COVID-19 has brought unique challenges to the industry. As the world’s understanding of the virus has changed, so has the way you approach business. The same applies to members who are reevaluating their daily lives — from how they exercise to how they spend or donate their money.
In three steps, you can be on your way to retaining more members and more revenue.
Step 1: Track Market Trends and Member Behavior
Market research tells us while active memberships have dipped in August, we have seen positive signs of recovery with a 6.6% decrease in terminations compared to July. In all, a majority of members are remaining active, with 77.7% of members active compared to August of last year.
New joins have also increased 5.5% in August compared to July.
Members are returning and new members are joining — albeit slowly. How can you make sure they’re set up for the best experience?
Step 2: Map Your Member Engagement
Face-to-face interactions are harder to come by these days. Masks add a challenge to holding conversation and the days of high-fives and handshakes are gone for now.
Staff interaction keeps members engaged, driving more revenue to your mission. Those relationships are more important than ever, but harder to maintain. In a time when you need to make every dollar count, you can’t afford to miss out on vital member engagement.
Without relying on face-to-face, do you know if your organization has optimized interactions to provide meaningful outcomes, both digitally and in-person, throughout a member’s experience?
To get a holistic view, map out every time a member or prospect engages with your organization. Think about digital ads or social media posts that entice them to come back. It could be the first conversation they have when they enter your doors. Don’t forget to include any billing conversations that have to happen.
Where are the gaps? Are there periods of time after members join that they should receive more communication from your team? Are you maximizing outreach to get prospects interested?
Step 3: Scale Your Staff
If you’re overwhelmed by all the touchpoints needed to provide a good experience, we understand. We know there’s not enough time in a day, or even a week, to personally check in with every member and prospect.
These relationships are why people love your facility, but it’s hard to offer that kind of connection at scale, especially when people are relying on virtual content or services. You deserve ways to foster better connections, faster.
From gauging interest in new programs to inquiring about inactive memberships, marketing automation can help you scale staff effort. You can foster real one-on-one conversations to drive the actions you want members and prospects to take.
The news around member behavior and market trends is positive. You can make it even better by mapping your member experience and equipping staff with tools to fill the gaps.
