Simple tips to help retain your gym/health club members which will ease the pressure of always needing to sell more and more memberships.
It takes much more money to get a new gym member than it does to keep one. It also takes much more effort to get a new health club member than to keep one. As a gym owner or manager there are some very simple things we can do to retain our current members. We all know that it is a fact that if a new club opens up in town we will lose a certain percentage of members. The club might be the same as yours but just for the new factor people will change. You must remember that the member comes in each visit and sees the same old things at your club. They see the same equipment and the same staff. They do not see that their monthly dues are paying things like payroll, insurance, electric, marketing and maintenance. What they see is that they are paying every month and the gym is staying the same except the equipment is getting older. They wonder where is the money going and surely the gym owner must be really getting rich. Perception is reality!
Here are some tips I used in the past which you can implement to help change members perception and help defense your club against a new guy in town and member burnout. Every three or four months paint a wall in the gym a new accent color. The new color will just add a slight change to the look of the club. Also fresh paint makes people think new. Every month put some of your enrollment fees into an account and every three months purchase one new piece of equipment. Now you must make sure your members see that you are spending the money, so put balloons on or near the new equipment for two or three weeks and put up a sign for a week saying something like… please excuse the paint smell we are just freshening up for you. You can add a few new pictures or you can paint the color of your desk. It never hurts to change the color of your shower curtains every three months or so.
Just sit down for a few minutes today and make up a list of a few cheap things you can change now and some you can plan and budget for. I almost forgot…make sure all your light bulbs are working! A dark gym sucks the energy out of you and is a sure sign the owner does not keep up his club!
Until next time, enjoy life
Matt York