Retention is the #1 focus for me and my team at our facility this year. We want to get our attrition down to 3% or lower!
The only way to make that happen is to LOCK THE BACK DOOR!
No, I’m not talking about literally locking the back door. LOL. I’m talking figuratively.
The front door is marketing. It’s getting people’s attention and hollering at them to come inside to see what we do and how we change lives.
The back door is customer success. It’s how we keep people from walking out the back after walking through the front. It’s retention and it’s a byproduct of our coaching service.
Our obsession in 2023 is keeping the front door open but locking the back door.
But it all comes down to customer success and customer experience.
- Customer success is when the client is achieving their version of winning. It could be fat loss, more strength, consistency, not gaining weight or anything else the client wants to be successful at.
- Customer experience is the day-to-day interactions from the team and the feelings they get from those interactions. That’s how you’re greeted at the door, the speed of response in FPT and the professionalism of the team. Both contribute to retention.
Great customer success with poor customer experience means they will leave to find another gym that can get the same results with better service. Think of a restaurant with great food. You might pick another restaurant that has great food and friendly staff.
Great customer experience with poor customer success means they will leave for another gym that will get them better results. They want BOTH so we have to check both boxes for our clients.
Here’s 4 ways we can make sure our retention stays high…
- Track and Celebrate Customer Success
This is different for each client which is why you want to have a client HUB or dashboard where you enter each of your clients and the goals they shared with you. If you don’t know what your client wants, how can you get them there?
You must know their desired destination to enter it into the GPS.After that, we have to celebrate the behaviors, not the outcome. If our clients only feel like we value them when they lose weight, they will feel like a letdown when pounds are dropping off. We want to celebrate the behaviors like showing up, bringing great intensity, consistency, making good choices, speaking more kindly to themselves. - Pre and Post Sale Experience Should Match
Many companies have HEAVY communication during the pre-sale phase. They are texting, emailing and calling to communicate the benefits of their program. But then they come onboard and it’s crickets.The initial phase of getting started in a gym is SCARY. The only way to talk them away from the ledge of fear is to have a high amount of communication and touch points. This is where our “coach with compassion” core value comes up. Exercise might not be scary or intimidating to you. But you have to put yourself in THEIR SHOES and understand this took alot of courage for them to ask for help. And they are investing in their health. Help them feel better about it by talking to them often after the sale is made. The post-sale should have the same amount of communication as the pre-sale. - Shorten Time to Value
In today’s world, people value speed. We all know that we shouldn’t encourage our clients to chase quick fat-loss because it often doesn’t stay off long term. But I do believe a quick win helps you win their confidence. So, if the client values weight loss, help them to drop 3-5 pounds quickly so they can get out of pain.When you have too much body fat, all you want is to have it go away as quickly as possible. Even if you help them reduce bloat by reducing their processed food intake, that can make them feel better. We are aiming to shorten time to value. Again, I mentioned a fat loss example but that could go for what the client values. Get them a fast win and they will follow you because you hear what they value and give it to them. - Always Fill In Service Gaps
The marketplace changes and customers expect more. You can’t operate off “this is how we’ve always done it” or you will end up in the business graveyard like Blockbuster and Toys R Us. We must constantly improve our business model to stay relevant.Actively listen for problems your clients are encountering and figure out how our company can solve it for them. This can be a formal meeting where we ask them
1.) What can we do better?
2.) What do we offer that you do not use?
3.) What do we offer that you love?
4.) What is something new that we should add to our service?You can collect this info at a renewal discussion. Or during an Exit Interview when a client is requesting to cancel. Or it can be done organically before or after a session. But we must constantly improve and grow or the business will die.
This is our obsession in 2023. Customer Success and Customer Experience is EVERYTHING so we can keep our clients for the long term. Not only do we get longer LTV (Lifetime Value) but we also can make a true impact on the person’s life.
If you have a client for 3 months or 12 months, how much more impact can you make?
Keeping our clients long term is our goal so we can create healthier families in our communities.
If this was helpful, let me know.