Politicians who are trying to get elected talk about what they’re going to do.
Politicians who are trying to STAY in power talk about what they’ve DONE. Over and over again.
I don’t want to be a politician. But I want to be really good at keeping people engaged long-term. SO here’s the strategy:
Constantly reinforce the value of your service by reminding clients what they get with their membership.
For example: “Strength workout AND aerobic workout today, built into a full hour of coaching!”
(It seems obvious, doesn’t it? But your clients need to be reminded that they’re paying for coaching, not access.)
Another example: “We’ve programmed an easier day for tomorrow, because we want to optimize your recovery time!”
(Remind your clients that you have a long-term plan for their success–you’re not just randomly choosing workouts online, which they could do themselves.)
Too often, we aim our sales and marketing messages at NON-clients, and forget to remind our current clients why they love our service.
Simple, right? So why doesn’t anyone do it except politicians?
A few reasons:
- We believe the value of our service is obvious (it’s not)
- We believe our clients know all the benefits they get from us (they don’t)
- We believe people make decisions and stick to them forever (uh, no.)
- Novelty bias: over time, things that once excited us become normalized.
I’m as guilty as anyone.
I only remind them of gym upgrades before I’m about to raise rates.
I only say “I care about you” when I’m about to make a change they might not like.
I only buy new equipment when I feel like I HAVE to.
Here’s the strategy many TwoBrain gyms are now often using:
Monday – reminder message to current clients
Tuesday – benefits-based message to future clients
Wednesday – client story
Thursday – love letter
Friday – bright spots.
Why does your wife need to hear, “I love you” every day? Because we all need reinforcement in our decisions. Our members need to hear how you’re helping them all the time, or they’ll start looking for something new.
