RETENTION SERIES
Resolution 5: Develop a strategy to ensure both reception and fi tness staff speak to members on every visit TRP 10,000 has consistently found that both reception and fi tness staff have an important role to play in helping retain members. Members who report not being spoken to by either reception or fi tness staff are more than twice as likely to cancel as members who are always spoken to by staff. If both reception and fi tness staff always
spoke to all members, it’s estimated that 44 per cent of cancellations would be avoided. For every 1,000 members who are always spoken to by reception and fi tness staff, an additional £23,495 would be yielded compared to members who are never spoken to by staff (see Figure 6).
Interaction with reception and fitness staff has a significant impact on retention
Combining resolutions The data presented in this article highlight the significant financial benefits of relatively small improvements in member retention – and as yet we only have eight months of follow-up in the TRP 10,000 study; the true financial gains will be even greater when taken across 18–24 months. All of the proposed retention
resolutions can be achieved at relatively low cost and are primarily operational and management issues. Therefore, the return on investment for these retention strategies will be substantial. Of course, the effect on club-
level retention of each of these fi ve
resolutions is a function of how big the risk of cancelling each resolution presents, combined with how many people experience the risk. For example, the likelihood of
an individual member cancelling in a given month if the fi tness staff do not talk them is approximately 3 per cent, or 3 in 100. However, because so many members report fi tness staff not talking to them, removing the risk by ensuring all members get spoken to has a much larger effect on overall retention than implementing a resolution which only affects a small
Figure 6 Estimated income over eight months, based on TRP 10,000 retention data, from members who are always spoken to by staff vs. those who are never spoken to, from a sample of 1,000 members
£55,000 £50,000 £45,000 £40,000 £35,000 £30,000 £25,000 £20,000
£50,000£49,120 £48,245 £47,710 £47,040 £46,340 £45,670 £45,525 £48,035
£46,255 £44,885 £43,410 £42,335 £40,640
Total income = £379,650 Total income = £356,155
Always spoken to Never spoken to
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Months since joining
£40,595
number of members, even if the risk of cancelling among those individuals affected is higher. For example, club members who
report frequently queueing for equipment have a monthly risk of cancelling of around 4 per cent – but in TRP 10,000, far fewer members report experiencing this risk factor, meaning removing it saves fewer members. When developing retention strategies,
managers should therefore consider how likely the strategy is to reduce the risk of a member cancelling and how many members will be affected. Nevertheless – while the fi ve
resolutions described in this article are independent of each other, and it’s important to prioritise the biggest wins – there’s no single ‘silver bullet’. If you’re serious about making signifi cant and sustained improvement, the power lies in combining all the resolutions together over time. ●
Dr Melvyn Hillsdon is associate professor of exercise and health at the University of Exeter, where he researches physical activity and population health. Since his landmark retention report in 2001 (Winning the Retention Battle), his research into retention and attrition has led to the development of appropriate measures of retention, attrition and longevity that provide data for operators that can directly inform business decisions. In partnership with TRP, he has published numerous reports into the determinants of membership retention.
56 Read Health Club Management online at
healthclubmanagement.co.uk/digital January 2015 © Cybertrek 2015
Income per month
PHOTO:
WWW.SHUTTERSTOCK.COM/KZENON
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68 |
Page 69 |
Page 70 |
Page 71 |
Page 72 |
Page 73 |
Page 74 |
Page 75 |
Page 76 |
Page 77 |
Page 78 |
Page 79 |
Page 80 |
Page 81 |
Page 82 |
Page 83 |
Page 84 |
Page 85 |
Page 86 |
Page 87 |
Page 88 |
Page 89 |
Page 90 |
Page 91 |
Page 92 |
Page 93 |
Page 94 |
Page 95 |
Page 96 |
Page 97 |
Page 98 |
Page 99 |
Page 100