It’s Eric, the owner of The Fitness CPA here.
I’ve been reading James Clear’s popular book, Atomic Habits, lately.
If you haven’t heard about it, Atomic Habits is an excellent book about building habits that keep reoccurring over and over, and how we can implement this into every aspect of our life.
And funnily enough, the same principles apply to getting and keeping new members in the gym.
You need to introduce a habit. And the best way to do this is with your introductory offer.
If you’ve read our previous blog post on the introductory offer (and why we hate the free class offer!), then you know that your introductory offer is a lot about building habits with your new members.
The more your new members can build that habit, the more they’re going to come back in, buy packages of 10, or maybe even become a reoccurring monthly auto-draft member.
But how do we build those habits?
I would argue that building habits with a free class or a free week isn’t likely to happen.
And that’s why we believe in structuring your introductory offer for at least a 30-day time period, potentially as long as four or five weeks.
The key is to build those habits for your new members.
The more that you can get a new member to step foot in your gym, it’s statistically proven they’re more likely to convert.
So if you can get that new member in the door six, seven, or eight times over those 30 days, you have a high likelihood of converting.
On the flip side, when you offer just a free class, well, we know they’ve only attended once.
And if they have the opportunity to attend for a free week, we know on average that members attend less than twice per week, with the majority only attending once in the one-week period.
So, what is the way forward?
In order to encourage the habit-building that James Clear talks about in his book, we recommend giving them a 30-day trial period.
Try giving new members a 30-day time period at a lower introductory rate so they can build a habit of going to your fitness business, and have a much higher chance of converting long-term.
After years in the fitness industry, we’ve seen this work time and time again when it comes to helping your membership base grow.
What do you think?
How are you helping your new members build habits of going to your gym?
Have a think about it, and give the book a read! It was a game-changer for me, and one I strongly recommend all business owners read.
Until next time.
Fitness is such a big part of who I am. Maintaining a healthy lifestyle, eating well (mostly paleo), hiking, backpacking, mountaineering, practicing yoga and Crossfit are all important cornerstones of life. But I love ice cream and cookies too much to say no!
I love helping owners make sense of their business and finding ways to grow it. It’s an honor to help you see situations, scenarios and opportunities from all sides so you can make informed decisions.
- Best Converting Intro Offer For Fitness Businesses - August 25, 2024
- It’s Time to Ditch Your Free Introductory Offer - July 30, 2024
- How To Build & Expand Your Fitness Network - June 30, 2024
