The Paradox of Choice with Retention Initatives

One of the problems that clubs face (and to be honest, that we retention consultants sometimes create) is that there are so many retention actions and areas to look at, it can be challenging to know where to start, or where to best focus your efforts.

This choice overload becomes harder still when you’re also looking at sales targets or dealing with day-to-day operational issues. Some lucky organisations have a retention manager, but for many it’s only part of their role, or the responsibility is split across several people. So, it’s no wonder that retention rarely comes to the top of the to-do-list. 

Putting it very simply, the key to good retention is talking to people. 

However, the secret to great retention is talking to the right people, in the right way, at the right time. 

This quote is designed not just to simplify retention, but also to help with paradox of choice when thinking where to focus your retention efforts. It is simply not possible to talk to all of your members all of the time, whether you’re running a small independent studio, working in a leisure centre, a boutique club, or big-box gym.

We’re often told, “we can’t talk to all of our new members”, “we don’t have the resource to offer them all an induction”, “there’s no time to call all of our absentees”, or “we can’t get more information from our leavers”. 

It’s true, you probably do need to pick where to begin, thinking about whether you want a quick win, best results, or long-term returns. New member focus should build long-term retention improvements, but you can also learn some big lessons by focusing your efforts on talking to cancellations… and you might save a few members too.

Let’s apply the “Right People, Right Way, Right Time” mantra to some of the objections above to get around the choice paralysis.

New members

You could start by checking new members’ previous experience. “Have you been a member of a fitness club before?”, is a good question, but it’s also important to know if they’ve been a member of 5 other clubs for 5 months max (a yo-yo exerciser), or if they previously had a long-term membership and are really committed this time. (Similar to personal relationships… don’t be a one-night stand kind of club!) 

Archive: "Are you Experienced" article 4min read

You don’t need to call every member after 7 days if you don’t have the resource to do so. But if there is a segment of members who after 7 days have not visited, or only made one visit to the club, it’s probably worthwhile calling them, or at least messaging them, and then calling those who don’t respond or visit by day 10. In other words, segment to make it manageable, depending on your available resource. 

Absentees

Calling or messaging all your absentees is impractical, but also not a great idea. But recognising that, say, 0.5% of your members enter the 21 or 30-day recovery period each day is important. Do you call or message (SMS, email, push, letter, postcard, etc) all of them, or do you let your automated processes take the first action with messages, then follow-up 5-10 days later. Again, you might segment to focus on higher risk members (first), so younger members, more recent joiners, people who didn’t have an induction, for example.

Leavers

Getting information from leavers can feel like getting blood from a stone sometimes. When people cancel at the bank or just stop paying, it’s often impossible to find out any reason why, but if anyone has any ideas here, we’re all ears! On the flip side, members who do give some information about why they’re leaving are often open to a further chat, or happy to complete a further feedback form about how you could improve in future. 

So, while it’s important to try to find out a reason for as many leavers as possible (related article 4min read), it might be the start of another segmentation process to find out who to chase for more learnings and lessons to improve your retention.

To overcome choice overload, one solution is to get started on something. Consider whether your actions are likely to deliver a quick fix, or longer-term gains, and how you will measure success.

We often start retention engagements with a report to highlight what you’re doing well (and then to build on it). 

Alternatively, you could use our experience to reveal gaps in your retention activities that will bring the best results, quick wins, or long-term ROI. 

Every organisation is unique, with different challenges and ways of working, but there’s always room for improvement, and ways of getting your members to stick around longer.

If you would like advice on strategy, definition, or implementation of your member onboarding processes, please get in touch. 
This is what we do at GGFit. We work with public, private, and independent clubs, bringing learning and experience together from different models with a single focus on getting your members to stick around longer.