By this time of the year, gym owners are probably already seeing one common theme: many members are giving up on their new year’s resolutions.
The new year’s rush has died down, and people are focused on getting into the spring season. This typically means more members will cancel, thinking they don’t need — or don’t use a gym enough to keep paying for a membership.
We’ve gathered a few techniques you can implement to keep those members engaged, happy with your service, and their payments flowing into your system.
Offer Unexpected Discounts and Membership Perks
Instead of making the gym a chore, offer membership perks — like classes and special events, that make people want to remain part of your gym family. This will also encourage your customers to get their friends to join your gym, boosting referral business. Host community-wide events with other local organizations, which will enable people to see your space and keep your business connected to the local community. Instead of feeling they are just paying for a gym membership, people will feel they are paying to be part of a thriving community.
Another great way to encourage customer loyalty is by making your members feel like they are receiving the best offer available. Promote a membership deal that keeps customers engaged after the first few months of the year. Encourage customers to seek longer-term discounted memberships to keep them coming back.
Provide Recurring Billing Options
The benefits of integrating recurring billing are obvious. Unless a customer cancels a subscription, it ensures that funds are regularly flowing into your bank accounts. Customers are more likely to keep a subscription that’s already a regular part of their monthly payment schedule.
This also gives your business the opportunity to deliver a quality service, offer discounts, and routinely remind that customer why they’ll want to keep their membership. This increases the chance they’ll continue coming back — even after the new year’s rush. They may even bring in referral business!
The key to a successful gym recurring subscription model starts with the same philosophy of any solid business practice: Transparency and trust. Be upfront with your customers about your payment process, and establish a relationship based on trust.
Stay Connected with Better Communication
The competition for gym memberships is steep, which means businesses have to do more to keep customers engaged. Offer programs that extend the onboarding process beyond sign up. Follow up with customers on a regular basis through various communication methods that remind customers your staff is there to help and provide a service.
Encourage customers to set and track goals with customized fitness plans, and follow-up with them to monitor progress. For members who don’t know anyone at the gym, hitting goals may seem alienating. Ongoing communication, motivation tips, and progress sheets can go a long way in nurturing your customer relationships.
Focus on the Customer Relationship
People want to know you are putting their needs first. On the day they sign up, to how they interact with your staff on a regular basis, they want their membership to feel part of a micro-community. Go above and beyond the typical customer service and offer them an experience they can’t get anywhere else. Allow members to get connected with trainers and sign up for regular classes. Follow-up with customers to learn what they think of the gym services, and address any gaps along the way.
Any member, no matter how well versed they are in your gym, wants to feel supported. A full-service experience means guiding them through how to best use certain equipment and offering them customized workout plans that fit their lifestyle.
The best way to keep gym members after the new year’s rush dies down is to make them feel they are missing out if they were to ever cancel their membership. Motivate them to stay engaged and give them a reason to keep coming back, week after week.
