How a Michigan Gym Uses Committed Club to Increase Member Retention

Chris McDermott opened Cryptid CrossFit in Kalamazoo, MI in 2022. From the start, his sights were set on member retention and a strong, happy gym community. And he was going to do it by prioritizing attendance and commitment over competition.

“A cryptid is a mystical or magical beast, so we help people find their inner beast throughout our community,” McDermott said. “We help people discover their undiscovered potential.”

“I was working at a gym years ago that had a Committed Club,” he said. “So that was something that was really important to me.”

McDermott started with a minimum of 10 gym member check-ins per month. Anyone who attended the gym at least 10 times in a month would get inducted into the Committed Club. The bar has since been raised to 14.

In addition to recognition for being part of the club, members also get a custom-made pin each month. Pins are never repeated, so if someone doesn’t get to 14 visits, they’ve missed their chance. McDermott says it’s created a culture of commitment and proves to be a “really good incentive” to hit the goal.

Increased member retention is an incredibly beneficial side effect of the Committed Club. Each month, anywhere from 50 to 60 percent of Cryptid CrossFit members hit the goal. And this goes a long way in reducing member churn.

“When someone hits the Committed Club, there’s little risk of them quitting the next month,” McDermott said.

The Importance of Member Retention Data.

Just like a barbell, data doesn't lie. For gym owners, it’s crucial to track important gym metrics related to lead generation, revenue and member retention.

In regard to check-ins, PushPress data shows that 12 per month is the sweet spot. When a member checks in at least 12 times, there’s only a two percent chance of them churning the following month. Anything below 12 increases the chances of them quitting. In fact, data shows that if a member checks in only one time in a month, there’s a 20 percent chance they’ll cancel the next month.

The pattern holds across the platform. PushPress data shows 87 percent of Committed Club participants are still active 90 days later, compared to 58 percent of non-participants at the same gyms. And gyms that launch a club see total check-ins jump about 16 percent in the first month, with per-member attendance staying roughly 8 percent higher for at least a year.

For McDermott, the check-in feature in PushPress Core is how he tracks his Committed Club. Further, the check-in data allows him to see drops in attendance. When he sees someone at risk, he reaches out to see how he can help.

“With recurring Committed Club members, once we’re mid-month, if they haven’t hit a certain number of attendances yet, I’ll reach out to them to see what we can do to help them hit their fourteen check-ins,” McDermott said.

He added that a simple text is often enough motivation to get them back to the gym and into the Committed Club. This keeps his members accountable and member retention high.

Update: Committed Club is now built into PushPress, included with Core Pro and Max. Set a monthly check-in goal, run separate clubs for different programs, and let PushPress track progress, streaks and leaderboards automatically. Your retention program does not have to live in a spreadsheet. See how Committed Club works.

Before PushPress: Two Software Switches in One Year.

Cryptid CrossFit didn’t land on PushPress first. McDermott started on Zen Planner, moved to Wodify, and then moved again, all inside the gym’s opening year.

“We kept having outages,” McDermott said. “Members were upset they couldn’t see their data or workouts. After doing that more than once or twice, we went on a discovery and then we settled on PushPress.”

Two things sealed it. The tiered plans let a brand-new gym start where it actually was, and the product roadmap pointed somewhere he wanted to go.

“Switching systems within your first year is always stressful,” he said. “We went with PushPress because they offered a little bit of everything. We saw the roadmap, we were aligned to that, and they offered us a solution to our problem.”

How “PushPress Simplifies it All.”

McDermott is adamant that PushPress has been an integral part of helping his business grow. He believes that his gym is significantly further along than it would be without PushPress.

First, he said he’s been able to consolidate the number of systems he uses to manage his gym. Prior to PushPress, he used another system for texting members, and one more as a gym CRM. But he’s since been able to cancel both, saving him time as well as money.

“PushPress simplifies it all and makes it easier to run the business,” McDermott said.

Day to day, he lives in the dashboard. “The PushPress feature that’s the most helpful is probably the dashboard,” he said. “It just gives me a quick glance on things.”

Second, not only has his member retention improved through the Committed Club, he noted that PushPress Grow has helped immensely with leads. From generation to nurture, the automated workflows in Grow save him time and hassle.

“Grow takes them from a lead to booking an appointment to coming into the gym for a no sweat intro,” he said. “Having that communication to turn them from a lead into a member is near seamless.”

For his staff, the Grow inbox is the one they open first. “It just gives us a to-do list of who we need to contact and keeps us on track with reaching out to folks,” McDermott said.

Using the AI Assistant to Stay on Top of the Numbers.

Retention programs only work if someone is actually watching the data. McDermott uses the AI Assistant inside PushPress Core to get through his metrics faster.

“The AI assistant in PushPress has helped me do my metrics faster, so I understand what I need to work on and where I need to focus the business so I don’t lose track of things,” he said.

He’s clear about what it is and isn’t doing. “It’s not like it’s creating something for me,” he said. “It’s helping me be the best version of me, but faster and better.” It’s become something his whole team leans on, not just the owner.

In Summary: The Role of Member Retention in Gym Growth.

When it comes to the long-term success of your gym, member retention is a significant piece of the puzzle. And for Cryptid CrossFit owner Chris McDermott, running a successful Committed Club is an effective way to drive retention.

His action plan is simple. Start by setting the minimum number of visits in order to achieve Committed Club status. Consider adding something fun, like customized pins, that members can also earn. Be sure to track your important gym metrics. And finally, use tools to help you succeed like PushPress Core and Grow.

His advice to other owners is about fit, not features. “Be uniquely yourself, and then find the tools that complement how you do your thing best,” McDermott said. “Whatever software or tools you invest in, make sure it allows you to keep your bucket full, not stress you out. Running a small business is hard enough, and finding anything that’s going to add to that stress, no bueno. So find something that’s going to make the job easier for you so you can focus on what you love doing most.”

“I love all the PushPress products,” said McDermott. “I truly believe they make a difference in how we run our business. And more importantly, when we talk to someone from the PushPress team, we always get heartfelt customer support. I would recommend PushPress for a few reasons. The first being it’s a one-stop shop, and the second is that the people at PushPress care. You can tell they care. A lot.”

Read the full story: See how Cryptid CrossFit gets 50 to 60 percent of members to Committed Club every month in our Cryptid CrossFit case study.

Pro Tip: Want to learn more about how PushPress can help you with everything from managing your gym to nurturing leads? Book a demo with our team today!