Keys For Client Retention
When it comes to the success of your gym, what’s most important?
Your personal qualifications don’t bring in money. Your top-notch equipment doesn’t bring in money. Your employees certainly don’t bring in money.
Your clients are what keeps your business afloat.
It should be obvious that the first step in a successful gym business model is client retention. Constantly scrounging up new paying members isn’t going to be sustainable. In this article, we’re going to cover seven tips for excellent client retention.
Step #1
Make it your top goal to learn each member of your gym’s goals in coming to your gym and do whatever you reasonably can to make sure they achieve that goal. The idea here is very simple. If a client comes to you hoping you’ll help them lose fifty pounds and their progress is slow, the lack of fulfillment will be a prime reason for them to get up and leave. It’s not safe to assume your client will tell you how they feel. Some people are more private, and some people don’t even know what they want until you make them think about it.
In real life, you may not be able to keep up with each gym member, but your other coaches can pick up where you leave off. Your job then becomes the manager position, making sure the coaches are keeping track of their clients.
Step #2
Hire only friendly staff. Anyone who thinks of your clients as commodities or less valuable than themselves will not be beneficial for the long-term health of your gym. While not everyone is outgoing, everyone cares about relationships and feeling valued. To many, the quality of your gym may cease to matter if they come home stressed or ticked off by how they were treated.
Step #3
Keep your facility inviting. This step piggybacks off of step two. Whether you think so or not, your facility will be seen as an extension of your character. Keeping it inviting is a way to show your clients you appreciate them. Focusing on a clean environment was actually one of the key factors that helped McDonalds rise to the top of the food industry. (1) It will help your business too.
Step #4
Choose your location carefully. It might be too late for this, but if you’re still in the planning stages, take the time to do this right. For some people, driving twenty minutes to a gym is just too far. There’s a wide range in what people are willing to drive, but the general rule of thumb is the farther away your gym is from the majority of your clients, the worse client retention you’ll have.
Step #5
Let your clients experience feelings of completion all along their journey. Sometimes people get too focused on the long-term goal and it bogs them down. Maybe they want to be able to lift fifty more pounds within a set of months. That’s a long time to go without any feeling of completion. Help your clients experience micro-victories along the way. Cheer them on whenever they break a personal record. Give them minor tasks to accomplish on the road to their long-term goal.
Step #6
Create epic moments. A sure way to build commitment is to go beyond the expected and do something extraordinary. If your clients can feel like they’re part of something bigger or are getting a one-of-a-kind experience, they are going to stick by you as loyal customers.
Step #7
Avoid favoritism! We saved the biggest one for last. There’s a lot of things a client can forgive, but prejudice is one that will probably get them to pick up their stuff and walk out. Giving your best friend a discount no one else gets for instance… just don’t do it, people. Don’t do it.
With these steps, you’re set to build a business that lasts. Invest in your clients and they will invest in you.
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https://profitworks.ca/blog/541-how-mcdonalds-became-the-leader-fast-food-industry-marketing-strategy