Creating the Foundation for the Member Experience and Retention: The Importance of Effective New Member Onboarding

As a fitness facility owner, one of your primary goals is to attract new members and keep them coming back for more. In order to achieve this, you need to create a strong foundation for the member experience and retention through a well-designed new member onboarding process. This process should not only get new members to use your facility frequently in the first 60 days but also monitor their usage to ensure continued engagement and success.

Why is New Member Onboarding Important?

The onboarding process is critical in setting the stage for a positive and successful member experience. It’s a time to make a great first impression, establish a connection with your new members, and educate them on how to use your facility and what services you offer. A well-designed onboarding process can increase member engagement, reduce churn rate, and increase the likelihood of referrals.

Getting Members to Use Your Facility 20 Times in the First 60 Days

The first 60 days are crucial in establishing habits and building loyalty with new members. Research has shown that if a member visits your facility at least 20 times in the first 60 days, they are more likely to become long-term members. Therefore, it’s important to focus on creating a strong onboarding process that encourages frequent use of your facility.

Here are some tips to achieve this goal:

1. Personalized welcome: Make sure to give each new member a warm welcome and introduce them to your staff and other members.
2. Orientation: Offer an orientation or tour of your facility to show new members where everything is and how to use the equipment.
3. Goal setting: Help new members set goals and develop a plan to achieve them. This can help increase motivation and engagement.
4. Personal training: Offer a free session with a personal trainer to help new members get started on the right foot and feel more comfortable in your facility.
5. Group classes: Encourage new members to attend group fitness classes as a way to stay motivated and engaged.

Monitoring Member Usage to Ensure Continued Engagement

Once you’ve successfully onboarded new members, it’s important to monitor their usage to ensure continued engagement and success. One way to do this is by pulling a usage report each morning for members who have used your facility four times or more in the previous 30 days.

This report can help you identify members who may be at risk of leaving and allow you to take proactive steps to re-engage them. For example, you can offer them a free session with a personal trainer or invite them to a special event or class.

How Fitness Management & Consulting Can Help

At Fitness Management & Consulting, we specialize in helping fitness facilities create effective new member onboarding processes that lead to increased member engagement and retention. Our team of experts can help you develop a customized onboarding program that meets the unique needs of your facility and members.

In addition, we can help you with member monitoring by providing usage reports and analyzing data to identify areas for improvement. Our goal is to help you create a strong foundation for the member experience and retention so you can achieve long-term success.

Conclusion

Creating an effective new member onboarding process is critical for establishing a strong foundation for the member experience and retention. By getting new members to use your facility 20 times in the first 60 days and monitoring their usage, you can increase member engagement and reduce churn rate. With the help of Fitness Management & Consulting, you can create a customized onboarding program that meets the unique needs of your facility and members, leading to increased success and long-term growth.

Click here for more details on financing options or call 214-629-7223 or email jthomas@fmconsulting.net for more information. Or, apply now.

An Outsourced CEO and expert witness, Jim Thomas is the founder and president of Fitness Management USA Inc., a management consulting, turnaround, financing  and brokerage firm specializing in the gym and sports industry. With more than 25 years of experience owning, operating and managing clubs of all sizes, Thomas lectures and delivers seminars, webinars and workshops across the globe on the practical skills required to successfully overcome obscurity, improve sales, build teamwork and market fitness programs and products. Visit his Web site at: www.fmconsulting.net or www.youtube.com/gymconsultant.