Retaining members is easy for tennis clubs. Why? The answer is simple: the gym offers a huge social aspect. Unlike a lot of gyms, members of tennis clubs know they can expect a specific range of services and count on playing with the same people (or person) every time they visit. The social aspect of tennis clubs is one of the single most important characteristics that keeps members coming back – day after day, year after year. Whether or not you have a niche club or one that offers a variety of services, implementing retention strategies at your gym can make a huge difference in your club’s growth. The following are ways to strategically grow your business while focusing on retaining your current membership.
1. Encourage members to work out together
When gym members see the same friendly faces every time they work out, they equate your gym with a positive experience. You can encourage membership friendships by structuring your classes in such a way that the same group of people always see each other at the classes. Even having a 15 minute gap between classes encourages members to stand and chat for a few minutes and get to know each other. Setting up your classes to allow for social interaction helps keep retention high. If you keep your class numbers small you will encourage social interaction and build positive peer pressure among your members. Helping your members to develop friendships – inside and outside the gym – means they will motivate each other to come to the classes and stay members. People love to go where their friends work out because it makes exercising fun.
2. Offer regular assessments to build loyalty
Many gyms offer complimentary assessments as part of membership on-boarding. New members are typically motivated by the assessments because they see everything the gym has to offer as well as their numbers (weight, blood pressure, etc.). Yet, unfortunately, for many clubs that’s usually where the onboarding ends. Once the member has received their free personal training session, they are often “forgotten about” and left to their own devices. In order to build loyalty, give your members assessments more often. This will help them stay motivated and get tips about how they can improve their physical well-being. The more motivated your members are, the more likely they will get involved with regular training sessions, classes, and develop a regular fitness routine.
3. Take an interest in the attendance of your members
The members who regularly come to your gym are the ones least likely to cancel. If you notice a lag in the number of times per week or per month certain members work out at your gym, give them a call and set up an assessment ASAP. Sometimes people just need a little push to get involved in their fitness routine. During the assessment you can encourage them to try new things to ensure they aren’t bored with their routine – or lack thereof.
4. Get them moving – beyond the elliptical
You may have seen it before, a member comes in day in and day out and goes on the same machine for the same amount of time expecting to see change. You and I know that if nothing changes, nothing changes- so getting members out of their rut is absolutely crucial. When they reach their fitness goals they will be more likely to stay at the gym. If they don’t see results, they are more likely to cancel. If you notice a member doing the same things all the time, offer a complimentary personal training session or suggest a class that may suit them.
5. Consider your hours of operation
People work out at all different times of the day. Early birds love their 5am workouts while night owls may choose to do their exercising at 10pm. Because of this, your gym should cater to members and their hectic and erratic schedules. Additionally, weekends are a time when a lot of “Weekend Warriors” like to get in their workouts. Be sure your weekend hours are long enough so that members can get their workouts in no matter what. If your hours are not conducive to your members’ schedules, you run the risk of them cancelling.
6. Be smart about your promotions
Your marketing efforts are everything to your business. So be sure that they are professional and represent your business well. Target new and old members alike. For those members who cancelled a while back, you could offer them a percentage off if they renew their membership. Also, you could offer more value to memberships such as personal training, classes, and more.
As you know, maintaining your current members is much easier (and less expensive!) than putting forth effort to find new ones. In order to remain profitable and succeed in a tight market, it is extremely important to implement the aforementioned strategies to keep your members happy and enjoying their experience at your gym.