New member recruitment may get the lion’s share of attention from fitness center owners, but another “R” word is equally important when it comes to keeping your doors open: retention. 

While many factors impact member engagement, one strategy makes particularly smart sense in the era of the connected consumer. We’re talking about personalization. Here’s a closer look at how focusing on personal achievement can help support fitness center retention. 

Beyond  S.M.A.R.T.

You may already be familiar with the S.M.A.R.T. concept. Recommended by experts across many aspects of life, this system identifies six attributes which increase the chances that a goal will be achieved, including the following:

• Specific

Defining goals as specifically as possible is an important part of positioning yourself to achieve them. Whether you’re shooting to lose 10 percent of your starting weight or aiming to work out four days a week for 45 minutes, the more specific you are, the more likely you are to follow through.

• Measurable

What good is working toward a goal if you can’t measure your progress? Measurability is essential to helping your members understand where they’re meeting their progress objectives and where they’re falling short.

• Achievable

It’s not enough to set specific and measurable goals, members should also make sure they’re achievable. The simplest way to do this? Plan out the details. What steps will you take to get from here to there? 

• Realistic

At the end of the day, goal setting isn’t about “thinking big,” but rather about attainability. Impossible goals have been the downfall of many a gym member. Everyone has lofty aspirations, but keeping your feet on the ground is the best pathway to success.

• Timed

Open-ended goals are a recipe for failure. Why? Because they inherently let would-be goal setters off the hook. Conversely, picking a specific, measurable, achievable and realistic timeline is the best way to not only stay accountable but also to keep moving forward. 

But is S.M.A.R.T. still enough when it comes to satisfying your members in the era of the 21st century instant gratification-minded consumer? We propose that it may be time to introduce another letter to the acronym. That letter is “Y” and it stands for “You.”

Introducing S.M.A.R.T.Y.

The concept of “Youtility” was first introduced by marketing expert Jay Baer in his book, Youtility: Why Smart Marketing is About Help Not Hype. Its general premise? That marketing isn’t about selling, but instead about being “truly, inherently useful.”  And we can think of no better example of the value of acknowledging “Youtility” than the fitness industry.

No two fitness center members are exactly alike. Except, perhaps, in one major way: They all have at least one reason for joining a fitness center. When members become non-members, meanwhile, they also have something in common: They’ve likely lost sight of the reason that inspired them to sign up for a membership in the first place.

 Human relationships are a big piece of the member retention puzzle. Recommends Club Industry, “Make it personal. Have one-on-ones with new members to ensure that their needs are being met and to follow up on their experiences at your gym. This tactic is a personal way to touch your customers and let them know that you’re paying attention to them.”

However, recent advancements in fitness center technology change the game in terms of how fitness centers can further engage members by highlighting their personal achievements. Enter Accurofit. 

Accurofit’s innovative, next-level technology helps fitness centers keep member goals at the forefront. The side benefit for your fitness business? You position yourself as an invaluable resource for personal achievement. From heart rate monitoring and weight and body fat scales to body composition analyzers and blood pressure monitoring, Accurofit products may be the missing link -- not just when it comes to connecting members to their fitness data in real time via their smart devices, but also when it comes to keeping members connected with your fitness facility. 

Enticing people to join your gym is important. But why leave them hanging once they're there when you can offer meaningful insights into their progress by helping them track their fitness goals? In doing so, you'll cultivate an environment of “smart” fitness which delivers a smarter-than-ever workout aimed at maximizing personal achievement...and member retention. Download the Catalog today to learn more about Accurofit's next-level fitness center solutions.