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Gym member engagement ideas for post-New Year’s members

By January 21, 2020News
personal training as a gym member engagement idea

Are you on the hunt for gym member engagement ideas to keep all your hard-won gym members post-New Year’s? With the influx of new members, you’ll likely see at the start of a new year, a gym lead management software system is the best way to keep track of all of them. The last thing you want is all your hard promotional work and dollars going to waste by letting gym leads slip through the cracks.

MyMemberSales is a gym lead tracking software that enables you to manage the sales process from a lead’s initial enquiry all the way through to the final sale. Learn more here or take a free trial of this gym sales software solution here.

If you’re looking for tips and tricks on how to keep track of your gym leads before they sign up to your New Year’s promotion with the help of MyMemberSales gym sales software, check out this blog.

But as the holidays disappear, gyms all over Australia and New Zealand start to launch their new year promotions. It’s the perfect opportunity as the start of the year is everyone’s favourite time to set their health and fitness New Year’s resolutions and sign up to their local gym. The catch is keeping these members after their initial wave of motivation wears off.

While they have the best of intentions from the get-go, they often start to peter off and slip back to old habits. They attend your gym less and less and eventually quit. Sound familiar? It’s members like these that affect your churn rate and impact your business.

So what gym member engagement ideas can you implement to keep your new members – who are probably out of their comfort zones and feeling lost – engaged with your gym business for many years to come?

Guide them

A lot of new members that influx from the New Year’s deals have never set foot in a gym before. They don’t know where to start on their journey, they don’t know how to use the equipment, they don’t know how to train for the goals they’ve set themselves. They need your help to succeed!

Step in by offering personal training sessions, customised programs designed to help them meet their goals, and nutrition plans they’ll actually stick to. Host a fitness challenge at the start of their membership so they can establish a workout routine and put some habits in place. It always gives you an easy way to keep in touch with them and help them along their journey.

Create meaningful interactions

Learn client’s names quickly and use them – actually get to know them and take a genuine interest in their journey. It’s sad to think, but some gyms get a bad rap for feeling “soulless” and like they’re only interested in their members for the $$ that they pay.

Flip that opinion on its head and focus on creating meaningful interactions with your members. Celebrate client anniversaries, their birthdays, ask for their feedback and listen to it, workout with your members and experience your gym from their point of view. Don’t forget that social media is another great way to engage with your members even when they’re not in the gym. Social media gives you the opportunity to show off your personality, give them a glimpse behind the scenes, and get to know all of your trainers and staff.

Set realistic goals

Setting the bar too high in terms of goals will set your newest gym member on a fast track to cancellation. Lasting, sustainable habits – like going to the gym – rely on routine, consistency, and reaching small goals along that way. A sense of achievement here and there will spur them on towards their bigger goals!

In your consultations with new members, try and pinpoint what their short-term and long-term goals are, so you can create a plan that will help them reach it. They’ll fall in love with going to the gym before you know it!

Check in with them regularly

If you haven’t seen them for a while, make sure to check in with them and see how they’re tracking. Feel free to offer them a free session, nutrition consultation, goal setting sessions to get them hooked on you again. When you don’t pay close attention to each of your members, that’s when they start to slip through the cracks.