We are happy to share the following member engagement tips with our fitness industry partners:
Know your audience: We are all stressed, and some are truly struggling. Everyone is coping in his own way. Demonstrate compassion and empathy by putting yourself in your members’ shoes:
- Older adult members? Ensure you aren’t forgetting about their social and emotional needs.
- Busy professionals? Give them actionable information that can be used in a daily workout.
- Stressed out parents? Give them something enjoyable and engaging that will be fun for the family (and tire their kids out!)
- For everyone? Some mindfulness and stress relief programming, we all need more of that.
***One size does not fit all when it comes to advice that will matter to your members. If possible, a call is always better than an email. Even leaving a message with some groups goes a long way.
“No Strings Attached” Communications: Before you can offer any useful information, you have to build rapport with your members. Remember, “they don’t care how much you know until they know how much you care.” Communicate at least once a week, even if it’s just to say “Hello, we hope you are well and we are thinking about you”. Provide clear, useful information to help while away from our services and do so with no expectations; discussing membership deals and promotions right now is going to reflect poorly on your center. You may also choose to include prospects lists and previous members as these communications will have you top of their mind also when you reopen.
Delivery Platform: Give serious thought to how you will share your messages. Give extra focus to methods that allow two-way communication and are measurable. Again, keep your members top-of-mind, and if possible use vehicles with which the majority are already engaged. Avoid new platforms where members would have to be “activated” if you weren’t already engaging them meaningfully. Email outreach or social media have been the most popular, as they are lower in cost and typically already in use. You could also deploy a remote coaching app or similar technology.
Select Content with Intent: You are the expert in your field, you should use this opportunity to expand your offerings to your member base that connects to them outside the walls of the fitness center. For those businesses that didn’t engage in this type of member connection before, it is likely time to accept it’s here to stay. Start to invest the time in building out your company’s content and avoid using third-party information where possible. This is a process that should be maintained and likely expanded upon reopening the doors of your facility.
We are all in business to change lives. To be able to change a life, one must be able to connect with people, in person or at a distance. While our businesses are struggling, how you use this time to create new ways to connect with your members virtually may create a whole new way to do business when you reopen your doors.