Like sport there are always fundamentals that need to be mastered to achieve a high level in any endeavour. The same applies to business and running a health club. There are certain fundamental processes, behaviours and actions that drive success.

However, sometimes it is easy to look for the shortcut or next “shiny object” that is magically going to improve your health club. It might be some new equipment or software or class however, chasing such “shiny objects” can often cause an owner or manager to take their eyes of the ball and lose sight of the fundamentals of success. This is an easy trap to fall into because usually the fundamentals are boring and we think we already know them but fail to realise we have stopped doing them in our business.

Understand your member’s goals and motivation

It is important to understand the unique goals and motivation for every member. Every member has a “why”.

In other words, they have a reason why they are motivated to come to the gym. It may be they want to look great, it may be they want longevity, they may want to be fit enough to keep up with their kids.

Understanding each member why can help your team to re-connect a member with that core motivation when things get hard.

We know the importance of goal setting but how often are trainers in your gym just checking a box when it comes to a member’s goal setting? If we find help each member uncover their why we are adding some further fuel to their motivation fire.

Member retention is about behaviour change

As John McCarthy from IHRSA says “every year millions of memberships are sold to people who truly wish they could become regular exercisers but have not yet developed the discipline or habit of regular exercise. Developing discipline is hard. As industry professionals we need to see ourselves as “coaches” whose role is to enable behavioural change. Too many trainers are focused on creating an “epic” training program for each new member however can often fail to understand that it’s not about the workout program, it’s about behaviour change and supporting a member to develop the habit of long term exercise.

Communication is key

Memberships are about relationships. People stay for the community and social interaction above anything else. Therefore communication and building a sense of community in your health club is vital. This philosophy should run from the top down and be at the forefront of all key strategic decisions. For example, when hiring a trainer for your gym, are you better off hiring the one with the best technical knowledge who knows how to do 100 different kettlebell and functional training exercises? Or are you better off hiring the candidate with a solid level of technical knowledge who has a high degree of empathy? Hiring the right staff are key because they are going to assist in building relationships and sense of community.

These fundamentals are so simple and obvious that we often forget to do them as well as we should. A health club that masters the fundamentals will go a long way to beating 90% of competitors.