There’s nothing worse than a gym member approaching the front desk of your fitness center and saying that they’ve decided to cancel their membership. It happens to every gym owner at some point or another, and it happens to some more often than others as well. You’ll always have your flakey gym members, the ones that come for a month and then leave. You really can’t help when they leave; they didn’t plan on staying on the start. However, losing a client who has been with you for a few months always hurts. Was it your service that turned them away? Was it the pricing? Though you might never know exactly what it was, you’ll always wonder. I’m sure it’s safe to say that the majority of your clients aren’t millionaire heirs. However, if you can keep a rich needy client around, you can keep ANY client around. Below are three tips for keeping members from quitting your gym.

Get to Know Your Clients on a Personal Level

If easy to quit a gym when you don’t know any of the employees that work there. It’s much harder to quit when you’re friends with the trainers, the owner, the cleaning staff, etc. That said, make it a point to get to know your members on a personal level. Invite them to membership events (BBQs, sports matches, etc) and get to know them outside of the gym. Having a personal connection with your members will make them more likely to stick around even if they aren’t actively using their membership. However, at the same time, don’t take advantage of the fact that you’re friends. If they still decide to quit your gym, don’t hold it against them. Business is business. Friendship should be more important than your bottom line.

Lower Your Prices for Members Looking to Leave

Many people decide to stop their gym membership because they can no longer afford to the monthly fee. With some monthly gym fees reaching $150/month, it’s not too difficult to understand how this can become a burdensome monthly fee for someone who isn’t making a ton of money. Start offering a “please don’t quit” monthly fee, that is not publicized in your gym marketing. When someone comes to the front desk to cancel, break out the reduced price membership and see if they’re interested. If you’re regularly charging $100/month for membership, think about offering it for $50. You won’t be making as much as you’d like off this member, but $50 a month is still more than the $0 a month you’ll be making if they decide to quit. Make sure the member knows that this is a special offer for ONLY THEM. You don’t want them talking about their reduced price membership with other members, who will become upset because they aren’t getting the same deal.

Add More Services to Cater to Specific Needs

There’s a good chance that you’ll have some members leave because they want more services than your gym offers. Fair enough. Ask them what services they are interested in and then start providing them. Perhaps twice-weekly yoga classes could be added to your scheduling. Maybe a pilate class every now and again. Set up some relationships with local businesses that offer these courses and see if they’d be willing to do a class or two at your gym per week. It’ll give your business more services to offer, and you’ll have more happy members. If your clients are looking for personal trainer services, this can be a GREAT revenue builder for your gym. Personal trainer hourly fees can really boost your bottom line. Looking into contracting some local personal trainers for your business and have them set up a specific schedule for your gym.

Offer a “Please Don’t Quit” Special

Once you’re used all your available skills to keep a client around, there’s always one more tool available in your tool belt, the last-minute discount. If you’re charging your members $100/month for membership and someone comes in to cancel, offer then a 50% discount on the spot. You’re still going to earn money, and you’re not going to lose business. A busy gym attracts more clients than an empty gym, so do you best to keep a client around at any cost.