Cracking The Retention Code: The Customer Triad: Recruitment, Retention, Referrals by Bob Esquerre. MA, NSCA-CPT

Article Objective: This brief “Business Strategy Think Piece” is (1) designed to address a solvable problem that has been plaguing our Sector for decades: Retention! and (2) to present to our Readers 19 Strategic Concepts that should be considered, as a minimum, that can be used to address our Sector’s Retention Challenges. We agree that there are no absolutes. However, doing nothing is NOT an option.

There are organizations in our Sector that really do a great retention job. KUDOS to Them! However, their success is the exception as opposed to being the rule.

We still have too many organizations that have the following challenges: (1) We have Sales Teams that still follow the traditional “toxic” sales-at-all-cost process where the Sales Team "over promises and underdelivers" just to get that sale.

(2) We have Sales Teams that tend to focus on price-based thinking as opposed to focusing on value (probably because the organization doesn’t really have a value proposition). They focus on Price and not the Value of the Organizational Experience (CX).

(3) Organizations do not have a Customer Testimonial Program that can be used to support a relationship building sales process. (See Nikki Rausch’s Relationship Selling Model).

(4) Employee compensation is probably not tied to Retention KPIs.

(5) Organizations do not see a financial correlation between recruitment, retention & referrals. Customer Lifetime Value (CLV) Concept is never a consideration. The long-term view is sacrificed for the short term gains.

(6) Organizations do not understand or appreciate the relationship building skill sets of highly trained Fitness Professionals who are both entrepreneurial & customer-centric in their program delivery focus.

(7) Organizationally, each department is totally focused on their own KPIs as opposed to being focused on the Customer Experience (CX). Each Department is a "Silo" onto themselves.

(8). Organizations do not have a “sense-of-community” with a culture that is inviting, engaging or is seen as being supportive of their customers.

(9) Organizations do not have an omnichannel marketing campaign that explains the values that the Organization can deliver to their target audiences. ?

(10) Organizations do not have a new customer Onboarding Process that is designed to successfully integrate these customers into the programming options that will address their goals and objectives.

(11) Organizations are not utilizing technology options to manage and support their operations, their customer experiences or their retention process.

Meet Our Proposed Strategic Concepts These recommendations are not all inclusive. As the Readers reviews each item, please consider how each concept can impact your 3 Rs, as a minimum: Recruitment, Retention & Referrals.

Strategic Concept #1: Identify how much income your organization is losing because of your current customer attrition rate. This should include, as a minimum, lost membership dues from our “dropouts”; missed Upselling & Cross Selling opportunities from these same “dropouts”; lost income from customer referrals and potential new membership revenue losses because of reputation damage caused by our dropouts.

Strategic Concept #2: Create an Interdepartmental Action Plan that is designed to solve your operational inefficiencies that impact your 3 Rs.

Strategic Concept #3: Strategic Concept #3: Create a Organizational Team consensus that there is a correlation between Customer Recruitment, Retention & Referrals (The Customer TRIAD Concept).

Strategic Concept #4: Identify &/or clarify your organization’s Target Market (aka Your Customer Avatar). Once our Target Market is identified, then we can build a community, with associated programming, that can be delivered & managed by entrepreneurial & customer-centric Fitness Professionals.

Strategic Concept #5: Identify &/or clarify your organization’s value propositions that support your Target Market.

Strategic Concept #6: Assign a Project Manager who will be held accountable to successfully manage & complete this Project. The members of this Project Team will have representatives from each department.

Strategic Concept #7: Create a Team consensus that all employees & all customers are business assets. This means that employee success is tied to customer success.

Strategic Concept #8: Create an all-employee compensation plan that includes a “Customer Retention Bonus”. OK...I can hear some Readers say "....But Bob, this is going to cost too much money"! My response "....Yes it will cost the Organization.....but how much money is the Organization losing by "not" addressing this problem? That's why Strategic Concept #1 is listed.

Strategic Concept #9: Create a Team consensus that Retention is a proactive operation as opposed to being a reactive response after we receive a cancellation notice.

Strategic Concept #10: Create a Team consensus that the Selling Process isn’t about the “One-off Sale”, but it’s about the long-term value associated with establishing a dynamic relationship with every customer. Our objective at the Front-End of the House is to identify customer specific problems, issues & challenges so that we can identify and deliver the appropriate flexible customer centric programming solutions to each customer. See GRAPHIC # 6. (A + B > C)

Strategic Concept #11: Create & manage a Community Outreach & Social Media Campaign that (1) is targeted to your Customer Avatar and (2) contains your customer-centric value propositions. Content input will be generated by members of the Onboarding Team who create, deliver & manage your customer experiences. This also includes the organization's FitPros who are assigned to the Onboarding Process.

Strategic Concept #12: Identify &/or clarify whether your current programming options support and/or reflects your value propositions.

Strategic Concept #13: Create and manage an Omnichannel Business Services Profile that includes both flexible programming & flexible pricing options that can “meet-the-customers-where-they-are-at”. These programming options can be delivered either “Live” or “Virtual”.

Strategic Concept #14: Identify &/or clarify whether an appropriate Staff Training Program exists that supports your organization’s value propositions.

Strategic Concept #15: Identify &/or clarify whether your Fitness Professionals are trained to deliver customer-centric programs that reflect your value propositions. SEE GRAPHIC #7

Strategic Concept #16: After proper staff training, create & manage a New Customer Onboarding Process that is customer centric.

Strategic Concept #17: After proper staff training, incorporate our Fitness Team Staff into your Onboarding Process. Their role as Customer-Centric Coaches will be added to their Job Descriptions. These FitPro Coaches will be Hybrid FitPros who have the “blended” skill sets of our best GroupEx Instructors & best Personal Trainers.

Their assignment is to (1) develop customer-centric programming roadmaps for each new customer and (2) to create, deliver & manage customer experiences that can resonate for both new and current customers.

Strategic Concept #18: Create & manage a Customer Testimonial Program that can be (1) used in your Omnichannel Marketing Campaigns and can (2) be used by your Sales Teams in their relationship building processes.

Strategic Concept #19: Utilize technology options to (1) manage the customer experiences, (2) to reduce &/or eliminate operational inefficiencies and (3) support the overall Customer TRIAD Concept.

Conclusion

I’d like to finish this brief “Think Piece” by asking 1 question to 2 different Groups of Readers:

Reader Group #1 (Those Folks That Have Solved their Retention Problem): Did you think I left anything out that you have successfully identified and implemented within your organizations?

Reader Group #2 (Those Folks Who Are Having Retention Challenges): Do you think that these suggestions or considerations are off-the-wall? And if so, what would you suggest is a more appropriate solution for your Retention Challenges within your Organizations?

Please, give us any feedback that has worked for your organization in addressing our Retention Challenges.

Bob Esquerre, MA, NSCA-CPT: Health & Fitness Sector Business Operations Analyst, Coach, Educator, Author, Hybrid FitPro.