It's easy to become consumed with getting as many new members as possible, but in today's competitive health club market, you need to make sure you hang on to the members you already have. Otherwise they will happily take their money and their loyalty to another fitness center.
It's likely you have heard that it is seven times more expensive to attract a new member than it is to retain an existing member happy. And you really do not have to make them "happy", you just have to keep them content. The main thing is to impress them enough that they renew or continue on their roll-over membership. Let us put that into perspective. Would you rather spend $10,000 on marketing or $70,000 on marketing, if both would bring in the same amount of member revenue? Of course you would rather spend 7 times less to receive the same results!
That's not to say that collecting new memberships is not important, because it definitely is. But attracting new members should never mean neglecting the members you currently have. It is funny how salespeople are amazingly sweet to guests, but once that guest becomes a member, that salesperson hardly notices them again. Okay, maybe not funny it is actually quite pitiful, considering your members are smart enough to recognize this change in demeanor. Overpromising and under delivering are commonplace in the health club industry these days. It is your mission to make sure this doesn't happen at your fitness center!
Notice what makes your members happy.
Question everyone when they check in at the front desk to fill out a short survey. Ask both closed-ended questions and open-ended questions, allowing them to elaborate on what their concerns are. Ask if they have any recommendations and be sure to follow them, within reason.
If you are with a prospect and a member needs your help, make sure to oblige the member. The prospect won't be angry. Actually, they will recognize that your paying members are valued and are taken care of. If you take that extra second to take care of your existing member in front of your prospect, you can then use it as a selling feature. "My apologies. I hope you feel good to know that we would drop anything to assist one of our members!"
Always pay attention to your members, always say hello and goodbye to each member, and make it a point every day to get to know some of your members a bit better. Ask them how their day is going. Ask how their family is. Teach them a new exercise. Introduce them to other members with similar interests. Ensure that you take care of your existing members and they will always take care of you.
It's likely you have heard that it is seven times more expensive to attract a new member than it is to retain an existing member happy. And you really do not have to make them "happy", you just have to keep them content. The main thing is to impress them enough that they renew or continue on their roll-over membership. Let us put that into perspective. Would you rather spend $10,000 on marketing or $70,000 on marketing, if both would bring in the same amount of member revenue? Of course you would rather spend 7 times less to receive the same results!
That's not to say that collecting new memberships is not important, because it definitely is. But attracting new members should never mean neglecting the members you currently have. It is funny how salespeople are amazingly sweet to guests, but once that guest becomes a member, that salesperson hardly notices them again. Okay, maybe not funny it is actually quite pitiful, considering your members are smart enough to recognize this change in demeanor. Overpromising and under delivering are commonplace in the health club industry these days. It is your mission to make sure this doesn't happen at your fitness center!
Notice what makes your members happy.
Question everyone when they check in at the front desk to fill out a short survey. Ask both closed-ended questions and open-ended questions, allowing them to elaborate on what their concerns are. Ask if they have any recommendations and be sure to follow them, within reason.
If you are with a prospect and a member needs your help, make sure to oblige the member. The prospect won't be angry. Actually, they will recognize that your paying members are valued and are taken care of. If you take that extra second to take care of your existing member in front of your prospect, you can then use it as a selling feature. "My apologies. I hope you feel good to know that we would drop anything to assist one of our members!"
Always pay attention to your members, always say hello and goodbye to each member, and make it a point every day to get to know some of your members a bit better. Ask them how their day is going. Ask how their family is. Teach them a new exercise. Introduce them to other members with similar interests. Ensure that you take care of your existing members and they will always take care of you.
About the Author:
Curtis Mock has rapidly become the go to expert for fitness center marketing advice. You can sign up for his fitness center marketing tip of the week and be sure to take advantage of your trial membership to the powerful fitness center marketing resource site made specifically for fitness center owners.
