30 Dec Top 8 Member Retention Tips
Member retention is a really important part of keeping your club or coaching business healthy. It is far easier and less costly to keep a member than to go out and advertise and bring new members into your club. Did you know it costs 7 times more to acquire a new customer than retain an existing one ( Bain & Company)?
Read on for our top ten tips on how to keep members:
1. Engage
Building strong relationships with your members is key to retention. Remember, a happy member is a loyal one and is less inclined to consider moving to another club or coach. By creating a relationship between members and club and coaching team will make a huge difference to loyalty.
How do I engage with club members?
Great ways to communicate with your members include:
- Your ActivityPro app has the ability to communicate forthcoming news and events, so make sure you keep it updated!
- Social media is a great way to share useful tips, club updates and handy information. Social media allows you to keep a constant presence without being intrusive.
- Emails are also great ways to share important information and details of any events that may be taking place.
Taking the time to communicate with your members through multiple channels will enforce how important their welfare and participation is to the club.
Let’s not forget face to face communication! You and any representatives of the club (coaches, staff, committee members included!) should be friendly, approachable and personable. Greeting a member on-court, asking about progress and getting to know them and their goals are perfect ways to build rapport and will help members feel welcome and valued at the club.
2. Position yourself as a knowledgebase
Ensure that you are up to date with industry news are be able to offer informed advice relating to goals. By being experts you will add weight and value to your facilities, allowing your members to use you as an all in one resource rather than purely a facility provider. Once again achieving this will greatly add to the member experience.
3. Encourage member involvement
Run fun events and social activities, keeping members involved with your club is a great way to add value alongside your facilities.
4. Ask for feedback!
Ask your members what they are pleased with and what you are doing well, this way you’ll be able to identify what makes them happy and act upon it.
For example You get great feedback on your Saturday morning tennis fitness class. You could introduce more classes like this or rework your less popular morning classes to feature more fitness.
Not all feedback will be positive. Areas that members are not happy with may often be things that can be changed with relative ease. By taking action on negative feedback you will show your members that you value their opinion and their custom.
5. Create a community
Actively encourage members to interact with each other. By building a friendly community, members will feel a sense of belonging. Your club will not only serve as an exercise facility but also a pivotal part of their social life. This will not only add a sense of accountability in terms of their tennis progression, but it will also ensure they stay members at your club with their friends.
6. Make sure you are easy to contact and highly responsive
It is vital that members are able to contact you with ease, whether that be over the phone, via email or through your ActivityPro app. When members reach out to you it should be a quick and easy process.
7. Reach out to members who may be unhappy
Keep track of members who’s attendance has dropped significantly. If a members stop attending groups or you see them less at the club then it might be a good idea to reach out to them, whether that’s simply a phone call to check that they are still satisfied with their membership . Let your member know you care.
8. Go above and beyond
Fulfil your members’ needs and requirements to the best of your abilities. Reputation spreads quickly through word of mouth. Spending that extra few minutes being attentive to a member will stay with them. A glowing reference from a current member is more valuable than any campaign or marketing activity that you undertake.