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How to retain members with Gym Management System?

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Parbhat Jain
How to retain members with Gym Management System?

Did you know that fitness is one of the sectors with the highest customer turnover? The actual retention rates vary from center to center and we cannot make a general statement, but we do know that many fitness centers are at around 50% to 60% attrition rates.  The main cause of low retention rates in gyms has a lot to do with seasonal issues, but also with the fact that many people are not constant when exercising and with internal reasons related to the lack of loyalty strategies and with the low quality of service.

But, regardless of the reasons that lead customers of a gym to abandon it, the reality is that the survival of any company that loses 70% of its members every year, not just fitness centers, forces to be constantly to be planning campaigns to attract new customers, obviously puts the brand in a continuous state of risk. And, when the intake is reduced and the members continue to leave the center, the survival of the company is seriously threatened. For this reason, it is essential that you work on a loyalty plan from the beginning to minimize the number of members who wish to unsubscribe. For this, you need strategies and technology to apply those strategies such as gym management software.

These strategies and gym management software is not only applicable in small gyms with few resources, but also in large fitness centers, where we find a large number of members that leave every month regardless of the attempts made to retain them.

Based on the experience accumulated over the years at Easy Gym Software, we know that when the withdrawal protocol is worked correctly, it is possible to reduce the percentage of dropouts between 15% and 20%, which at the end of the year represents a large number of clients and, therefore, revenue.

But it is not only essential to have a well-defined strategy and gym software to back it up also you need to provide the necessary training to the professionals you have in staff and who are responsible for implement these strategies so that they perfectly understand what is the cause of the dissatisfaction of the members and that they have the capacity to resell the services of the gym from a new point of view, giving them compelling reasons to continue.

Many gyms see a decrease in the number of new members as a result of increasing competition and failure to implement the gym management system. For this reason, it is essential to analyze different strategies to try to keep the members who decide to leave. This is even more important if we think that the investment required for bringing a new member is ten times greater than retaining one we already have.

How to deal with increased attrition rates?

A big mistake in business is to work reactively rather than proactively. This is true for the gyms also. That is why it is important to have good gym software to keep everything managed in advance. If a member is unsatisfied or has any complain, reaching the reception counter to unsubscribe should not be the only option he/she should have. There is not much you can do if this situation occurs since the decision has been made.

You can still take the following actions that can prevent the damage.

Understand the situation: There are many customers who, when they arrive at the reception to request the withdrawal, are not fully convinced of it. They may simply be unhappy or have lost motivation, but still want to be fit and take care of themselves.

Attend in person: Although gym software helps us save a lot of effort and make things easier for clients, it is not something we should implement at this point. When he requests to unsubscribe, the client must be attended in person than by online medium or by phone.

 Understand your work: The gym staff must be clear that what you should do when a client arrives to unsubscribe. Find out what are the causes that have triggered the lack of interest to continue being a member of the center and look for solutions that satisfy the client so that he can continue to exercise.

 Take it as a sale: This process should be seen as a sale. And it is about convincing the client that we offer value for money benefits through our center and our services. Therefore, it is important that this process is carried out in a quiet place where we can pay full attention to that client. If you cannot attend the member, make an appointment for another time. Remember that the goal is to serve the client as well as to prevent them from finally leaving the center.

 Of course, you should not forget that the withdrawal management protocol must always be accompanied by a loyalty plan to prevent customers from ending up approaching the counter to request the withdrawal and with the training of the entire team of professionals who are responsible for attending to the members. Only by running a gym loyalty plan using gym software or other means we will be able to retain them for long.

The main causes why people abandon a fitness center and how to fix them.

Regardless of the attrition rate, it is essential to know the issues that you can address, and that is beyond your reach. The reasons why customers of a gym decide to unsubscribe from the center can be very varied, but mainly they can be classified into three categories:

Personal reasons

In this category, injuries, changes of address, serious economic problems, work problems, etc. are included. In these cases, it is very important to find out if the client is telling the truth and if these are really the reasons for requesting the withdrawal. And it is that many times the members can use this type of excuse so as not to have to give explanations. Therefore, your job is to ask concise questions to know if it is the real reason and if it is a permanent or temporary circumstance.

Permanent situation: If the situation is permanent or long term, we cannot do anything. Therefore, all we have left is to thank the member for the trust placed in our center during the time he has been coming and invite him to return whenever possible and request his consent to send him health and fitness information through your gym software or gym application. If you try to keep a good relationship with them, it is likely they will send their family members or friends to you in the future.

 Temporary situation: If the situation is temporary or short-term, you should try to negotiate with the member. A proactive action is to start sending offers and discounts to the members at least one month prior to the expiration of their subscription. You can automate this process from your gym software. The people who like to save a buck or two would immediately jump on the offer and renew their subscription from their phone, pc or laptop.

Attitudinal personal reasons

Among the most common causes are boredom, loss of motivation for not achieving the objectives sought, lack of time, laziness, thinking that the service is not posing any advantage of everything that should, etc. In these cases, the most important thing is to assess the degree of customer satisfaction and to know what the real reasons are that led him to this decision.

Feedback mechanism

The best way is to enable client feedback through your gym software, website or gym application since you cannot meet each of your members and discuss their experience. Also, many people are not comfortable telling everything in person but they would easily express their opinion online sitting at their home.  

You can create strategies for motivation such as designing a more effective personalized program, inviting you to bring a friend to be more motivated or to look for an exercise type that allows you to achieve your goals in less time.

Poor service

Outdated or limited machinery or facilities, lack of maintenance or cleaning, lack of emotional or social relationships, poor attention by staff or a very cold approach are also frequent causes of the client leaving. In these cases, the procedure is very similar to the previous one.

Value addition

The first thing we need to find out are the causes of the partner's discontent with the center and, from there, thank him for letting the problem know in order to improve and offer a better service to all the partners; Apologize for the mistake and show empathy and the inconvenience caused; promise that every effort will be made to solve the problem; let staff know the problem so that the necessary measures are taken and that this is not repeated again; and verify that the customer is satisfied with the solution provided in a while:

On the other hand, members do not mind small issues if they are getting constant value from your side. Your gym software has an integral member management system; use it to enhance the value you offer to the members.

Obviously, it is impossible to satisfy everyone, but remember that it is always important to bet on quality. For which, you must work hard to make constant improvements, both in the service itself and in the mechanisms for detecting and resolving disagreements.

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