RETENTION SERIES
Share new member journey details with the members themselves
THE
It’s well known that the initial four to six weeks
NEW MEMBER JOURNEY “
of membership are critical to building the exercise
habit, and therefore key to member retention – yet
so many clubs still get this wrong. Once the sale is
made, many think the hard work is over. In fact, it’s only just begun. Guy
Griffiths reports, in the first of a three-part
retention series based on his new book, Stick Around
May 2013 © Cybertrek 2013
are still visiting? “Who cares? We have to hit 110 this month…” Health club operators invest so
W
much in recruiting a new member that it’s crazy to lose interest once they’ve signed up – and in principle at least, most operators know there should be an equal focus on retaining members, particularly just after they’ve joined. In practice, however, clubs focus more and more on sales, particularly in today’s economic climate and competitive market. In any other industry, once a new
customer is signed up, the supplier switches to delivery mode and will pull out all the stops to ensure the new customer is delighted with its service. In a new relationship, you’re highly attentive in the early days, on your best behaviour and trying your best to please. But even in clubs where new
members are given due attention, the new member journey is the journey in many cases; a month or two after
e sold 100 memberships last month!” Great, how many of them
the member joins, they can fall off the radar without being noticed. To boost retention, and thereby ensure the club survives and thrives, the member journey needs to continue onward. This will be covered in part two of the series, to appear in the next issue of HCM. For now, let’s focus on the all-
important initial member journey. This should be kept simple, based on three key points: timeframe, measurement – in order to improve, you must measure – and member contact.
Timeframe Your first decision is: how long will your new member journey last? Ideally this timeframe will apply to the majority of your members. One month is a fairly standard term for members to be considered as new. If you have lots of experienced joiners, it might be shorter, or if most of your new members are new to exercise, the standard length might need to be longer. Alternatively, if you track the visits,
your new journey could last for, say, six visits rather than a period of 30 days.
Read Health Club Management online at
healthclubmanagement.co.uk/digital 51
PHOTO: ©
SHUTTERSTOCK.COM
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