Learn how to keep members from bolting for competition

Any club owner or manager who thinks a member won’t bolt to the competition if it offers better equipment, classes or price point is living in a dream world.

That is why focusing on member retention is imperative to a successful business. But what are the best methods? 

IHRSA’s next webinar features Dan Griffin, general manager of Club Operations at Oxford Athletic Club, who will touch on ways to not give your members reasons to have wandering eyes for another club.

Check out what Griffin will cover in this webinar preview.

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Get in the zone with Immersive Fitness by Les Mills

Photo courtesy Les Mills YouTube channelYeah, we know we say this all of the time, but, really, this may be one of the more diverse editions of This Week in the Fitness Industry. To wit:

• Les Mills workout puts you 'in the zone'
• Iraq vet becomes personal trainer to help others
• Health club chain offering chance to meet KISS
• Private equity firm sells off clubs

More on each can be found at This Week in the Fitness Industry.

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European Congress keynote talks about diversity, social media and more

CBI magazine’s First Person feature is Annemarie van Gaal. The founder of van Gaal & Company, she is an author, investor and media consultant in Amerstam, The Netherlands.  And, she is one of the keynote speakers at next month’s 14th Annual IHRSA European Congress.

Read on as she answers questions about the subject of her talk, her businesses diversity, her opinion on social media and more.

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Spot in brain that motivates mice to exercise is discovered

Image courtesy of ratch0013 at FreeDigitalPhotos.netLooking for some reading this long Labor Day wekeend (OK, for those in the United States)? This Week in the Fitness Industry should take up a small chunk of that time.

As always, a wide range of subjects:

• part of brain responsible for exercise motivation found in mice
• workouts in space
• link between obesity and certain cancers
• abdominal obesity in youth leveling off

Check them all out in This Week in the Fitness Industry.

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Company keeps clients, members InTouch

InTouch's booth at the IHRSA 2014 trade show.Perhaps the most vexing issue health and fitness clubs face today is how to keep their members. Reverse sides of the same coin, the retention/attrition conundrum is the bugaboo of most clubs, from small studios and gyms to massive high-end, multipurpose facilities.

As a certified personal trainer, Scott Johnston has dealt with this challenge from both the club and the member side. Over the years, he’s watched as friends and family members made serious overtures to join clubs, only to be forgotten.

The problem, Johnston realized, is that club staff often fail to stay in touch with both prospects and current members - hence the name of the company he cofounded with Nico Bot: InTouch Technology, headquartered in Vancouver, British Columbia, now a leading provider of health club sales and retention software.

“Many people walk into a club, express interest, but hesitate, saying they’d like to think about it first,” says Rachel Lai, marketing manager at InTouch. “Scott saw that, too often, no follow-up e-mails were going out, and no calls were being made to these prospects,”

So, four years ago, Johnston and Bot launched their Web-based communication management system that’s helping to revolutionize the way clubs generate leads for memberships and personal training and follow-up - and encourage people to stay once they join.

Read on to see more on InTouch Technology.

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