It’s the age-old trope – hoards of post-holiday fitness lovers hit the treadmills in January, determined to get every penny out of their new gym memberships and make this year’s resolutions stick for good. But year after year, the weeks and months slip by and the crowds thin, leaving only dusty dumbbells and cobweb-strewn cable machines in their wake.
Okay, I’m exaggerating slightly, but you get my point. Just like clockwork, gyms and fitness centers across the world see a surge in numbers in the new year only to see them dwindle back down to normal after a couple of months.
But what if it didn’t have to be that way? What if you could make a simple change to help you hold onto members without resorting to gimmicks or questionable cancellation policies?
Start by prioritizing customer experience.
Perfecting customer service
Gym-goers are often spoilt for choice when it comes to fitness options in their area. When you’re offering the same core service as your competitors, what would make a customer choose you? And most importantly, what will make them continue to choose you even after the novelty has worn off?
97% of consumers say that the interactions they have as part of their customer experience have an impact on their brand loyalty. Essentially, the better the experience, the more likely they are to return again and again.
What makes great customer service in the fitness industry?
So, what are the benchmarks of a service that will keep members turning up day after day, week after week?
- Empathy: 86% of consumers say they’re more likely to build a strong relationship with a brand that shows empathy1, and 74% say that feeling understood is more important than discounts and perks when it comes to brand loyalty1. Making sure your staff understands your members’ values and desires is key.
- Expertise: Whenever you’re paying for a service, you want to know that there are people on hand who know their stuff. Helping staff stay on top of the latest industry trends and best practices can help them build trust with your members.
- Personalization: 80% of consumers say they’re more likely to buy from brands when they offer more personalized experiences1. Creating a culture where staff get to know each member and their goals can help build the 10/10 customer service you’re aiming for.
- Passion: Excitement is contagious. As consumers, we want to interact with brands and people who genuinely love what they do. Getting staff buy-in can go a long way when creating a positive customer experience with every interaction.
Training stand-out customer service
So, unsurprisingly, fantastic customer service starts with your staff. From their passion for all things fitness to their understanding of your members, the skills and knowledge of your frontline staff can make or break your customer retention rates. And the key to creating a culture of stand-out customer service is, without a doubt, effective training.
Make it engaging
If you want to motivate your staff to engage in customer service training, it has to be fun. Game-based training incorporates elements like point-scoring and leaderboards to keep things interesting. Making customer service training engaging also means staff are more likely to repeat it over and over, solidifying their learning and leading to impactful behavior change.
Make it true to life
It should be crystal clear to your staff how their training applies directly to their role. The best way to achieve that is with training that reflects their everyday experiences. By interacting with virtual avatars in immersive simulated environments, staff can see how their responses and decisions impact the level of customer service they’re providing.
Make it bite-sized
Your frontline staff are busy people with a lot to think about. You don’t want them to have to spend huge chunks of time away from their post completing long-winded training courses. By breaking information down into digestible chunks, and optimizing your training for mobile, staff can get into the habit of microlearning on the go. Plus, it makes it easier to refer back to key points when they need a reminder.
Make it personalized
Just as your customers want a personalized experience, so do your staff. Their training should be based on their strengths, challenges, and goals, giving them a bespoke learning pathway based on where they are and what they’re aiming for. Developments in AI-powered platforms with instant feedback and metrics mean that you can give the right people the right training at the right time to create meaningful change.
Some people will join and quit your gym every year without fail despite your best efforts – it’s one of life’s inevitabilities. But for some, the extra special customer service you can provide will keep them coming back until their habit sticks.
Investing in high-quality staff training will give your team the skills and knowledge they need to create the customer-first culture you need.
