When it comes to gym growth and increased revenue, selling memberships is often the first goal gym owners set. However, member retention is the yin to that yang, and an important piece of the growth puzzle.
And oftentimes, gym owners are so focused on getting new faces in the door that they neglect to work on keeping them there. And as experienced gym owners know, it’s less expensive to keep a current member than it is to acquire a new one.
CrossFit gym owner Greg Buck admits this was one of his struggles. He says he wasn’t good at actively taking action to either nurture leads or improve member retention.
“I didn’t do enough retention work in my business, said Buck, owner of CrossFit Arioch in Elgin, IL. “I wasn’t on top of keeping track with member check-ins, or reaching out to members when they hadn’t been there in a while.”
His reasoning was simply not having processes in place to help him. So instead, he recalls that he just “based it on feel.” For example, whenever he realized he hadn’t seen a client in a while, he’d reach out.
“But at that point, it had probably been three weeks already,” he said. “And so, people fell through the cracks.”
Enlisting the Help of PushPress Grow.
Until last February, Buck had been using PushPress Core to manage his gym’s billing, scheduling and more. But when he realized his need for help with retention, he decided to give PushPress Grow a shot.
He admits there was some hesitancy, and even skepticism, at first. It was important to him that communication with both leads and members was “authentic and not robotic.”
The automated workflows were already provided in Grow, and to Buck’s surprise, he barely needed to tweak any of the language. He noted that it seemed designed to sound exactly like you would if you were texting a friend.
“It’s not sales pitchy,” Buck said. “It’s not, ‘Here at CrossFit Arioch, we want to make sure you’re achieving your goals.’ It feels real and authentic.”
Three Ways Grow Increases Member Retention.
In the six months since he started using Grow, Buck has noticed all kinds of positive changes with his business. The three most important to him include improved member retention, hitting personal records in revenue and unexpected time savings.
1. Managing Every Stage of the Client Journey.
The average monthly churn at CrossFit Arioch used to be around five or six members. Now, in a gym of 180 members, that number sits at just two members per month.
He credits Grow for helping him keep at-risk clients engaged. In addition, workflows for lead nurture and the 100-day member journey are invaluable for his member retention. The former lays the foundation for membership. The latter helps with new member onboarding, so clients feel more comfortable as they get started.
2. Increasing Overall Revenue.
For Buck, using PushPress Grow has contributed to improving both lead nurture and member retention. So not only is he able to gain new clients, he’s also noticed his current community staying longer.
As a result, the membership base at his nine-year affiliate is the largest it’s ever been. And over the last six months, he’s been achieving record revenue numbers.
Pro Tip: Want to find out how the power of automation in PushPress Grow can help to save you time for all the other tasks on your to-do list? Book a demo with our team today!
3. Saving Time.
One of the unexpected benefits Buck now enjoys is that amount of time he’s been able to save. In short, Grow automation completes tasks that he formerly had to do manually. And often never got around to doing at all.
Some of the most time-saving tasks include lead nurture, intro booking and engaging with at-risk clients to increase member retention. Now, Buck can accomplish other things, knowing that Grow is getting it done.
“Grow does the legwork for me to make sure we’re engaging with clients and opening conversations,” he said. “Lead nurture has been huge. Before, I didn’t even know who was coming in through my website.”
But now, once a lead enters their contact information, Grow gets to work. The workflows begin the nurture process immediately, when interest is at its highest. Experienced gym owners know that if you wait to respond, your conversion numbers can drop substantially. So this way, none of CrossFit Arioch’s leads slip through the cracks.
And when Buck does need to engage manually with a lead or a client, he can simply jump into the conversation via his computer or the app on his phone. Grow presents him with the client’s information, previous conversations and any applicable notes.
“Gym owners are over leveraged,” said Buck. “Save yourself time and you’re going to see big benefits from that.”
Member Results, Driven by Data.
One other tool Buck has recently introduced to his community is PushPress Train.
PushPress Train provides valuable fitness performance data for both your members and coaches. From tracking workout scores to entering PRs, this data will help clients measure progress and improve.
Beyond tracking workouts, Train also gives members and coaches the ability to communicate with each other. From friendly trash talk to celebrating members’ milestones, it’s a fun way to build community, which also help with member retention.
In the past, Buck was using two different options for workout tracking. One was for his group class programming and the other was for individual design.
Now, he does it all in Train. He says it simply makes more sense, for him, his coaches and his clients.
“People have all the options right at their fingertips all in one app,” Buck said. “And keeping it all in one place - where I can do all my billing in one place - is way more beneficial to me.”
In Summary: Member Retention Made Easier.
Member retention is just as crucial to the growth of your gym as new member acquisition. PushPress Grow is designed to help with improve those retention rates, increase gym revenue and save you time.
“The Grow system is very powerful,” said Buck, who freely admits that he was hesitant about relying on automation to help run his gym.
“But if you make the system your own, you don’t need to worry about that,” he said. “Besides, not doing it is definitely more detrimental than doing it.”
