Do you know that the highest rates of member retention are in tennis clubs? Even more specifically, member retention is notably high in tennis clubs that offer a fixed time for practice and allow members to play with the same people every week. It leads us to the first strategy for member retention at your gym:

This section also covers popular questions asked such as:

"How can I improve my gym retention?"

"How can I improve my gym business using gym management software?"

1. Create training sessions or classes that allow your members to be social

‍An increasingly common way to achieve this is by organizing semi-personal training sessions with smaller groups either based on similar physical abilities or member-created social groups. Smaller training groups keep members within the group accountable to each other which has a significant influence on their continued attendance at your gym. It also provides a chance to socialize with like-minded people of similar fitness levels or people who are friends outside of your fitness center or studio.

‍2. Become involved with existing and new members with regular assessments or training sessions

‍The harsh truth is that even if your gym equipment and other facilities are impressive and up to date, your gym members may not have any particular attachment to them. What helps in improving customer retention rates and retaining members is a high level of involvement by you and your staff members during your members’ time at your gym. It may mean you offer them a regular training session or fitness assessment.  These sessions can also provide an excellent opportunity for you (or your staff) to talk to your members and assess their continued motivation and intervene when you sense that their motivation may be waning.

‍3. Watch member attendance like a hawk

‍When you are looking at ways to increase gym member retention at your gym, keep an eye on weekly attendance. A clear sign of a member at the verge of cancelling a membership is poor attendance during the week. You need to keep a track of your customers’ attendance rate to identify high-risk members. Put in place strategies to contact low-attending members to see how you can assist them to get back on track. This might be in the form of some discounted personal training sessions to get them over a hump or a newly designed training program to get them re-motivated.  Try different strategies, but the key is having attendance information at your fingertips so you can act before the member cancels.

‍4. Get them moving - not just on the treadmill

‍It is harder to retain current members who visit the gym only to run on the treadmill. They might get easily bored with their daily workout routine, so they need to be exposed to other equipment and facilities that are offered at your gym. Introduce them to a personal trainer or some fun group classes. It will help get them more interested and minimize the risk of membership cancelation.

‍5. Think about your opening hours

‍Nine-to-five might not work well for fitness clubs, particularly if you have members who have hectic jobs with erratic time schedules. There is a high risk of gym membership cancelation if members don’t find a suitable time to work out. You might like to consider keeping the gym open 24/7. However, if that’s not possible, try opening up as early as 5 am and closing down by 11 pm. At least this way, members will be able to visit after or before work.

‍6. Be smart about who you target with promotions

‍It’s a good idea to contact old members who haven’t been visiting for a while. You could offer them a 50 percent discount for renewing their membership. An even better strategy is to pack a little more value into the membership with some discounted personal training sessions.  The key is not just getting them to renew their membership but to understand why they have not been attending in the first place. Some PT appointments might be the key to getting them back on track with their fitness goals and retain their membership for longer.

Customer retention is essential for the profitability of a gym owner, both in the short as well as long run. It not only reflects on the financial success of your fitness business but also influences the overall reputation of the gym. So it only makes sense to invest money and time in retaining your current gym members.

‍How can ClubWorx Help?

‍ClubWorx Gym Management Software helps fitness club owners keep members in two ways. Firstly, we put attendance figures of your health club members at your fingertips.  Our sophisticated attendance reporting can help you understand the attendance trends of existing members at your fitness center as well as highlighting non-attending members.Secondly, we can help you send the right messages at the right time to your customers to help you retain those members who may be on the verge of canceling. Through ClubWorx, you can create targeted and personalized messages that can be sent to ALL of your high-risk customers with a few clicks of your mouse.

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