Written By Simon Parish – Co-Owner: Head of Operations & Sales
June 20th 2024
It has been my professional experience that attrition is often an overlooked and undervalued statistic. The industry has matured to the point where we no longer only look at membership sales figures (thankfully!) but only to the point of looking at the net member movement – in other words we now look at sales in terms of “outselling our leavers.” This is perfectly understandable as most people perceive joiners as the more “controllable lever,” in other words they can drive sales, but they can’t drive down leavers. It is my belief and experience that this is a toxic narrative and a slippery slope of discounted memberships, discounted member experience, more leavers, more discounted memberships and on it goes….
There are obvious business reasons for reduced attrition rates being highly desirable, but I believe it goes way beyond this – perhaps I am naïve, but I do believe most owners and operators in our industry do so because they have a genuine passion for supporting people in living healthier lifestyles, to enjoy the multitude of mental, physical, social and emotional benefits. This is where the “4% attrition” goal is really focused, years of experience have taught me that the first 4% of members leaving represent people leaving for “uncontrollable” reasons (they’ve moved house, lost their job, suffered an injury etc) as such 4% should be the attrition target for the clubs as everything above is what we consider to be “controllable” these members are leaving because they feel they’re not getting the benefits of their membership – which usually boils down to them either having stopped attending entirely or just not getting the results from their efforts that they expected.
So – the big question – how do we control these controllable leavers? What do we have to do to get to this 4% attrition rate and sustain it?
There are three areas in which you need to excel to deliver this, I will explore each area in a succinct manner – but it is my hope that you can take these focuses and run with them within your own organisations, your own support mechanisms and resourcing.
The three key ingredients to keeping your members engaged, attending the gym, achieving their goals and retaining their memberships
Education – What measures and methods do you implement to ensure that your members have access to the expertise and guidance required – not only to schedule a workout programme and regime, but educational guidance for their health related activities outside of your facilities as well (Sleep, Stress, Diet etc)? Traditionally gyms offer inductions, personal trainers (at often prohibitive additional fees) and classes (fantastic but if you look at the profile of attendee’s, it’s not as “far reaching” as one would want). I would suggest that in 2024 our efforts need to go far beyond the traditional. Apps are now an essential, apps with free access, simple user interfaces and are highly interactive. Remote coaching is also very impactful – much more affordable (though not as effective) as one to one personal training, it does have a broader reach and is often sufficient for education (if not motivation) of our members. With these education pieces in your operation though, this is only the first step – driving your member engagement with this piece is crucial and should start from sales and marketing and transition into your member journey that has robust communications to ensure optimal uptake
Motivation – Okay, so your members now know what they need to do and how they need to do it. It is imperative as an operator that we understand why the member wants and needs to follow these programmes and guidance – what is it that motivates our members? At scale it is very challenging to offer the specifics for each individual member – but I believe it’s entirely possible to accurately assume some broad motivators that are universally appealing. Looking and feeling healthier, praise for performance, encouragement when struggling and not feeling judged in a negative manner at any point in the journey. We need to create motivational and inspiring environments within our facilities and beyond. I recommend asking your members on a frequent basis if they feel inspired? If so – what’s inspired them? If not – what’s discouraged them? Feedback is the fuel of champions is it not? In the gyms I oversaw in a previous role we had our members submit their favourite motivational quotes in a box in our foyer, with the 10 most frequently occurring being turned into wall art for our members to enjoy. Our social media channels were flooded with messages of support, sharing of inspirational member stories, recognition for our members achievements and generally ensuring we were fulfilling our roles as motivators for our clients.
Opportunity – So your clients know what to do, they feel energised and are ready to get stuck in – but do they have the appropriate opportunity, does your facility provide them with the necessary tools for them to deliver their desired outcomes? Ensuring your operation is ship shape and proper is essential. Having the necessary equipment available, functional and “appealing” (not messy or untidy) goes a very long way in enabling your members to be successful with their training. This goes for all elements of what makes a gym visit successful, so your gym floor, plant, pool, wet area and bathroom/changing room operational standards – function, cleanliness, tidiness and aesthetics all need to be to the standard required to provide your educated and motivated members to have the opportunity to have frequent and effective training sessions within your facilities
So there you have it! The 3 crucial variables, the E.M.O that will help lead your facility to delivering on the 4% attrition rates that I believe should become the new industry standard.
