We are also aware of how frightening it can to experience a sudden member exodus – whether it’s due to normal seasonal fluctuation (think summer health club membership lapses) or something more troubling (dissatisfaction with staff or equipment.) And mo matter who we are, when fear enters the picture, our thinking can become clouded.

As such, it is vital that everyone in our industry think of health club membership retention as a proactive outcome of member outreach – rather than as a reactive response to member exodus. Below, we’ve provided a list of ideas that you can use today to reach out to your membership and work towards retention goals, before you find yourself in an emergency situation:

• Develop and Deploy Member Surveys. Whether deployed in person, via mail or electronically, the survey is perhaps the most traditional and proven method of garnering feedback from your membership. To increase the response rate, add in a few prizes for randomly chosen individuals. The trick is to make sure the prizes aren’t too large. If the prize is $1 million, for example, you’ll receive very biased positive responses. Make it something more reasonable, like three free months of membership to a few lucky winners.
• Distribute Member Email Campaigns. Email campaigns, oftentimes thought of in more of a prospect marketing sense, are a great method for directly connecting with your customers – especially if combined with a member survey. If you do choose this method of connecting with existing members, remember that the key to receiving honest responses is how you phrase the questions. Avoid biased or leading questions, and when you want honest feedback, ask open-ended questions (or questions that do not have yes/no answers).
• Build Your Membership Into A Community. This article at Yahoo! Voices notes the instinctive human desire for being a part of the group, whether that group is a family, a team – or even a health club community.You can enhance this sense of community by hosting member events ranging from holiday parties to workshops – or even singles events and mixers. You can even show more community leadership by sponsoring a member that may be experiencing medical or financial hardship by setting up a benefit or fund drive (with permission of that member, of course.) Not only will this show an incredible amount of support for one member – but the resulting sense of community will help to transform the balance of your members into a more tightly knit community.

Much like other marketing initiatives, health club membership retention is one part science and one part art. And whether you most appreciate the science of a bottom-line or the art of a closely knit community, a health club that retains its members is a beautiful picture.

To learn more about the health club membership retention services our team provides, request a demo from ABC Financial.

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Unfortunately, there’s not much we can do to combat the latter. Price and programs, on the other hand, is a different story. In an earlier post, I recommended against the almost default option of lowering health club rates in the summer in an effort to meet membership retention goals. Instead, I suggested, focus on developing the types of summer programs that your members want.

But, of course, telling you is one thing – and showing you is another – especially if you are having difficulty seeing what types of summer programs you could offer.

With that in mind, see five examples below of creative summer programs from clubs across the country, designed to help provide you with some summer program ideas for your health club:

1. Wilson’s Fitness Center’s Beach & Tennis Club. If you have the fortune of being located near a beach, take advantage of it like this club does. Their programs target the whole family, and can include everything from swimming and diving lessons, to family nights on the beach.
2. New Holland Recreation Center’s Hiking Club. Located in New Holland, Pennsylvania, this health club offers hiking for adults, a surprisingly rare offering. If you club is within a reasonable driving distance of local trails, consider asking your members if they would be interested in a similar program.
3. Bethesda Sport & Health’s TenniStar Day Camp for Kids. Some organizations offer half and full-day camps centered exclusively on a specific sport. Located in Bethesda, Maryland, this organization helps children improve their tennis fundamentals. Think about your geographic region, which sports are in the highest demand, and how your club could meet that demand.
4. The Thoreau Club’s Traditional Day Camp for Kids. The Thoreau Club, located in Concord, Massachusetts, offers your standard day camp, filled with tons of activities. A typical morning session can involve everything from basic archery lessons to swimming. Kids can even choose what they get to do in the afternoon by selecting from a variety of programs including dancing, candle making, ultimate frisbee, and many more.
5. The Work’s Adult Co-Ed Softball League. Located in New Hampshire, The Work’s softball league provides a more inclusive version of the sport by opening it up to co-ed participation. If your area is short on leagues, especially at the co-ed level, consult with your members to gauge their interest.

The question of how best to achieve health club membership retention goals in the summer rests with your members – and your members alone. While the list of programs above represents a great start to a brainstorm – always remember that the best way to offer programs that will interest your members is simply to ask, ”What types of programs you be interested in?” Of course, be sure to add one qualifier to the end of that question: “This summer.”

To learn more about the health club membership retention services our team provides, request a demo from ABC Financial.

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Fortunately, you can leverage traditional prospect marketing techniques to reach out to new and current members alike that may be unwittingly engaging in these negative lifestyle habits. Not only will this help you to keep your member retention goals met, you’ll be providing a greater level of consultation to your member base.

Here are some of the less-than-ideal habits your members may have, and some marketing methods you may use to reach out to them:

• A sedentary job. The growth of the Information Age is increasing the numbers of jobs exclusively based on the knowledge a worker has, not the physical skills. And, this trend will only continue into the future. While this means fewer physical injuries experienced on the job, it also means less exercise and more expanding waistlines.You could reach the typical office worker with an effective email marketing campaign, especially one promoting new class schedules built around expanded workdays.
• An inability to sleep soundly. People who sleep less than they need to end up craving more carbohydrates and fats to help them make it through the next day. And oftentimes to relax, these same individuals will turn to the Internet or social media.This is where a blog post shared via social channels to your followers could be an ideal tactic. This tactic could be especially effective if the post were to describe the health benefits of a better night’s sleep – and describe how participating in upcoming classes or events can help them achieve this goal.
• Pre-exercise snackers. Many people unwittingly give themselves an increased license to snack just prior to exercising. After all, the physical activity they’re about to engage in will make it as if that cupcake never happened, right? Not exactly.Unfortunately, many underestimate how many calories they eat, while underestimating how much they burn off. But this crowd likely already sees the value in exercise and may already be active at your club. Hand out brief flyers and brochures demonstrating the need for more exercise at your classes, and how healthier snacks and monitoring food intake can help them reach their weight loss goals.

Reaching out in more personalized and meaningful ways can help you strike just the right chord needed to help your members feel better about achieving their fitness goals – and your club in achieving its member retention goals.

To learn more about how ABC Financial’s health club software, and supporting prospect marketing and member retention services can help your club, request a demo.

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