Fall retention strategies – let’s brainstorm!
In the area where I teach, I’ve noticed a pretty distinct attendance cycle. Jan / Feb the gym is busy and classes are PACKED. March and April, attendance tapers off a bit. May, people come back to get ready for “bikini season” and then through summer attendance ebbs and flows as people vacation. In September, attendance bumps up again when kids go back to school, giving parents more time. October attendance is good. But from Thanksgiving to December, you can hear a pin drop. OK, I exaggerate, but Thanksgiving to the end of the year, class attendance drops big time.
Just curious about others’ strategies for retention during a slower time of year. Now’s the time to be thinking about it, before it dips.
Hi Nancy,
You just perfectly described the typical fitness professional’s calendar & the ebbs & flows – at least for regions that experience seasonal weather. I’m in the Philadelphia area & know all about weather changes. I don’t teach classes (I do in-home training) but I know there are better months than others – I’ve seen this pattern in the gyms & with my own business for over 30 years. I don’t think you can break it – it is what it is. You simply have to capitalize on the active months & survive the lean ones.
Paul Thomas
www.homeworkoutguy.com