Are Dormant Customers Healthier? (for business)

On health club membership retention, the age-old debate endures on the value of dormant members - those who have memberships but rarely use them. Are they a burden or an opportunity? In this article, we explore the concept of dormant members, highlighting the potential benefits for both gym and member. We'll discuss the art of re-engagement, optimal timing, and strategies to transform these sleepers back into active members.
Discover why it's not only ethical but also a smart business move to prioritize these members, reshaping the fitness industry into a healthier, more sustainable business.

There’s been some discussion in health club news recently about how ‘sleeper members’ of gyms and health clubs still get ‘real benefits’ of being a member despite not visiting. Some feel it will motivate them in future or enjoy the fact that they can [could] go when they want to, while others 'feel good' about having a membership they don’t use.

Do the right thing – ethical business practices

With this debate going on, lots of people have asked me what I think about sleepers. I have always advised clubs to re-engage with as many dormant members as possible.

Almost 10 years ago, I presented the view of Running an Ethical Health Club at The Retention Convention. Key to the talk was encouraging absentees to return.

At the time of the COVID lockdown closures, nearly all clubs experienced significant membership losses, many of whom were previously sleepers. Since then, I’ve doubled down on my views on dormant members, and ensure that the clubs we are working with do the same.

If a customer is paying for a service, but not using it, they are more likely to cancel than to come back, particularly if you take no other action as their service provider.

Getting Back to Normal

Several recent conversations and debates have talked about clubs wanting to return to ‘normal’ post pandemic. I’m shocked and saddened that so many clubs have returned to normal in terms of dormant members, as discussed in this June article… Absentees are Back!

Many clubs have returned to their normal ‘strategy’ of working far too hard on chasing new members and trying to hit sales targets, rather than focusing on the members they already have. Here’s a prioritised list of what a good, ethical club will focus on to improve membership retention and growth.

Key strategic focuses for growth:

1. New members
2. Active members
3. Dormant members
4. Ex-members and prospects

Your dormant members are worth more than your hot leads and prospects. They’re already paying you, you don’t need to offer ‘no join fee’, just get them back into the habit of visiting regularly. They’ll buy more… whether it’s secondary spend, or just one more month!

Won’t they cancel?

The big fear for most clubs is that you wake the sleeping dogs. Here's another note from the archives... Communicating with Absent payers.

Firstly, timing is critical, as we’ve discussed many times. It’s easier to recover members in the 21 to 45-day window of absence. Some clubs go much longer, with multiple contact channels, and 5-7 attempts. But if you start with a first call or message to members who’ve not visited for over 100 days, it’s not going to go well.

When contacted promptly, three or four members (per 100 contacts) will cancel, in our experience. The rest are grateful for the call, SMS, or email, and 65-80% return within 10 days. Most popular keywords from absentee calls are OK, Back, Busy, Sorry, Thanks, Holiday, and Soon. At clubs that offer Suspension, 6% of calls mention this keyword, but fewer take up the option. This starts another process of encouraging them back, for both suspended and cancelling members.

How do we get them back?

What options to entice absent members back into the club?

1. Re-program – the classic “let’s review your gym programme”, appointment to discuss your goals/aspirations, and reset and remotivate you. If you offer some form of induction/activation/welcome session, this could be the same, or rebranded as a re-activation. Enter the new member challenge to get back into the habit
2. HealthCheck – could be included in the above, or a standalone body composition measurement (worth £X). Why not bring a friend or family member for a check-up too. No need for them to join the club…
3. Book a class – get your mojo back with a group exercise class. Let’s tell you about the new classes on the timetable, and book you into a starter class.
4. Coffee and chat – more informal meeting (booked appointment time) to talk about options and remotivate/support the member.
5. Suspend – not for every club, but better than letting dormant members drift towards cancellation

If you can build a ‘book it now’ button for some of these options into your digital comms, you can re-engage with more members more effectively. But many members will really benefit from the call and conversation, as will your club, because you’ll get more feedback and be able to adapt your re-engagement strategy.

View from outside the industry

Only yesterday, someone (outside the fitness industry) suggested to me that the ‘gym business model’ is to sign up lots of members that don’t ever visit. It’s amazing how slow it takes for the public perception to change! We still have lots of work to do!!

In summary:

Dormant members do present a conundrum, and it’s interesting to hear their views on why they keep paying for memberships. But they are not healthier by paying for a membership and not visiting, just poorer. As an industry, we should not accept absentees as part of ‘normal’, but prioritize re-engagement, timing, and innovative strategies to actually improve all our members’ health. There is hidden value in reviving dormant members, both for their health, and the health of our businesses and industry.

If you want to discuss member engagement, or want to add to the debate, please comment below, or get in touch.