The fitness industry is facing a crisis of attrition, with health clubs losing vast numbers of members every year, an expert has warned.
Speaking at a seminar organised by Al Yousuf, the UAE distributor for Cybex fitness equipment, Paul Brown, CEO of Face2Face said that membership cancellations posed a serious threat to revenue and were likely to increase during the downturn unless health clubs made a concerted effort to retain their members.
“42% of people who join a health club quit during the first month,” said Brown. “As an industry, we have to sell seven memberships just to retain at least one member.”
He said that in mature fitness markets such as the US and Australia, where membership is usually billed monthly, losing a member represented a significant financial loss. He also warned that in Middle Eastern markets, where customers usually pay for a year’s membership upfront, health clubs ran the risk of losing their reputation and the ancillary revenue from sales generated by regular attendance.
“Not proving to people that fitness works is hurting our business,” Brown said. He suggested that the current standard system of a one-hour induction was insufficient for ensuring members developed a fitness habit and that health clubs should provide greater intensity of contact with new members during their first few months to raise the chances of retaining their business.
Brown also cited poor customer service and exercise programmes which did not take member needs into account as other motivators for membership cancellation.
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“You need to be as angry about attrition as you are passionate about sales,” said Brown. “A member for life is profitable for life.”
Brown reported that the Face2Face system, the official retention programme of the International Health, Racquet and Sportsclub Association (IHRSA) had already met with great success in Kuwait and he was looking to introduce the concept into the UAE market.
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