Retention is a topic of concern for any company, with business leaders continually asking the question, “How do I get my customers to come back?” In the ever-changing fitness industry, customer retention is a constant. Not only are gyms competing against geographic competitors, but also with the increase of streaming fitness and online technology, they’re competing with anyone who wants a foot in this dynamic market.

1. RETENTION:
How to Build a Company Culture Focused on
Outstanding Member-Centric Experiences

2. Table of Contents
Retention: How to Build a Company Culture Focused on
Outstanding Member-Centric Experiences. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
Become a Retention Pioneer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
Create a Service Culture. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
Deliver What Your Members Want. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6

3. 1
Retention: How to Build a Company Culture Focused on
Outstanding Member-Centric Experiences
Retention is a topic of concern for any company, with business leaders continually asking the question, “How do I get my customers to
come back?”
In the ever-changing fitness industry, customer retention is a constant. Not only are gyms competing against geographic competitors, but
also with the increase of streaming fitness and online technology, they’re competing with anyone who wants a foot in this dynamic market.
As a facility leader, how do you keep your members walking through your doors? The answer: by focusing on customer service and
member experiences. If your members wanted a quick workout, they could go online and be done in 30 minutes without leaving the
comfort of their homes. Instead, they come to your gym to be challenged, feel a sense of community, and be appreciated.
There are three aspects to consider when you’re working to increase your customer retention and member experiences.
1. Become a retention pioneer.
2. Create a service culture.
3. Deliver what your members want.

4. 2 Retention: How to Build a Company Culture Focused on Outstanding Member-Centric Experiences
Become a Retention Pioneer¹
When you’re struggling with retention, it’s difficult to imagine becoming a ‘retention pioneer’, but Melissa Christie, director of member
experience and integration at the Newtown Athletic Club in Pennsylvania, United States has some tips to keep you from feeling overwhelmed.
• Interact with members. The best way to create a solid member experience is to interact with current and potential members. Make
them feel comfortable and welcome. Get to know your members by asking them about their interests and fitness goals. Don’t only
talk to them when you’re trying to sell them something.
• Integrate your members. Coming to a new gym is intimidating and overwhelming. For novices, it is akin to walking into a new school
and not knowing the pecking order. Help your new members integrate into your facility by introducing them to staff, sharing the class
timetable with them, and encouraging them to ask questions.
• Offer member perks. A free introductory massage, free personal training sessions the first month of their membership, and
discounts at local sporting goods stores will encourage your members to make fitness in your facility a top priority.
• Continually follow up. When your members feel underappreciated or like they are ‘just another number’, they’ll become disengaged
and not want to return. Track your members’ visits and follow up with the ones who have stopped coming. Offer them a refresher
fitness session or a free class to help kick start their goals again.
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IHRSA 2015 education session; produced with full permission from IHRSA.

5. 3
Christie shares another great way to become a retention pioneer—create competitions and challenges that engage your members and
staff. Competition is an excellent tool to encourage members to keep coming back. Challenges that push members to work out a certain
number of times a month or for a certain amount of time help make coming to your gym a habit. Place leaderboards throughout your gym
and offer prizes to make a challenge fun and competitive. These challenges create a sense of community and camaraderie that is important
for keeping people engaged in your gym.
When considering retention, it’s also important to collect feedback. If you’re not sure whether or not your members are completely
satisfied, they may leave before you have the chance to find out. Collect as much data as you can on your member activity to determine
whether they are a flight risk.
The best question you can ask your members is “on a scale from one to ten, how likely are you to recommend this gym to your friends?”
Their answers to that single question can help you determine how satisfied your customers are, and whether they’re planning to stay with
you. Additional questions can be asked about their overall experience, perceived value for the price, and their likelihood to continue being
a member.
Collecting as much data and feedback as you can will help you on the road to becoming a retention pioneer.

6. Create a Service Culture²
Just as important as collecting feedback, interacting with your members,
and offering member perks is the ability to create a gym culture focused on
customer service from start to finish. Whether the person walking through
your doors is a potential member or a seasoned veteran, your focus should
always be customer service.
As Bryan Williams, owner of B. Williams Enterprise, LLC and hospitality
consultant, puts it, “if you’re in the fitness business, you’re in the people
business.” New members are intimated to walk into a gym for the first time,
so it’s your staff’s job to make them feel welcomed. Customer service is
more than just a one-time interaction; rather, it’s a continual passion and
commitment from every single member of your staff toward your members.
Deliver ‘five-star customer service’ to your members by developing a
leadership mind set to improve yourself, your staff, and your gym. Create
a customer service mission, and then share it with your staff and your
members. Continually encourage everyone to practice the mission and
soon you’ll see a change in your culture for the better.
Excellent customer service has a trickle-down effect. How you, as a leader,
treat your staff will have an influence on how your staff treats your members.
These interactions will ultimately affect your bottom line. Williams states
that “financial success is directly related to how we coach our teams. In the
pyramid of success, passion, purpose, and vision are the base. A direction
that includes these elements inspires others. With passion, vision, and the
right staff, you can lead your team to overcome obstacles.”
To keep your service excellence, do not tolerate mediocrity. Hold high
standards for your staff to continually practice customer service with
each of your members. Customer service isn’t just for the front desk staff,
but rather, it’s the responsibility for every single member of your staff to
embrace. The equipment technicians, janitorial staff, and personal trainers
should each be in the ‘people business.’
4 2
IHRSA 2015 education session; produced with full permission from IHRSA.

