RETENTION


What’s in a name? W


In the first part of a new series, Dr Paul Bedford takes a look at the impact of brand on member retention


hat are the key factors that influence a member’s behaviour? In a new series for Health Club Management,


we will explore the findings of a brand new retention study designed to offer insights into why members behave in certain ways (see p43 for more details). This first feature will explore the


attitudes, beliefs and factors influencing people’s decisions to join and remain at a health/fitness club in regards to brand. Future articles in the series will focus


on a broad range of factors that affect retention, such as how people select a health and fitness club in the first place, quality of the offering, perceived value for money and the importance of community – including social media and members’ sense of connectedness.


The importance of brand The term ‘brand’ has been adopted to mean the features of a company’s products or services that differentiate it from another company’s products or services. The brand of a business is an intangible asset that’s managed or controlled in a way that supports the ethos and the identity of the product or the service.


In the health and fitness sector, the


most obvious demonstrations of brands are usually considered to be the multi- site operators, particularly from the private sector, but local authorities, trusts and other public sector operators also have a brand – and our research indicates that ‘brand’ plays a big part in members’ initial decision to choose one operator over another.


First-time exercisers Brand was a key factor for all of those who were starting exercise for the first time. Location and cost remained the largest factors in the decision-making process, but beyond that brand was a key consideration when choosing which club to join. Members surveyed described feeling


more confident in a branded exercise chain, particularly in its ability to deliver the results they were looking for. Branded chains were also perceived as being socially acceptable places to exercise. Feedback included: “You can tell people at work you’ve joined X club and they don’t think that’s unusual or odd,” and: “I would think more of my employer if they had a corporate deal with a chain than a little club round the corner”.


Multi-site operators Multi-site branded chains do not, however, fare well when members are looking for a second club to join. In our research, seven out of 10 new members surveyed said they had previously been members of another gym. In order to identify what operators can do to retain members, we began to explore why members left their previous club and how they chose their next club. Those surveyed reported that, while


on the surface the branded club appears to offer much, in practice it does little to differentiate itself from other operators. While members will leave one brand and join another, it’s not actually the brand that’s the deciding factor. “I’ve been a member of five clubs


now,” said one respondent. “At first, I went for one of the big brands that you see advertising in the papers and at the station. When I moved job, I had to look for another club and I noticed that, apart from the branding, what was on offer was very similar.” Another observed: “I thought, if they were that well-known, they must be good, but on reflection it wasn’t that different from the council gym down the road.” These sentiments were common in


our research. Members who left one club and joined another felt that, once they had something to compare them to, the branded chains were really no different from the independent clubs or public sector offering.


The independents Those who are new to the health club experience are, it seems, attracted to the branded multi-site operators. However, when seeking a new club, brand becomes less important, with products (gym, classes, pool) and the experience being the factors seasoned gym- goers use to make their decision. Independent operators that make


Seven out of 10 members surveyed had once belonged to another gym 42 Read Health Club Management online at healthclubmanagement.co.uk/digital


effective use of branding – creating a strong USP – fare better in the long term than the multi-site operators. It appears that the ability of these operators to communicate a relevant


October 2013 © Cybertrek 2013


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