For gym owners, client acquisition is often the primary focus in gym growth. However, the belief that more clients equals more revenue overlooks a huge opportunity: Member retention.
On the surface, client acquisition seems easier to control and improve. On the contrary, studies show it’s easier to retain current members than bring in new ones.
Imagine if you were able to keep 95% of your clients year after year. This would likely mean you wouldn’t need to spend much - time or effort - on client acquisition. Which would probably mean you could get by on organic leads. And in turn, you wouldn’t have to worry about client acquisition at all.
Great news: PushPress offers products to help increase member retention while decreasing the time and effort you have to spend.
1. Simple Follow-Up.
One of the biggest reasons clients quit the gym is because they slowly fall off the wagon when life gets in the way. When you have a large community of members, it goes unnoticed. Then suddenly, that member who used to show up four days each week hasn't been there in a month. They’re embarrassed and they throw in the towel.
Solution: PushPress Core. The PushPress Core software lets you know who the at-risk clients are. In addition, it allows you to follow up before you’ve lost the member completely.
Carl Neidholdt, Owner of CrossFit Cerberus in Kansas City, said this feature has made a huge difference for his member retention. He opened his gym in 2012, and admitted he missed opportunities to get people back on track all the time. Now, thanks to PushPress, this is no longer the case.
“People used to fall through the cracks all the time because we didn’t have a good follow up system. Or sometimes something would happen like their credit card would bounce for four months and we didn’t even notice,” he explained.
Today, PushPress ensures this doesn't happen. It’s so simple to use that he has outsourced the job to one of his coaches.
“They check the dashboard twice a week for at-risk clients who need attention and follow up with them,” he explained. He adding that these simple follow-ups have made a world of difference in keeping clients engaged and at the gym.
2. Tracking Workouts.
In order to measure progress, members need to be able to easily track their workouts and PRs. After a tough WOD, no one needs to fumble through a complicated app.
Solution: PushPress Train. The PushPress Train app is a single platform that allows the client to track workouts and progress. This is another huge opportunity to improve client retention for a number of reasons:
- Reducing overwhelm for coaches. Your staff will inevitably field all kinds of questions from members. If that’s through emails, text and social media, they might feel overwhelmed. Train solves this problem, allowing all workout-related communication to happen in the app. This makes it easier for coaches to reply in a timely manner, and on one platform.
- Providing convenient help for members. On the client end, this means one direct place to ask questions. They’re more likely to get what they need from the coach, which goes hand-in-hand with member retention.
- Offering creative options. Train allows gym owners and coaches to get creative in value-add ways. PushPress is known for providing exceptional customer service. This goes a long way in providing experienced clients what they want and need.
For example, Rachel Wilson, the owner of Terrain Fitness in Wayne, NJ, uses the Train app to roll out various gym-wide challenges.
She recently offered a glute challenge to get people doing additional accessory work. Members could access the challenge in the Train app and complete it on their own time. Initiatives like this go a long way in mixing it up to keep members engaged. When they feel like they’re getting value out of their membership, they stick around.
Wilson also uses Train to offer additional programs. For example, she offers a pulling program for those with a goal of getting their first pull-up or muscle-up. Not only has this provided value to the client, but revenue to the gym as well.
“I think I will also create level-two programs and make it available so people can buy it on their own, and I don’t have to be hands on. If you can write something once and be able to hand it to all these different people, then it’s priceless. That’s money coming in without doing anything,” she explained.
How does this pertain to client retention? Have you ever had a member get their first pull-up and then quit the next month?
3. Automating Their Journey.
When a member joins your gym, you should be in consistent contact with them along the way. At first, it’s probably helping to answer their questions. After that, it’s celebrating their milestones. Then there are the inevitable random questions. Chances are, you don’t have time to guide each member through every step.
Solution: PushPress Grow. PushPress Grow automates processes that often bog down gym owners. This includes everything from follow-up texts for leads to checking in with members who haven’t been in the gym for two weeks. The ultimate goal is to automate tasks, allowing gym owners to “devote more time and energy to their clients,” explained PushPress product leader Ben Rocha.
“We have all run gyms or owned gyms and we know, ‘If I could just do this, my life would get easier. I could grow my business, and I wouldn’t need to spend this time and energy on things that aren’t really providing results for people,’” Rocha explained.
This helps member retention by freeing up time for gym owners. With more free time, you can do what you do best: Connection and growth. You’ll be able to spend more time building relationships with your existing clients and getting new ones in the door.
Pro Tip: Book a demo today to find out how PushPress Grow can help you automate your business and dominate your day!
4. Exploring the Future.
What if you had a business partner that analyzed all of your reports, then directed you on how to utilize them for operations? What if you received instant updates on everything from potential member churn to which energy drinks it’s time to order?
Solution: Pressly™. Pressly is a fully-automated, virtual assistant, designed to increase member engagement and create actionable insights for you. It’s next-level AI for gym owners, and the humanization of your gym being on auto-pilot.
In regards to member retention, an obvious predictor of member churn is missed classes. However, there are more signs and signals that a person might be on the brink of quitting. These include decreased engagement on social media, or less retail purchases at the gym, explained PushPress Co-Founder Dan Uyemura.
In light of this, it’s Pressly’s job to track client behavior and ultimately signal the gym owner. For example, “Janice is 2.3 times more likely to quit in the next 30 days than she was six months ago. At that point, Pressly might be able to reach out to Janice, or perhaps she’ll pass the task onto the gym owner depending on the situation,” Uyemura explained.
Let’s say, in this example, Janice’s dog just died. Sending her an automated text message to get back into the gym tomorrow, or giving her a free FIT AID, wouldn’t be appropriate. In this case, the gym owner could jump in to add a human touch and send her a personalized card.
Ultimately, Pressly will be there to help the gym owner and the client. Kind of like a self-driving car without taking away the human aspect of the experience, Uyemura explained.
In Summary: Four Solutions for Member Retention
Taking care of your current members is just as important as bringing in new ones. PushPress offers four unique solutions to help with member retention: Core, Train, Grow and Pressly™. From the moment a member considers joining your gym until the time they’ve been a member for years, utilize the right tools to provide them with an unforgettable member experience.