Member Retention: Do Your Members Really Think You Care?

Well, we have already discussed the first two tips for improving member retention: “The Need to Know your True Retention Levels” and “Seeing Your Club through the Eyes of Your Members.” Let’s continue on to member retention tip No. 3: Do your members know you care about their health and wellness, versus the club’s financial wellness?

You might answer “yes” because you have a high conversion rate selling personal training after their new member assessment, because you convinced them it provides an excellent start to their health and wellness journey.

Maybe, you answered “yes” because you have a high penetration of members involved in one-on-one personal training or small group training and they stay longer as members.

Or lastly, maybe you answered “yes” because your average member has an above average length of membership than the industry average.

These are all great reasons for your member retention rate, but does that really project to your members that you care about their health and wellness?

Let’s be objective, and if you really want your members to believe you care about their health and wellness, then show them. Go the extra mile:

Be aggressive in promoting and executing an excellent individual member wellness review program every three months.
Incorporate a personalized health and wellness technology such as The InBody Analysis, which provides each member their key fitness numbers.
Provide a personalized wellness roadmap prepared by a certified personal trainer based on the member’s goals for the next 90 days, based on their InBody analysis.
Conduct a one-on-one personal training session that educates the member on all equipment, and be sure they fully understand their newly created fitness plan that has been built for their success over the next 90 days.
Book a follow-up appointment in 90 days so you can both reassess your member’s performance and provide a new wellness roadmap for their use in meeting and exceeding their new health and wellness goals.

There are a few other areas that may help members know you truly care about their health and wellness. For example, offering learning sessions on how to use certain pieces of equipment, lectures that reflect the needs of the membership, social activities to help them feel connected, and charitable causes that allow your members to make a difference in the community.

There are several health and fitness clubs that are working on this initiative in addition to The Atlantic Club. Clubs to check out for best practices in this area are: The Claremont Club, Greenwood Athletic & Tennis Club, and Stone Creek Club & Spa, to name a few.

So, why is article three of our member retention series important to your business? The answer is very simple: When your club creates a culture that clearly shows your team is committed to each member’s health and wellness, you will have KPI’s that far exceed the industry averages.

Lastly, clubs work very hard to build this culture with their members because it will increase their bottom line. However, we can all agree most importantly — it is the right thing to do.

Kevin McHugh is the COO of The Atlantic Club. For more information email kevinm@theatlanticclub.com.