Daily Update
If your gym bills on the first of the month, today is when the rubber meets the road. Will your clients continue to value your coaching outside your facility walls? Will you be able to pivot to online delivery for at least the next 90 days? Will you want to? And what if you get COVID—are you covered?
Today’s Tactic
We’ve been collecting data on gym retention, adherence and delivery for years. When the first gyms faced closure in China a few weeks ago, we were able to quickly identify what worked (and what didn’t). That data helped over 800 gyms in the Two-Brain family retain their clients (still over 90 percent retention), and it helped hundreds of others who followed along. As our attention now pivots to online retention, here’s what we know for sure. Use the info below to improve the services you’re delivering or to create new services you can sell.
1. Clients require more frequent individual touch points online. You don’t have to deliver sessions 1:1, but a two- or three-minute customization is required for long-term retention.
2. Zoom classes are popular at first, but then interest wanes. This effect is less pronounced in bootcamp-style classes (lower skill) and kids classes (retention for kids is actually higher in group than in 1:1 training).
3. Regular check-ins help with group retention (contacts outside classes).
4. Challenges boost adherence. If you don’t have another idea, try CrossFit Inc.’s online competition.
5. Given an online option, about 20 percent of clients will reconsider cancellations and return.
6. The average gym gains between three and four online clients just through organic Facebook posts about online coaching. We just released a 30-day done-for-you social media campaign to our clients (you can find it in Milestone 3 of the new Online Coaching Course).
7. Facebook ad costs are at 2015 levels. Some gyms are starting to get their ads dialed in.
8. Workout programming is less valuable than ever. Habit building, daily accountability and nutrition are the cornerstones of online delivery, according to coaches who have been successful for more than three years. Read more (and get a couple of templates) here.
Key Resources
Chris Cooper: “Coronavirus: What to Do if You Get It”
The Two-Brain Business COVID resources page is updated regularly with new info.
Click here to visit and bookmark the page.
