The key to cracking the retention code
Leveraging Technology to Drive Member Loyalty
The fitness industry has long grappled with a persistent issue: retention. Despite decades of effort, gym operators are still struggling to keep members engaged and returning.
In the UK, data collected from thousands of facilities through Datahub reported the average term of membership to be just 10.9 months. The reasons for this are many and varied but underpinning everything is a deep-rooted flaw in the traditional model that relies on driving people through facility doors and human interventions to instruct, coach and motivate. This place-oriented approach, while well-intentioned, comes with built-in obstacles that limit member engagement and stifle success. It’s time for change and the answer lies in technology.
3 Key Flaws Underpinning The Traditional Gym Model
1) Poor Accessibility & Motivation
Being required to physically travel to a gym in order to push forwards with fitness and health goals presents a significant barrier. Busy lives make it difficult to find the time and motivation to make a dedicated trip to the gym. This often results in reduced visits per month and, eventually, total disengagement.
2) Limited Interaction Time
With the average member visiting a gym only once a week, opportunities for facility teams to directly engage and support them are very limited. This sparse interaction makes it almost impossible to build a consistent fitness journey for the 85 per cent of the population who find it difficult to generate self-motivation to train.
3) A Lack Of Support
Even during visits, instructors can’t possibly provide individualized attention to all members. As a result, more than half of gym-goers admit to not knowing what to do meaning only a select few receive the guidance they need, while others are left to navigate their fitness journey alone.
These limitations have prevented the industry from shifting the dial on member engagement. Most member journeys have been generic, inconsistent, and rarely optimized to meet individual needs. A significant factor in this is the reliance on human intervention, which introduces variability and inconsistency in member experiences. Traditionally, many members, left to their own devices, struggle to make significant progress towards goals, become disillusioned which eventually leads to total disengagement. With a new technology drive approach, this does not need to be the outcome.
Gearing Up To A Person-Oriented Model
The solution lies in shifting the focus from a place-oriented approach to a model that positions the member right in the centre of their own wellbeing ecosystem. The member needs to be in control of their journey, deciding when, where and how they train to support their route to goal attainment. To achieve this, gyms need to evolve from operating as an analogue island to becoming a digitally connected and highly influential piece in a person’s wellbeing jigsaw. Technology is the enabler that makes all this possible.
Digitalization: The Personalization Enabler
The digital age is transforming the way we live, with connectivity and machine learning making it possible to deliver hyper-personalized experiences on a mass scale. And this is now the expectation of the consumer. A tailored service has become ‘the norm’ based on entertainment experiences delivered by the likes of Netflix and retail experiences delivered by online outlets such as Amazon. Consumers want personalization and they know the technology exists to make this possible. A one-size-fits-all approach is no longer adequate in a world that is increasingly consumer-centric.
By leveraging data and digital platforms, gym operators need to be delivering tailored content and guidance to each and every member that extend way beyond the four walls of the gym. The mobile phone and other mobile smart devices have become the indispensable companion for most people, a convenient means of accessing information, often personalized via a collection of apps. Gym operators need to find ways to become a valued component on a person’s digital dashboard, delivering valued content and information directly to the palm, accessible anytime, anywhere. This cements the gym brand’s position as a vital contributor on a person’s life journey and maintains a connection 24/7, whether the person is inside or outside of the gym.
The Commercial Power Of Personalization
For multisite gym operators, a migration to the delivery of hyper-personalization is not only a necessity from a consumer expectation perspective, it also presents a significant commercial opportunity. Improved member retention directly impacts profitability. A member engaged for longer, pays their subs for longer. By offering a 360-degree member journey that combines live and digital experiences, gyms can foster deeper connections with members, leading to increased loyalty and customer lifetime value (CLV).
Members who feel their unique needs are recognized and catered to are more likely to stay committed. This, in turn, reduces churn and builds a stable, engaged community that benefits members and the operator’s bottom line. By redefining and transforming the member journey to be more personal and integrated, gym operators can finally address the long-standing retention issue.
Why Funxtion?
Funxtion is a personalized content delivery enabler that supports industry-leading operators in their quest to provide every member with a bespoke experience accessible anytime, anywhere.
Founded in 2011, by technology-driven fitness visionaries, Ernst de Neef and Mendel Witzenhausen, Funxtion has developed a unique digital platform that integrates seamlessly with incumbent digital ecosystems to beautifully crafted Funxtion generated and third-party content.
Content is collated to create a huge digital library of exercise demonstrations that can be selected according to a members declared preferences and goals, then presented to the member via screens in club or an app for on-the-go. This creates an omnichannel approach, delivering highly bespoke content directly to individuals, that supports and instructions without restriction. This instant access to professionally crafted hyper-personalized content becomes a part of the individual’s own fitness, health and wellbeing ecosystem that travels with them through their life’s journey unrestricted by geography or time. This is the future for fitness and enables bricks and mortar gym operators to remain relevant in an increasingly digital world.
Closing Thought
Moving from a one-size-fits-all approach to a hyper-personalized, technology-driven model is key to unlocking higher retention and engagement. It’s time for gym operators to embrace this change and start delivering personalized fitness experiences that integrate seamlessly into the everyday lives of the members they serve
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