Should gym inductions be mandatory?

Part of the GGFaqs series.  The GGFit Frequently Asked Questions page is buzzing at the moment, here's the latest posting hot off the press…

Some clubs let people skip the gym induction process these days. Does this affect sales/retention and what should we do from a health and safety point of view?

Many years ago, you'd struggle to join a gym without having to go through the “gym induction”. This appointment has various names, from welcome session, to getting started. At best, it is a chance to outline exercise goals and get to know the member's needs and build their confidence, at worst, it's a glorified tour and standard exercise programme template.

Does online joining increase membership sales?

Part of the GGFaqs series.
This is one of the most frequently asked questions at the moment, with many clubs offering on-line joining, often trying to keep up with the competition. Here's how to beat them!

The quick and easy answer is “Yes, having an online joining option will increase sales.”
How much by? “Well, that depends…  Read our 4 step process below, or check out the abandoned shopping trolley graphic from dotMailer below. 

Absent members in July? Of course! Some stats...

We all know that health club attendance drops in the summer; a combination of good weather, outdoor exercise alternatives, holidays, and a general lack of motivation caused by the hot weather or school holidays can hit clubs hard.

Many clubs accept this as the status quo, perhaps trying to focus on welcoming members back when they return. But some are taking action to try to get these absent members back sooner, sending out “we miss you” texts and emails, and “wish you were here” postcards, via the Stick Around Service.

"Frozen" Gym Memberships - do you "Let It Go"?

We’re going to kick off the GGFaqs series with a couple of questions that we frequently ask clubs; do you allow your members to freeze their membership, and if you do, how much do you communicate with them while they’re on freeze?

At clubs that do offer a contract freeze, we’re surprised to find that little or nothing is sent to members on freeze.

"Zero to Hero" - new gym member motivation

There is a plethora of “Couch to 5k” style apps on various app stores, and they’re hugely popular, as well as being reasonably successful at getting inactive people active. Breaking down the huge (to some) goal of being able to run 5km into manageable chunks, and offering motivation and encouragement is why people buy into these apps.

What if your club could offer people a similar plan to make more new members into fully fledged gym members within a month? Your member engagement and retention would improve, members would get better results, and would tell their friends. And if you were to sell the ‘plan’ you might even see sales increase too!

The leaving process - Health Club Management Article June 2014

If you want to stop members leaving, there are lots of lessons from other industries. Take a look at the rapidly diversifying TV subscription sector; offering different packages, payment holidays or discounts, and ‘value-add’ (tie-in) services such as on-demand. They are competing for our monthly subscriptions.

Once a member has decided to leave, there’s often little you can do to change their mind, so the best option is to make it relatively easy. You have two priorities; find out why they’re leaving, and then to stay in touch with them.

Get the message right (part 2) - "Pop in for a chat"

We know that in-club interactions are most effective and most valued by members, but we can also boost contact between members and staff in the club through external messaging like SMS, email and letter… if we get the message right. 

Some new members need that extra nudge to make their next visit or to talk to an instructor. As a club manager, you should know how many visits your new members have made, so give them that nudge if they are below your minimum threshold. Include a call to action; for example try a class or speak to an instructor.

Get the message right (part 1) - Segmentation

“How often should we be communicating with members” is a question we often get asked. Of course, the answer is “it depends”. How often do they visit, how much news (content) do you have, and how do you communicate inside and outside the club. All these factors are key, but how you segment your members for communications is the most important of all. 

Build trust, get customer details

We know that it’s vital to collect as many member email addresses and mobile numbers as possible, but does your club go about it the right way? A fish bowl card drop prize draw at reception looks like a marketing drive, and will probably collect the same cards as last month, with very few new email addresses.

em@ail by Sean McEntee

It's important to build trust with your members; sell the benefits

Reinforcing beliefs & surprising stats with TRP 10,000

It was great to attend the TRP 10,000^TM Senior Executive Event last week. Melvyn Hillsdon presented a lot of statistics taken from The Retention People’s ongoing research, focusing on member communications and members who do group exercise and gym versus gym only.

Some of the results were surprising, others reinforced our beliefs or ‘knowledge’, but all the findings were interesting, and everyone went away from the event with actions as well as thoughts as to how they could improve member retention at their clubs.