DR JOHN MORGAN

PHOTO: WWW.SHUTTERSTOCK.COM
About TRP 10,000
onducted in partnership
C with The Retention People,
TRP 10,000 is the biggest and
most comprehensive survey of
member behaviour ever carried
out in the health and fitness
industry: 10,000 health and fitness
members completed a baseline
survey of their exercise habits and
membership behaviour between
July and September 2013. During
regular intervals over the coming
years, they will be followed up to
measure changes to their habits
and membership behaviour.
The respondent profi le was:
Average age 41 (16 to 85 years)
56 per cent female
Half of members had been
a member for at least 12
months, 25 per cent less than
six months and 25 per cent
more than three years
First ever club for 25 per cent
24 per cent had been a member
of the current club before
67 per cent of members used
their club less than twice a week
e already know that
members’ progress
towards their goals is an
W important determinant
of retention (see part three of this
series, HCM July 14, p48). For each goal
that members reported making progress
on, their risk of cancelling in the next
month fell by approximately 10 per cent.
We’ve also highlighted the benefi cial
effects of fi tness staff interaction on
membership retention (see HCM
Sept 14, p42): even when members
experience hassles in their clubs that
increase the risk of them cancelling,
the risk can be reduced if fi tness staff
regularly talk to members.
In this month’s article, we’ll look
at the combination of fi tness staff
interaction, member progress and
subsequent retention.
Data and analysis
Members were asked how much
progress they had made in the last
three months against a list of 10
possible goals, including losing weight,
feeling fitter and making new friends.
The number of goals members said
they had progressed on were summed
to make a score between 0 and 10.
Research shows a link
between frequent staff
interaction and making
friends at the club
“Fewer than one in 10
members who report
no staff interaction
say they have made a
lot of progress, versus
more than half of
those who are spoken
to on each visit”
The scores were then classifi ed as
high or low progress, with the high
category representing the top 25 per
cent of members’ scores.
Members were also asked how
frequently fi tness staff spoke to them
by ticking one box: always, frequently,
occasionally, or never.
Member-staff interaction
So how often do staff speak to members,
and who do they speak to most
Figure 1 (see p56) shows that, overall,
over a quarter of members say fi tness
staff never speak to them, and over 60
per cent say they speak to them less
than frequently. Females are more likely
to be spoken to than males.
November/December 2014 © Cybertrek 2014 Read Health Club Management online at healthclubmanagement.co.uk/digital 55