TALKBACK
Kath Hudson • Journalist • Health Club Management EVERYONE’S TALKING ABOUT . . .
Maintaining motivation T
he health and fi tness industry is based on the premise of improving people’s
health, but how well is the sector doing in supporting good habits and motivation levels? Are we doing all we can, or are we unwittingly causing members to break good habits? A quick brainstorm in the offi ce
Are clubs supporting their members in
maintaining good habits, leaving them to motivate themselves – or worse, actually causing them to break good habits?
Both scenarios are prime examples
showed that everyone had an experience of how their club, or former club, had lost members as a result of not supporting their habits: changing the time of a popular class, for example, or causing a great instructor to leave by undervaluing them – quibbling over their pay, when an analysis of the loyalty of members within that class would have demonstrated the instructor’s worth to the club.
of the operator not understanding the needs and goals of its members, and not properly analysing the drivers of retention. But why is this happening? Is it cultural – an inherent lack of
communication between clubs and members? Do clubs not really know their members, instead making decisions based on assumptions? Or, even worse, are changes simply made because they are more convenient for the club?
member surveys, or driving more interaction between
staff and members? Should member forums be used to get feedback? Is social media a reliable barometer? Would having a question of the week on a noticeboard work? Could members be asked a question each time they swipe their card? Or is it just a case of better analysing the data clubs already have? And how can all the information
generated be put to good use? We ask the experts for their thoughts...
ARE HEALTH CLUBS ADEQUATELY SUPPORTING HEALTHY HABITS? EMAIL US:
HEALTHCLUB@LEISUREMEDIA.COM
TIM FEARON The Extraordinary Coaching Co • Owner
“D
o clubs do as much as they could to support their members’ habits?
Short answer: no. It’s long been known that one of the main reasons for people leaving clubs is lack of attention on the gym floor, yet still instructors fail to make real connections. A chat at induction is about as good as it gets. If instructors made a point of speaking to members each time
they exercised – asking them how they are, what their goals are and giving them some pointers on technique or a challenge to do there and then – what a difference it would make. The answer? Give staff extra training to give them the
confidence to talk to members. Give them strong leadership from the gym manager. Show them how to approach people and very soon it will become automatic. In the studio, group exercise instructors need to create a
sense of community and have a robust strategy for keeping in touch with their clients. They need to use social media – form groups, set up forums. And how about a monthly newsletter for their members? Easy to set up and worth its weight in gold. Also, before making any radical changes, clubs need to assess
whether they are in the best interests of the members. Ask them, survey them, find out first.
”
MIKE HILLS The Retention People • Operations director
“H
ealth clubs might inadvertently be breaking good habits by making
decisions based on assumptions. Knowing your members is of utmost importance, to ensure you’re always supporting them in maintaining their positive habits. This is easier said than done though, and requires regular and
meaningful contact using all forms of communication – SMS, email, social media and even snail mail – although none of this can beat in-club interaction between staff and members. If changes are to be made in-club, make sure there’s good data to support them. Therefore, if people are disappointed, at least the reason behind it can be explained. Some ways of getting to know members can be cumbersome.
Member forums can result in a one-sided view from only a few vocal members, while large surveys can result in reams of data that’s often never used. But clubs that effectively capture and analyse data on a regular basis are having great success. Many clubs are doing this using the Net Promoter Score, which provides members with a way of telling the club exactly what’s important to them on a regular basis. It also provides the club with meaningful data in a way that can be easily managed, analysed and responded to.
” 34 Read Health Club Management online at
healthclubmanagement.co.uk/digital September 2013 © Cybertrek 2013
How do operators rectify
the problem, getting to know members well enough to consistently support good habits? How do they fi nd out member goals so they can support and motivate them? Is it a case of regular
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