7. 5
Sarah Seifert, corporate sales manager at Kohler Co., is an expert in
promoting member engagement and retention, and she introduces the idea
of ‘Five-Star Thinking’ into customer service.
Going above and beyond your customers’ expectations is one of the best
ways to create a five-star experience. In the hospitality industry, a five-star
hotel is the crème de la crème. The components that set a five-star hotel
apart from its competitors can be the same things to set you apart from yours.
First, recognize that passion filters down from the top. As a leader, it’s your
responsibility to instil energy, appreciation, commitment, and vision into your
staff members. Building up your team will help your team build up your members.
Second, Seifert encourages you to think ahead and be proactive. Have a
pulse on new trends within the fitness industry and try to implement them
into your facility. Proactively engage with your members to see what’s
missing and how you can make their fitness experiences better. Encourage
all of your staff members to interact with the members and take the time to
listen to their needs.
And third, as simple as it sounds, Seifert reminds you to say a simple ‘thank
you.’ Those two words can make a world of difference to your staff and to
your members. One of the top reasons staff members leave their jobs is
because they feel unappreciated. Recognize the work their doing and find
ways to encourage them to keep it up.
Appreciation should also be given to your members. Remember, they’re
helping to keep your business operational. Hold ‘member appreciation
weeks’ throughout the year; honour veteran members by gifting them a free
massage or personal training session. Just as your staff appreciates a thank
you, your members will continue to return if they feel you genuinely see
them as more than a number.
5
“If you’re in the fitness business, you’re in the people business.”

8. 6 Retention: How to Build a Company Culture Focused on Outstanding Member-Centric Experiences
Deliver What Your Members Want³
In order to truly develop an understanding of what your members want, you not only need to ask them, but you also need to track as much
data as you can. Justin Tamsett, managing director of Active Management and director of The Fitness Business Podcast, recommends the
following components for tracking within your customer relationship management (CRM) software:
• Likes/Dislikes
• Strengths/Weaknesses
• Age
• Gender
• Location/Geography
• Education Level
• Spare Time Activities
3
IHRSA 2015 education session; produced with full permission from IHRSA.

9. 7
When you discover these additional components, you can create a detailed description of your target customers and then find ways to
service them best. Tamsett states, “You cannot exceed the members and prospects’ expectations unless you understand who they are with
data that goes beyond age and gender.”
When you’re continually collecting data on your target market, you’ll be able to build their trust and provide them with the personalized
service they’re seeking. Members who have your trust become excellent resources for information and data. They will help you generate
the answers you need to provide the best service you can to all of your members.
In today’s world, fitness and technology go hand in hand. More and more fitness consumers are expecting gyms and health facilities to
offer top-of-the-line fitness experiences while also providing ways in which they can stay connected and engaged digitally. Using apps and
social media creates a community around your facility that allows your members to stay involved both inside and outside the gym.
“Find that sweet spot that exists between providing information and
technology, while not negatively impacting the environment and
community of your facility.”

10. Tamsett encourages you to “find that sweet spot that exists between
providing information and technology, while not negatively impacting
the environment and community of your facility.” Connect with your
members to see how they’d like to engage with you outside the gym.
They may want to interact with other members to form community, or
they may want to share their club experience on social media.
While technology, fitness trends, and a myriad of other components have
influenced the ways your members interact with you and your facility, at
the end of the day, their primary concerns have not changed. The main
concerns in their lives are the well-being of themselves and their families.
Fitness facilities that help their members feel safe, comfortable and
welcome will succeed in keeping their members satisfied. And applying
these three aspects of company culture based on member-centric
experiences is an important step in beating the competition and
sustaining your facility’s growth.
“You cannot exceed the members and prospects’ expectations
unless you understand who they are with data that goes beyond
age and gender.”
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11. Precor is a brand of Amer Sports Corporation.
For more information please see www.amersports.com
© 2016 Precor Incorporated. The information contained within this brochure is correct at the time of printing.
Precor reserves the right to make any changes without prior notice. 8. May 2016, 11:35 PM.
Precor, headquartered in Woodinville, WA, designs and manufactures premium end-to-end commercial and
at-home fitness solutions. Since 1980, Precor has been a pioneer in creating innovative fitness solutions for
customers, including the EFX® Elliptical, Adaptive Motion Trainer® AMT® and Preva® Networked Fitness.
Precor is part of Amer Sports Corporation, one of the world’s largest sports equipment companies, with
internationally recognized sister brands that include Wilson, Atomic, Suunto, Salomon, Arc’teryx and Mavic.
Get more retention information:
precor.com