How many of your members have returned in the first month of reopening? Clubs we have spoken with range from 20% to 80% of members back. The lower figures are sometimes low because they are based on pre-lockdown total membership, and the top end are often based on optimistic feelings (or visits, rather than memberships).
Who has not returned yet?
Where we have accurate measures, the return rate after one month of reopening is around 50%. This immediately creates a segment of members who have not yet returned, who we need to campaign to get back into the club. One email will not suffice, but we will come back to these members in a moment, because there’s not so much an elephant in the room, as an elephant who’s NOT in the room…
Who has returned, but become absent again already?
There is already another more important segment to focus on; members who have returned once, but not been back since. We need to understand what has happened to them as soon as possible. These members could be influencing the non-returners too.
The (normal) absentee process
At GGFit, we send absentee member messages on behalf of our clients all the time. This typically gets triggered if 21-30 days pass since their last visit. Members get an SMS, email or postcard from their club saying they’ve been missed, nudging them to return soon. The absentee messages have just started triggering for members who returned after lockdown, and visited once or twice on 25th, 26th, or 27th July, but have not been back since.
As well as sending the usual “we miss you” messages, we have been calling, or asking clubs to call these absentees to find out if anything is wrong. Most of these members are on holiday, waiting for school to go back, or enjoying the sunshine, and there is no problem. But a handful (less than 10%) had a bad experience on that first visit back, either with a member of staff, or another member, that has caused them to stay away. One or two just felt uncomfortable in the club.
It’s crucial that you understand how big this problem is for your club, and if there is anything you can do to address the issue, then you must take action. In the case of the member of staff who came too close, if they can call the member to apologise and assure them they’ve learnt from the mistake, it will go a long way, and could bring another 10 members back, rather than keeping 10 more members away.
The (keen) members that came back on week one are unlikely to have lots of issues, as we see already from the calls. But as time progresses, your more worrisome members start to return. So, the absentee factor will need to be monitored even more closely. Every day for the rest of 2020 will be one of your member’s first day back in your club. You need to make sure it is not their last visit!
Calls are the best way to solicit this feedback, as they are direct and create an instant two-way dialogue. But there is also a place for surveys, sent by SMS or email, and we find postcards are a very effectual way of getting certain members back.
The message needs to be tailored to the member type, and to the communication channel used. But it also needs to be consistent across different channels, so you are aiming for the same goal. And the purpose of this contact is not to get the member back, but to find out if there is anything that you can do to help them, and check how they’re feeling.
Returning member campaigns
As mentioned earlier, one email (campaign) will not get many of your absent since lockdown members back, particularly not in August. Email is cheap and easy, but these are reasons for its limited success. It is important not to give up though, you are building a communication journey that hopefully ends with the member returning.
You have heard that it takes around 7 contacts or touches to make a sale.
We find that it takes 2.3 contacts on average to get an absent gym member to return in normal times.
One email simply doesn’t cut the mustard. If you have 100 absent members, you’ll likely be able to email 80-90 of them (removing invalid, blank, and bounce for out of office, mailbox full, etc). Open rate will typically be around 25%, so in fact only 20 of your 100 absentees are even seeing your email. No wonder they don’t all flock back.
Use the same message over different channels
You need to resend to non-openers and use alternative channels for members whose email bounces or is invalid. The messages should be personalised, and followed up multiple times, using different channels if possible. So, you could lead with email or SMS, and follow-up with SMS or post, to ensure you get through to all your members more than once.
As with recently absent members, you need different versions of the same key message on different channels, so that a member receiving an email gets consistent content whether on a SMS, letter or postcard.
Think about the purpose of each communication – are you looking to get those members back, un-pause suspension, talk about your digital memberships, or just find out how the member is doing?
Pick up the phone
Once again, a phone call is the ultimate way of creating a dialogue with these long absent members. You will get direct feedback and learn how to get more members back, and how to handle objections. Calls can take a lot of resource and focus, but it is worth it. You can use campaign stats to show you who needs a call, either identifying those at most risk, or those who are most engaged with potential for a quick win-back.
Take action
Do nothing, and some of your members will trickle back. Others will drift away and leave. You need to take action and coax them back to your club, find out if they have any worries or objections about returning, and address those concerns.
It is also true that some of the members who you contact will cancel. Better that they do on their terms, and you know where you stand. You’ll have more chance of winning them back in future, and you’ll learn from them too, and be able to stop future leavers.
If you want help with getting more of your absent members back, we can either advise you or run campaigns on your behalf to get in touch with members who are recently absent, or those who have not yet returned since lockdown.
Costs depend on the systems you already have in place, but typically start from £250 per month for a 1,000 member club – we only need to get around 10 members back to make this viable, and typically deliver at least 4 times ROI.
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