing page, depending on their situation.
Communication channels
Your chosen channels will depend on volume and resource. Email is usually a good starting point. But SMS often has a better response rate, and postcards are great for long-term engagement.
Plan to follow-up with phone calls to certain segments or respondents. If you send a survey with free text response options, this can generate opportunities for a conversation to find out more and talk about re-joining if appropriate.
How to generate £3,000 with an e-mail
We sent a survey to 6,000 budget gym ex-members who had left in the previous 12 months (prior to lockdown).
The questions were simple; why did they originally join, what were they up to now? Designed to engage, but also to learn more about what ex-members were doing.
Everyone who completed the survey received the option to re-join for 6 months for the price of 3.
Around 200 members completed the survey, and 32 used the offer code generated. At £15 per month, this created at least £1,440 in revenue. But returning members typically stay for 10 months at these clubs, so the projected revenue (with 3 months free) was £3,360.
When is best to contact ex-members?
Timing is everything. For some lockdown leavers, it is just a matter of time before they return. It is much the same for those who left before clubs closed. But you need to stay front of mind, as competition is going to be fiercer than ever.
In normal times, it is good to contact an ex-member one month after they have left. You could give them a 30-day cooling off period to change their mind on the cancellation, or just check-in to ask what they are up to now with a quick call or survey.
Thereafter, quarterly is usually a good timeframe to get in touch. You should only contact them for up to 2 years after they leave, or last engage with your content (assuming they don’t opt-out straight-away). So, a quarterly contact cycle gives you eight chances to re-engage. Members who do opt-out really are no longer interested, so you are improving your list quality when ex-members unsubscribe.
Following lockdown, it would be prudent to leave it a week or two after re-opening before contacting ex-members, but some clubs have started already. Once you have a gauge on capacity and returning member numbers, you can sensibly offer cancelled members to re-join and fill your booking sheets.
Clear, balanced, honest messaging
Ensure your staff and current members understand the message to ex-members.
- Is your club busy and building a waiting list for new memberships?
- Do you have space for a few more members (in-club or online)?
- Are you too quiet and need more members back into the club?
Honesty is the best policy and will define your offer (if you are making one). Some loyal members may be upset that you are bringing ex-members back, but ultimately, the decision is yours, and this could be what keeps you in business.
Are they experienced?
Finally, you need to take care of ex-members who re-join. They have been members before, but they have also left before. Check out my “Are you experienced” article from GOM February 2020.
Don’t shy away from your ex-members, make use of this valuable database. Of course, you need to focus on your loyal members first and foremost, but getting leavers back is usually easier than signing up brand new members. Aim to learn more about your ex-members, keep them engaged, and you will have more chance of getting them back.
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