Customers are the heart of any business and retaining them is a major growth driver. Yet many businesses only focus on actions to acquire new clients and often overlook providing value to their existing customer base. While new sales are an important part, the general consensus is that it costs 4-7 times more to obtain a new client than to keep an existing one. One important factor to retain members and keep them engaged is to make them part of a community that is built around your business.
At its core, a community makes members engage with one another, and visiting the studio stops being solely about health and fitness and becomes more about the people and the experience yes, don't forget its impact on creating a strong brand value for your health and fitness business. Here we will discuss strategies to build communities to improve member retention.
Social Media
Social media can be greatly beneficial for studios to create a sense of community. Potential and existing clients expect to find a Facebook page with your details. A Facebook company page provides an easy way to provide information to your membership base and is a great way for everyone interested in your gym to interact.
Friends and Family
Self-motivation doesn’t work for a lot of people and working out by yourself can be uninspiring. Working out with friends and family makes exercising enjoyable and can create a support network, and some friendly competition. You can run a referral program to encourage this by offering special deals or discounted rates to bring an extra person along.
Group Classes
Group Classes are probably the most efficient way of encouraging member interaction. Struggling through the same grueling session or getting over that last hurdle provides a great bonding experience and any activities involving teamwork will only increase this.
Leader Boards
Providing a place for members to recognize each other’s success as well as a goal to strive for, can add an extra source of pride and competition.
Just For Fun
Everything doesn’t have to be about your core business of fitness and exercise. Having events such as movie nights, painting competitions for kids, a short distance race, etc, can encourage members to view the facility as more than just a place to work out. A community will take your brand not only closer to your target segment and also to people who are connected with them.
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