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The leaving process: This is not goodbye
Why are gyms making such a mess of the leaving process, and how can they do better? Kate Cracknell asks the experts
Whether handcuffed by a contract and not allowed to leave, or at the opposite end of the scale being allowed to quit without staff so much as batting an eyelid, sadly few members would score their gym (or, rather, ex-gym) particularly highly when it comes to its handling of the leaving process.
Further light was shed on this issue in recent research commissioned by Health Club Management. Conducted by Leisure-net Solutions, the qualitative study found that clubs routinely failed to try and rectify the situation when members decided to leave; if they did anything, they put obstacles in the way rather than trying to understand individual needs and encourage people to stay (see HCM Jan 14, p62). Research carried out by Dr Paul Bedford also highlighted a broad sense of apathy on the part of operators, with members feeling their gym didn’t care if they stayed or left (see HCM March 14, p52).
Bedford’s research also looked at why members decided to leave in the first place. This is vital information according to Bård Windingstad of Evo Fitness in Scandinavia, who takes a more rounded overview of the ‘leaving process’. He believes retention has to start the moment members join, to hopefully avoid a leaving day altogether, but that if a member does decide to leave, you have to let them – making sure you find out why they’re going, so you know if/how to try and win them back.
So what can operators do to better manage the three key phases of the leaving process: before one of their members decides to leave and while they’re wavering, the event of leaving itself, and the weeks and months afterwards? We ask the experts.
Jeremy McCarthy,
Group director of spa,
Mandarin Oriental Hotel Group – and author of Psychology of Spas & Wellbeing
Research shows that people’s memories of an experience are heavily influenced by two things: firstly, the peak moments of the experience – ie the best and the worst parts – and secondly, how the experience ends.
We never want to see a member leave, but when they do, we hope they’ll leave with good memories of their experience with us and remain a club ambassador.
To facilitate this, it’s important that the membership ends on a high note. There are many ways to achieve this, but one way would be a personal dialogue with the manager. The manager can let the member know how much they have appreciated their membership and, if they are leaving to join another gym, congratulate them on continuing with their personal fitness goals.
During this ‘exit interview’, many gyms will focus on what went wrong. For example, they might ask: “Why did you decide to leave us?” or “What could we have done better?” While this kind of information can be valuable, it can also serve to reinforce the member’s memories of what they don’t like about you.
I suggest using your last precious minutes with a departing member to focus on what went well. Ask them to tell you what they most enjoyed about the gym, and what aspects they will miss the most. The last thing you get them to talk about as they are leaving will likely be the first thing they will tell someone else.
Melvyn Hillsdon,
Associate professor of physical activity and population health,
Exeter University, UK
The decision by a member to initiate the termination of their membership could be seen as a small window of opportunity for the operator. Encourage them to reflect on the benefits they glean from membership and assess their motivation to continue to exercise, with the express aim of trying to get them to talk themselves into continuing their membership.
A three-minute intervention may save a small number of memberships, and even those for whom it’s too late will leave feeling more positive about the club, and speaking favourably about it to friends.
So what should the intervention look like? Based on the principles of motivational interviewing, it might go something like this:
“First of all, I’m sorry to hear you’re thinking of leaving us. Would you mind if I spent just a couple of minutes to understand how you arrived at your decision? Could we start by you telling me some of the good things for you about being a member of the club?” Then just listen and summarise.
Next: “And right now, what are the three most important reasons for you to continue with exercise?” Again, listen and summarise.
“What could we do as a club to help you continue to exercise?” Just listen. Then offer them a reason why they might stay, without telling them they should. An example might be: “A number of members in your situation have found that a few sessions of PT remotivates them to get back into the exercise habit. I could offer you some free sessions if you wanted to stay for a while longer.”
This process shows you’re interested in their views, gets them to talk out loud about why your club/exercise is good for them, and gives them a reason to give you a second chance.
Bård Windingstad,
Evo Fitness, Scandinavia
Our philosophy is that you have to start the retention process as soon as a member joins your club. It’s about managing expectations from the outset and helping every member work out a bit better; too many people do workouts that will never bring them any progress.
When a member has decided to leave, it’s too late to change their mind. If you try – if you complicate the leaving process – you’ll just annoy them. We make it easy to leave and to rejoin: you can cancel your membership online with the click of a button, and it will expire at the end of that month.
People seldom leave saying “I’m never going to work out again as long as I live”. By making it simple to leave, there are no bad feelings and they’re happy to rejoin at a later date. Indeed, at some of our clubs that have been open for more than three years, approximately 15 per cent of current members are members for the second, third or fourth time.
When a member leaves Evo Fitness, they have to answer two questions. Firstly, ‘why are you leaving?’ – some of the multiple choice answers are things we can help with, such as not reaching their goals. Where appropriate, we follow up with communications after they’ve left. The second asks them to rate Evo Fitness on a scale of one (lowest) to six (highest): 85 per cent of leavers rate us four or above. So we’re not offering a bad service – they’re just leaving to do something else.
For example, we see patterns emerging whereby people join in September and leave in March every year – because they’re leaving to do outdoor activities in the summer. I see those as loyal members, and we wouldn’t want to make things hard for them to come and go.
Guy Griffiths,
Director,
GG Fit, UK
If you want to stop members leaving, there are lots of lessons from other industries. Take a look at the rapidly diversifying TV subscription sector, offering different packages, payment holidays or discounts, and ‘value-add’ (tie-in) services such as on-demand. With consumers’ disposable income limited, people are having to choose between keeping their Sky subscription or their gym membership – and all too often, gym membership emerges the loser.
Once a member has decided to leave, there’s often little you can do to change their mind, so the best option is to make it relatively easy. You have two priorities: to find out why they’re leaving, and then to stay in touch with them. A leaver’s form or survey can formalise the process, whether it’s completed face-to-face or online.
You can tailor follow-up messages based on responses; we always suggest asking similar questions again after a month, as responses could change once they’ve left. Ask if they’re interested in future offers: if they say yes, treat them as an ex-member-prospect, otherwise treat them as an ex-member.
Thereafter, don’t be afraid to communicate regularly with ex-members. You should value their opinions almost as much as your members’, so ask them for feedback on new initiatives and find out what they’re up to now. Ask why they joined in the first place, rather than why they left. We recommend a quick quarterly survey with a reward for those who complete it.
Paul Bedford,
Director,
Retention Guru, UK
When members state their intention to leave, the response from their club is likely to fall into one of four categories: no reaction, disappointment, criticism/cynicism, and antagonism.
No reaction means no formal or informal response. It’s a non-event. The club processes the request, but makes no attempt to identify why the member is leaving. Where members are leaving because of poor service, lack of results or for other negative reasons, a non-response causes them to feel abandoned, as if no-one cared. This leads to increased displeasure and a form of buyer’s remorse.
Criticism/cynicism most often occurs with reception staff. The member expresses a desire to quit and the staff member responds with derision or an aggrieved tone that they have to do something for this process to happen. This can create a hostile experience.
Antagonism is a progression of criticism/cynicism and is often accompanied with a confrontational: “Why do you want to leave?” Members are usually introduced to a number of barriers (including financial), creating a sense that the club will squeeze every last penny from them because they want to leave.
Clubs responding with disappointment are perceived to at least care. Allowing those who have completed their contractual period to go with good grace – with the club expressing a sense of disappointment – creates a break-up that has a possibility of reconciliation at a later date.
