First-Month Visits Predict Member Retention – Are You Paying Attention?

As we near the end of ‘the golden quarter’ (the period from January to March when gyms typically see a surge in new memberships), with many clubs reporting good sales at the start of 2025, focus must turn to member retention, if it hasn’t already. The real challenge now is ensuring your new members (and those who returned with new health and fitness goals) establish a consistent routine and remain engaged.

One of the most significant predictors of long-term retention is a member’s first month activity. Do they engage in a range of activities in your club, or more simply how many first month visits do they make?

It’s incredible to think that over 10% of joiners never make a visit at some low-cost fitness clubs. And almost another 10% make only one visit, ever. Budget gyms have done some great things in bringing fitness to millions of new members, but while online joining and optional inductions help sales, these practices hurt retention.

Retention Mastery: scalr Welcomes Guy Griffiths to Drive Innovation and Growth

In a strategic move to fuel growth, fitness software startup scalr has strengthened its advisory board by welcoming Guy Griffiths, founder of GGFit, a renowned expert in retention strategies.

This partnership combines vast expertise in retention and predictive behaviour analytics with data intelligence, offering gym operators an opportunity to leverage new insights for improving member engagement.

Michael Theodore, co-founder of scalr, says: "Our proprietary algorithm predicts individual member behaviours, allowing operators to spot early habit changes. This enables proactive interventions that can make the difference between disengagement and renewed commitment.

Noas Saghir, Guy Griffiths, and Michael Theodore

“Having Guy, one of the world’s leading retention specialists officially join our team as is really exciting. Combining our technology with the knowledge that he’s accumulated over the last 20 years in this industry gives our customers the best possible chance of supercharging their member engagement and retention.”

scalr partners with fitness facilities globally, promoting health and wellness through its trailblazing software. By harnessing behavioural analytics, scalr helps reduce member churn and extend the lifespan of memberships. Great not only for the health of the individuals but also for the bottom line of the operator. 

Guy Griffiths adds: "Member retention remains ongoing challenge for gyms. If we could collectively extend each member’s stay by just one month, the industry would see exponential growth. But achieving this requires more than just wishful thinking.

"By combining scalr’s technological solutions with real-world experience, we offer a powerful proposition for improving member retention. I’m excited to contribute to developing new methods that help people stay on track with their health and fitness journeys. This aligns with my core purpose of getting members to stick around longer, but also linking with my latest mission of engaging and supporting HealthSeekers.” 

Why People, Not Technology, Are the Heart of the Fitness Industry

At its core, the fitness industry is, and always will be, a people-driven business. Staff join, develop, and stick around to build relationships, with members and with their colleagues. The personal connections are stronger than most other industries, because of the people.

HealthSeekers Education - Reaching the 85%

One of the most positive shifts during HealthSeeker discussions is the focus on the 85% of the population who do not have a gym or health club membership.
To push this movement forward, we need three tiers of education, along with collaboration and coaching.

Today, let’s talk about education.

Rethinking the Fitness Industry

The fitness industry has traditionally focused on the 15% (now 15.9% according to the latest Leisure DB report) who are already active. The goal has been to help the fit get fitter, competing for the same demographic and often poaching members from other clubs. The low-cost model has exacerbated this, with budget clubs 'stealing' members from incumbents who then try to win them back.

Many see the ‘pivot to health’ as a way to bring ‘the 85%’ into our leisure centres, gyms, and health clubs. However, as Andy King suggests on The Conveners podcast, the term pivot could be replaced with "broaden" or "transform." Most HealthSeekers are not interested in working out, exercising, or ‘doing sport.’ No amount of pivoting, transformation, or special offers will change that.

Measure your members progress to get them to stick around longer

Progression is key to keeping people engaged in any activity, particularly one that is hard, or part of a choice. Measuring progress through school with assessments, exams, or reports, music exams, colour belt gradings in martial arts, or levels on a computer game keeps us motivated to continue.

So, when fitness industry veterans ask, “remember when we used to measure everyone as they joined”, the response is “why don’t we do it so much anymore?”

This is tip 11 in a series to celebrate GGFit’s 15 years in business. We discussed progression briefly in tip 3, but want to expand on this important topic now. Read all the tips here.

There are so many better ways to measure progress now, without using scales, tape, or callipers. With body composition, we have medical grade devices providing so many stats on people’s health and fitness, and 3D (and 4D!) body scanners to show how people’s body shape has changed as they progress.

Challenge your members – to stay longer!

Once you’ve onboarded all your new members (and returning members) at the start of the year, you’ve hopefully looked at upselling, referrals, and rewards. By March, the motivation of some members will start to wane, so it’s time to challenge their fitness.

