Member retention is a challenge for most health clubs. Many of the factors in member attrition remain outside of a clubs control however it is estimated that between 25 and 30% of member attrition is due to controllable factors.
One area a health club can proactively control is there member engagement, particularly through their member integration processes.
Members with minimal experience within a health club pose the highest risk to member drop out and therefore need a high level of support, guidance and attention.
The reality is that most health clubs fail before they begin through poor member induction processes. Many new members end up falling through the cracks receiving minimal attention and support.
Weak processes in member inductions are a recipe for poor to average member retention results.
So how do we strengthen our member induction processes?
The starting point is to outline our ideal member pathway, in other words, what is the idea process of support, guidance and attention for each and every new members?
Each member will have differences in their needs, goals and preferences however there should always been consistencies in the new member induction process.
A good new member induction process should include face to face appointments, education, follow up and ongoing support.
Perhaps the most crucial part of a member induction or integration process is the first step. If a member joins and does not enter the starting point of our member integration process they will typically slip through the cracks and receive limited support, guidance and encouragement.
To ensure our member integration processes remain strong we need to ensure that members are successfully entering the process.
A strong focus should be placed on monitoring our new members and their progress within the induction process.
One example of such focus is highlighted through a retention case study on the Griffith Park Athletic Club which can be found in IHRSA’s.
Why members quit report.
Manager of the Griffith Park Athletic Club Wayne Westwood, talks about the importance of the member integration process and his reporting methods for tracking the strength of their integration process.
Westwood says, “Bulk numbers from an end-of-the month report might indicate that 80 people had joined, and that 70 had had an assessment — that would suggest that only 10 were no-shows.
However, if we also knew the join date of each one of those people, we might discover that 20 of those assessments were people from prior months, indicating that we actually had 30 members out there (or 37.5% of the 80) who needed to be contacted—not left in limbo.”
“The process is a little painstaking, but it’s worth it; we’ve seen a drop of 18-20 cancellations per month since we began tracking this way.
One has to conclude that it’s having an impact.”