Building a long term member base in your fitness business is, without a doubt, one of the most rewarding aspects.
At Listen To Your Body (LTYB), we can honestly say that we have hundreds of members who have been with us for 3, 5, 10, even 15 years.
The following tips will give some insight into how to achieve the best compliment a fitness business can get, a loyal long-term member.
Five best tips to retaining long term members:
1. Care – this sounds like a simple thing, but the importance of having genuine care for your members cannot be understated. It is not uncommon for customers in any business to be treated like a number. When you care for your members, they will never be treated like a number.
2. Grow together – if you have your business for more than three years, there’s every chance that the honeymoon period is well and truly over, so YOU must continue to grow: re-invest and re-invent yourself to grow with your members. If you are not growing as a person or a business, you cannot expect your members to move with you.
3. Results – simple question: are your clients getting the results they want? Remember that results are different for every member, so take the time to really listen and understand what results means for each of your members and execute the communication plan, training plan or whatever plan is required to meet goals and expectations.
I have never seen a member quit when they are getting results, unless they are unwell or relocate.
So when you hear a member has no time, financial issues or their work is crazy, then they are not getting results. The busiest CEO’s in the world attribute fitness training as a significant element of their success and longevity.
4. Staff development – invest and reinvest in your team. Your staff will be the face of your business 30%-100% of the time, so the members are buying their time as people, not time on the treadmill. A motivated, engaged and highly skilled team will increase your chances of having a member for 3+ years.
5. Culture – what culture do you set as a leader? There’s every chance that your team will follow the culture you set: whether that’s a positive one, or not. If you are energetic, positive, focused on self-improvement, open to feedback, then your team will more than likely follow that lead.
When your team have a strong, positive culture this will be reflected in your members.
If your members are embraced in the positive, supportive culture of your studio or club, then they will want to invest into it and be around for 3+ years.
The final hot tip to go the extra mile: take a look at your member list and see who has been with your business for a long time. Send them a nice thank you card or email to really show how much you appreciate their loyalty.
In summary, having members for three or more years is a great compliment for your business and in our fast paced industry where people have so many options, you have to endeavour to treat every member the very best in service and support to increase your chances of retaining long term members.