This is tip number 6 in a series to celebrate GGFit’s 15 years in business. Stay tuned for more

What makes a successful challenge?

A great challenge is one that most of your members take part in.

Contrary to what many fitness instructors think, a hard challenge is not a good challenge, since most of your members either won’t take part, or will, and then will never join a challenge again.

What Happens Next? 2 tactics to reinforce your onboarding journey.

Use one or both of these strategies to take all your new members to the next level

January was a good month, and if you've followed the first 3 tips in our series of 15, you’ve Sold Retention, Onboarded Everyone, and Promised Progression. All your new members are super-engaged, building up their health habits, and feeling great about being a member of your club. 

What Happens Next?

[my favourite round on Question of Sport, read in Sue Barker's voice, or for older readers, David Coleman or David Vine]

While the first month, or first 7-10 visits are most important for your new members, you can boost their loyalty and enthusiasm further with a couple more steps. So don’t take your eyes off your new recruits this month, but do take your graduates from last month and try one or both of these tactics.

These are tips 4 and 5 in a series to celebrate GGFit’s 15 years in business.

Using Digital & Tech to Augment Reduced Staffing Levels

Staffing is one of the big issues in the fitness industry. It has always been difficult to recruit and retain staff, but it has become harder post-pandemic. 

We’ve discussed this in previous articles, but lately, there is more focus and debate on operating with reduced staff, or even no-staff gyms. 

The best member retention rates are created through staff interaction, but if you’re having to work with a smaller team, there are still ways to maintain good member retention.

Staff leaving

The furlough scheme in the UK helped keep some staff during lockdowns, but many top fitness instructors and PTs took the opportunity to set up their own businesses, sometimes taking members with them. Some realised that they could make more money with less effort by delivering parcels or fast food. Others re-trained for careers outside fitness. 

WFH, Health, and Health Clubs

This article talks about how health clubs can help improve corporate wellbeing, without selling classic gym memberships.

The effects of the COVID pandemic will be felt for many years after the last positive test result. One of the big business and cultural shifts has been the fast-track evolution of working from home (WFH). While many have been doing this for years, not everyone is benefitting. There are some serious repercussions on health, both physical and mental, as described by this report in HR Magazine, which claims remote working is “as dangerous as smoking”

Clubs losing members who are WFH 

Health clubs and gyms have been hit hard by the changes in working practices, with fewer people in towns and cities for a 5-day working week. On the flip side, some independent clubs have benefitted slightly from people wanting to train closer to home, twinned with the general trend of supporting local, smaller businesses. But the big city gyms are feeling it the hardest at the moment.

GYMS ARE NOT ESSENTIAL...

... I WISH THEY WERE! 

But with only 15% market penetration (and even fewer visiting over the last year), gyms are simply not shining brightly enough on the radar, no matter how loud we shout about it.

Supermarkets and delivery companies are essential. Doctors’ surgeries and pharmacies are essential. Public transport is essential for essential workers. Mental health support can be found in hairdressers, cinemas, record shops and gyms, but unfortunately, they are not essential. Take-away coffee shops fall somewhere in between, which is nice.

A Public Health England Survey says that 7 in 10 people want to make healthier choices in 2021. 

We need to change our tune.

8 Gym Re-Opening Lessons in Member Retention

Unless you run a brand-new club, this is not your first re-opening.
Some clubs have re-opened 3 or 4 times over the last 12 months.
And whether you are opening for outdoor exercise only, gym but no classes, or another variant, there are lessons to be learned each time you do it. 

RECOVERY PLANNING

You know the Benjamin Franklin quote “If you fail to plan, you are planning to fail”. The whole fitness industry is in a tough spot right now. To survive, you need to have a few different plans, contingencies, and ideas. There is a lot to be learnt from the last lockdowns, and lots of ways to survive and thrive when clubs re-open.

At the time of writing, we do not know when lockdowns will be relaxed and we can re-open. You might be busy running virtual classes, sending out programmes or remotely coaching members. But the most important thing you can do now is to reflect, listen to your members, and make more plans.

GYM MEMBER RECOVERY… AND GROWTH

It is clear from all the conversations I have had with clubs in the second part of 2020 that the biggest issue facing the industry is getting members back. Many memberships are still frozen or suspended, and lots have cancelled. Furthermore, some members are still paying yet not visiting, and consequently are at high risk of cancelling.

