Focus On Retention

Feb 1, 2000 12:00 PM, Matthew Wagner

Now that the millennium madness is over and the New Year's resolutions have started to fade, we are faced with the problem of helping our new exercisers to stick with their goals. Late winter is often dreary, and many of our members will look for an excuse to cut back on their fitness resolutions. (This is the time of year when members suffer from bad cases of the "too's" - too dark, too cold, too far. I know you have heard them all, but in reality it usually is too lazy.)

How do we keep that initial enthusiasm going and keep members for the long term? One idea is to utilize extrinsic rewards until the intrinsic rewards of exercise begin to occur. February is an ideal time to begin some type of internal motivational program, such as "Cycle Around Colorado" or "Treadmill to Tucson," and give points for each mile completed. Offer material incentives for participating AND finishing. Attempt to emphasize a noncompetitive atmosphere in these programs and reward people for their effort. You would be surprised how far a T-shirt or water bottle will go!

Late winter is also an ideal time to focus on your personnel. Ensure that the front-desk employees are providing constant motivation to all members as they enter the club. While each member should be greeted with enthusiasm every time they come in, it is imperative that the front-desk personnel maintain a close and open line of communication with all members, not just their "favorites."

In addition, each employee can start a "maintenance hunt" where they each look for five things per day that need to be cleaned or repaired. These can be small things that your maintenance staff generally does not do. Remember that there is no substitute for cleanliness and friendliness in your club.

While it might be a little early to send out the "We miss you" cards to the New Year's members who are not utilizing the facility, the front-desk staff and salespeople can do checkup calls to these members. A simple "How is your exercise program going?" call can mean the difference between a happy member and a cancellation. A modest goal is to make contact with all new members two times in the first two months of their membership. In this day of voice mail, pagers and cell phones, that contact may take five to 10 calls. Don't settle for a message - open communication is the best way to find out problems/barriers to their exercise program and keep them coming into your club!

- Matthew Wagner, Ph.D., has owned Nautilus Health Center in Huntsville, Texas, since 1980. He is also the director of the National Institute of Preventive Medicine and works with several clients with various chronic diseases and disabilities.