Gym Member Retention Metrics You Can’t Ignore

If you own or operate a gym, your members are the lifeblood of your business. They dictate everything from the financial success of your business to the community and atmosphere of your gym. Thanks to the increasingly competitive fitness landscape and the growing popularity of at-home workouts, attracting and retaining gym members is no small feat. It can take an incredible amount of energy and resources just to get members in your doors and to get them to sign a membership agreement.

Keeping members happy – and ensuring they keep coming back – is key to the success of any gym. After all, it costs five times more to sign a new customer than to keep the ones you have. Retention should be top-of-mind for any gym owner focused on long-term success and industry reputation. Your current members are some of the best marketing tools in your kit and knowing how to keep those tools sharp and ready for use can make or break your business.

That being said, here are a few gym member retention metrics you can’t ignore:

Monthly churn: This is the leader of retention metrics: knowing how many members actually leave every month. Tracking churn on a monthly basis is important for multiple reasons. It gives you a real-time look at how many members are leaving each month. You can analyze this number against how many new members are coming in to create a holistic picture of membership health. Additionally, you’ll be able to see which months have the highest number of new memberships, which can help influence marketing programs and advertising campaigns.

Average longevity: This metric shows how long the average member is a part of your gym. If your gym has high turnover – aka a short membership lifespan – then your retention strategy is probably lacking. If your members are sticking around for longer periods of time then you’re probably doing something right. Track the average longevity of your members to pinpoint when retention rates start to drop.  

Events vs. Retention: This is a bit more specific metric that tracks when specific events, promotions, or campaigns occur vs. the number of members who churn around that same time period. While your marketing and operations teams spend a great deal of time and energy planning events, running social media campaigns, and offering new member promotions, these can be inadvertently hurting your retention rates. Tracking events vs. retention can give your team insight into whether or not a specific event or activity that might have prompted mass member churn.

Reason for joining: Retaining your customers is easier if you actually know your customers. Knowing them means having insight into why they joined your gym in the first place. If you know members joined for the sense of community, or for a specific class, or for a specific instructor, then give the people what they want! Don’t be afraid to keep constant tabs on member wants and needs as well. This means surveys, feedback questionnaires, and in-person polls. The more you provide your customers with what they actually want the more likely they are to stick around.   

Want to learn more? The Paramount team is on call to answer all your membership retention questions. You can contact us here or at 801-272-8623.