Throughout January we focused on how to survive and then thrive during the rush. Now, as February settles in, we turn our attention to retention. January is a period of momentum in the fitness industry, but as we all know, February is where that momentum starts to wane.
The early evening rush starts to thin out and routines become shaky as other commitments kick in.
Luckily for us here in the fitness industry, the February Drop-Off is just as known an entity as the January Rush. And that means we can anticipate it and attempt to mitigate it.
Which is exactly what we will be doing today.
The Real Causes Of Membership Drop-Off
Some have always tried to explain away the February drop-off in three words. ‘People are lazy’. It is simple, it is convenient, and it is a handy abdication of responsibility to boot.
‘Nothing to be done, just human nature’.
Like many enduring falsehoods, there is a bit of truth in there. New Year and our culture of New Year’s Resolutions does encourage people to commit beyond their ability, but that certainly isn’t even the majority of the story, let alone the whole story.
So rather than treating the February Drop-Off as an inevitability, we will be looking at how to identify the real causes and then how to try and stop them.
Fatigue
First, there is fatigue. The old enemy. A likely by-product when people encourage one another to take on a large, energy-intensive commitment during the coldest, darkest months of the year.
Combine that with the all too common ‘all-or-nothing’ mindset, going from zero to six sessions a week. Well it is a recipe for burnout, whether physically, mentally or both.
New members are desperate to rush for a ‘new them’ and desperate to get the most for their money. By February the members who have approached a membership like this are burning out and they are one of the highest risk categories to not make it to March.
Routine
On the less dramatic side of things we have routine disruption. For many people January is a bit of a blank slate. Everyone is recovering from the Christmas period and in a pseudo-hibernation.
By February, real life returns. Social invites increase, the schedules get hectic. The regular 6pm workout slot no longer feels quite so untouchable. For some, once the new routine cracks it can be incredibly hard to re-establish that momentum. A missed week easily becomes a missed month.
So, how do we, those working in the fitness industry, help our members to bounce back from these issues and give them (and the retention rate that they contribute to) the best chance.
Perhaps unsurprisingly, it is less about flashy marketing and catchphrases, and much more about support.
How to Keep Your Members On Track
How much of the below you and your facility decide to act upon will be largely determined on the services you wish to provide to your members. Do you want to provide a place for them to simply workout, or a more involved and supportive role. Both are valid, but one is more likely to result in a much larger retention and therefore growth rate over time.
The tools you use, and how you use them, can make all the difference in turning this supportive style from manhour intensive to a precise and efficient process.
1. Empower Your Staff
Your team on the floor are your eyes on the ground. But if they are too worried about hitting targets every moment of every day, they won’t have time to look after your members.
Train, encourage and give them the time to them to spot the members who are looking lost or haven’t shown up for a few weeks. A simple, ‘Haven’t seen you this week, everything okay?’ from a familiar face can make a big difference.
It helps remind your members that they aren’t just paying for a place to work out, and that their presence is noted. While this approach requires giving your staff extra leeway, it can make a significant difference to flagging members and help them to access the guidance they need.
2. Support, Don’t Sell
Everyone receives one hundred ‘We miss you!’ blasts every year. No-one can take all of them seriously so they wash over a member like water off a duck’s back. But with a membership system that is keeping track of attendance, it is possible to segment your members and send more personalised correspondence with a greater chance of identifying what has actually caused the lapse in attendance.
By sorting members into categories, this ‘we miss you’ correspondence will seem a lot more genuine and attentive than a widespread e-mail blast
3. Offer Direction, not just Inspiration
Member blogs and emails allow you to tackle the causes of the February slump head-on. By writing e-mails with content that addresses the struggles many members go through at this time of year, you can boost retention.
Don’t fill your e-mails with generic pep talk, get specific.
- Encourage members to come in for smaller amounts of time by writing about ‘The Power of a 20-Minute Session’ when life gets busy.
- Feature members that are seeing results and how they cope with their workout/life balance.
- Share simple, 3 week winter workout plans designed to keep momentum and consistency
Give your members practical, manageable steps during the dark winter months. They have come to your facility for fitness expertise and guidance and that service doesn’t need to purely exist within the 4 walls of your gym.
4. Let Tech Help You See Each Story
A good gym membership management system should do more than just take payments. It should give you eyes. Here are some gym membership management features that can make the difference to those member retention margins.
- Customer Relationship Management (CRM) Systems: You should be able to see at a glance who’s slipping. Set up alerts for attendance dips at the thresholds that seem right to you. Encourage your team to log notes from your team’s chats with members and create categories based around members with similar goals (such as Couch to 5k).
Mark members that have previously had flagging attendance and target them with special incentives and offers before their flagging attendance becomes a full-on cancellation. - BI Dashboards: Look beyond total membership numbers. Track weekly visit frequency for your January intake. What percentage are falling away? 20%? More?
Which classes have resulted in the highest retention, and which have the lowest? This data tells you where to focus your energy and what sections of your business might not be pulling their weight in keeping up that retention rate.
If one class has managed to keep 80% of their January in-take and another has kept 30%, there is something to be learned.
The February Drop-Off is often framed as inevitable, but it doesn’t have to be. It is a test of any independent gym’s infrastructure and ability to communicate and engage with its members. But it is a test that, if passed, can set the foundations for a fantastic year of growth.
Through a combination of the human touch and digital systems, independent gyms and fitness clubs can start to guide January Joiners through the toughest parts of the year, making a change to their lives and your retention rates.
Here at Ashbourne we’ve been helping independent gyms support their members for over 25 years. In that time we’ve shaped our system around the three groups that matter to us. Gym owners, their staff and their membership.
Through our cutting-edge BI Dashboards and CRM system, we enable independent fitness businesses and their staff to reach more people before their motivation fails. Despite our data expertise, we never want to lose track of the members who make up that data.
The great thing about our industry is that there are no losers. By satisfying the members, we not only help to transform their lives for the better, they in turn bolster our business. So if you want to learn how Ashbourne can help you reach more members before the February Drop-Off hits, book a free demo here today with our in-house demonstration team.