Some industry research reports that most members will return (up to 88%). But the reality is that many have not yet. It is hard to remove bias from fitness surveys when they are mostly completed by the keen, raving fans of your facility. As clubs dip in and out of lockdown, member recovery is going to become a full-time, constant battle. Whilst it will feel like a battle, it is easier to re-engage your existing members than to find new ones.

To get more of your members back, you need to be smart and to work hard at it. You also need to have lower price options and accept that having lesser member revenue is better than nothing.

Personal Training: fundamental to the Future of Health and Fitness

The fitness industry is going through a revolution. Technological advances in fitness streaming, apps, and member support have developed at a rapid pace. Clubs have been shut down, re-opened, locked down again, and some businesses have already gone for good. 

Yet more people are interested in health and fitness than ever before. Existing fitness fans quickly adopted apps and livestreaming to tide them over or replace their club experience. However, inexperienced people need more support. While some will look to apps alone, many people will need proper encouragement and motivation if they are to make significant lifestyle changes.

THE FUTURE OF HEALTH AND FITNESS

The fitness industry is facing a revolution, rather than an evolution. There are going to be some clear winners, several casualties, and lots of change. 

In recent years, forward thinking clubs have been moving towards ‘wellness’ models, incorporating health (physical and mental) and nutrition into their service. The current pandemic has highlighted the need for more inclusive offerings, truly supporting people’s health, rather than just fitness or strength. 

Clubs that focus on the already active may survive, but those who expand their thinking have an opportunity to thrive.

Know Your Numbers - Gym Owner Monthly Article Nov 2020

An old saying goes “If you want to improve something, you have to measure it”. Yet very few fitness businesses really know their numbers. This is an industry-wide issue, not just related to independent gym owners. Systems and dashboards help some clubs, but you need to define your key performance indicators (KPIs) and use them to know your business better and drive it forwards. 

There is a wealth of data available to businesses today, which is why the ‘key’ in KPIs is important. These are 5-10 key metrics that allow you to understand the state of your business. Some will be a combination of other figures, and you may need to drill-down into the detail, but these key metrics give you a performance headline. 

These numbers are absolutely critical to running your club, showing what is working, and what, where, or who you need to pay more attention to. Without accurate numbers, you’re driving blind, basing decisions on guesswork and intuition.

Hybrid Member Journeys

In this extract from a recent webinar, Guy talks about how the traditional member journey evolved as the fitness industry accelerated online fitness during lockdown, and where it must develop to include hybrids of in-club and virtual fitness experiences.

There are many examples of hybrid journeys, we talk about Metabolic Balance and Exercise Referral here. Others include summer/winter split memberships, bootcamps, running/cycling clubs, relaxation, and meal prep.
Please leave questions or comments below.

Personal Trainers... Improve Client Retention: Stop Selling Sessions - PT Monthly Article

One of the most common retention problems for PTs is keeping members beyond the initial block of sessions, whether it is 3, 5, or 10. This month, we’re looking at different models for retention, along with ways of adding value to your PT offering.

The Covid pandemic has highlighted a lot of successful and some more problematic business models. Many businesses have been setting up or switching to subscription services, long before lockdown. Netflix, Amazon, and Spotify are obvious examples, but others include food (Abel&Cole, HelloFresh), drink (VirginWine, Beer52), razors (Harrys, DollarShaveClub), and toilet roll (WhoGivesACrap, BumBoo). Convenience is the number one selling point, but all these have an important back story, secondary mission or value, often about sustainability, environmental, or experience. Note that they all put value before price.

Selling a block of 10 sessions is out-dated, not only because the consumer is more accustomed to subscription, but also because you must keep selling every 5-10 weeks. And selling is rarely a PT’s strongest skill, or favourite part of the job. What’s more, it gives the client an easy ‘out’, particularly if they’ve not got value from the latter sessions.

Reducing the Second Wave - Gym Owner Monthly Article

We all hope to avoid a second wave of Covid-19 infections. A bigger worry for many gym owners and operators is the second wave of membership cancellations as we get closer to re-opening.

Communication is key to maintaining member engagement. Let’s talk about what happened as we entered lockdown, how you should be learning from lockdown messaging, and how to communicate your re-opening and flatten the second wave of membership cancellations.

Digital or Die - Gym Owner Monthly Article

The fitness industry has dived in at the deep end of the digital world during lockdown. We were slowly evolving with online offerings and programming apps. Now we must accelerate our adoption of technology to stay in touch with and retain members. If you are waiting for things to get ‘back to normal’, you will be left behind.

It’s critical that you get on the digital fitness bandwagon right now, not only to help your members and your business to get through lockdown, but to come out the other side fit and fighting, and prepared for the next phase of the fitness industry.