So you are a gym owner and you are wondering how to keep your clients for a long time? Perhaps you’ve heard about loyalty programs but don’t know where to start?
Or you don’t know what it is at all? This is a great tool to boost the retention rate gym membership retention, of your gym. You can’t ignore it!
Check out our article on how to implement loyalty programs step by step. Make your members happy and create a long member engagement with our tips!
Key Takeaways
- Fitness loyalty program is an idea to grow member retention.
- A loyalty program involves rewarding the client for long-term cooperation.
- Keeping the members engaged by accumulating points that can be exchanged for valuable freebies, handing out prizes, announcing winners' lists on gym social media - these are all ideas for a loyalty program.
- To make it easier, implement a gym software with useful features like gym member management software.
What Is a Gym Loyalty Program and Why Is It Helpful?
A fitness loyalty program is a rewards system designed to encourage gym members to stay engaged and committed. Member loyalty can be reached thanks to offering incentives for regular attendance, class participation, purchases, and referrals.
Gym owners can give away points or rewards for specific actions, which can be redeemed for perks like free classes, discounts, merchandise, or exclusive experiences.
Creating a loyalty program is a great way to increase gym member retention, boost engagement, and attract new clients.
11 Steps to Create a Successful Gym Loyalty Program
By following these steps, you can create a gym loyalty program that keeps your members motivated, increases engagement, and builds a sense of community at your gym.
Step 1. Define Program Objectives
- Member Retention & Engagement: Retain current members by incentivizing regular attendance.
- Referrals: Encourage members to refer friends, helping you acquire new clients.
- Upselling: Promote additional services like personal training, classes, or merchandise.
Step 2. Identify Target Audience
- Current Members: In your loyalty program focus on those who regularly use your services.
- New Members: Attract new sign-ups with an appealing rewards structure.
- Lapsed Members: Offer re-engagement rewards for members who haven’t visited in a while.
Step 3. Choose the Loyalty Program Structure
- Points-Based System: Members earn points for actions such as attending workouts, booking classes, or making purchases. Points can be redeemed for rewards.
- Tiered Membership: Higher rewards for members with more visits or purchases (e.g., Bronze, Silver, Gold tiers).
- Challenges and Streaks: Reward members for attending the gym a certain number of days in a row or completing a fitness challenge.
- Referral-Based System: Members earn rewards for referring new clients.
Step 4. Decide on Earning Actions
Common actions to reward include:
- Gym Check-ins: Reward points for attending workouts.
- Class Attendance: Give points for participating in group classes.
- Membership Duration: Reward loyalty based on the length of time as a member.
- Purchases: Points for buying products or services like supplements or personal training.
- Social Media Engagement: Incentivize members to post about your gym online, tag your location, or share workouts.
Step 5. Select Rewards to Retain Gym Members
Rewards should be meaningful to members. Examples include:
- Free Classes or Personal Training: Offer a free session after earning a certain number of points.
- Gym Merchandise: Branded apparel, gym bags, or water bottles.
- Discounts: Offer discounts on membership renewal, class packs, or other services.
- Guest Passes: Free or discounted passes for friends.
- Exclusive Experiences: Access to members-only events, challenges, or advanced equipment.
Step 6. Set Up Technology to Track Points
- Gym Management Software: Use software that can track attendance, purchases, and other activities. One of the most recommended options on the market is WodGuru with its reasonable price and many useful features:
- Varied payment options thanks to gym payment software
- Gym member management system
- Gym CRM module
- Gym integration with a website, mobile app and showing your logo to the members and potential clients
- Gym marketing software to increase membership sales
- Gym POS (point of sale)
- Gym staff management software
- Gym Membership App: Develop a mobile app or integrate with existing apps so members can easily view points and redeem rewards.
- Barcode/QR Code System: Use a gym check-in system that scans at the entrance to automatically reward points.
Step 7. Promote the Loyalty Program
- Launch Event: Host special gym events introducing the program to members.
- Email Campaign: Send out a gym newsletter explaining how the program works, what the rewards are, and how members can start earning points.
- Social Media: Promote the program through Instagram, Facebook, and other platforms.
- In-Gym Posters & Flyers: Place visual reminders around the gym explaining the benefits and encouraging sign-ups.
Step 8. Incentivize Early Adoption
- Signup Bonus: Increase new member satisfaction by offering bonus points or rewards for signing up in the first month.
- First-Time Challenge: Create a special challenge (e.g., attend 5 classes in the first month) to encourage initial engagement of the new customers.
Step 9. Monitor and Optimize the Loyalty Program
- Track Results: Use gym reporting to track participation, popular rewards, and member feedback.
- Adjust Rewards & Points: Periodically review and tweak the rewards and how points are earned to keep members engaged.
- Solicit Feedback: Ask members how the program could be improved and if they are motivated by the rewards. Read more about the questions to ask gym members in a survey.
Step 10. Introduce Seasonal or Limited-Time Offers in the Fitness Industry
Keep the program fresh by offering limited-time rewards, such as extra points during holidays or special events. It is one of the methods to gain higher customer retention.
Step 11. Recognize and Celebrate Achievements
Celebrate loyal members by publicly recognizing milestones, like 100 visits or 5 years of membership, through gym social media or in-gym announcements.
BONUS: 20+ Gym Loyalty Program Ideas
These loyalty program ideas keep gym members motivated and engaged while offering fun, valuable rewards.
- Check-in Points: Earn points for each gym visit.
- Class Attendance Rewards: Extra points for attending group classes.
- Personal Training Discounts: Redeem points for discounted personal training sessions.
- Refer-a-Friend Bonus: Earn rewards for bringing in new members.
- Social Media Check-ins: Points for tagging the gym on social media.
- Anniversary Rewards: Celebrate membership milestones with exclusive gifts.
- Challenge Participation: Join fitness challenges and earn bonus points.
- Free Guest Passes: Redeem points for free passes for friends.
- Early Access to Events: Loyalty members get first dibs on exclusive gym events or classes.
- Free Merchandise: Earn branded gym gear like T-shirts or water bottles.
- Birthday Perks: Special reward on the member’s birthday, such as free smoothies or classes.
- Workout Streaks: Bonus points for consecutive days of attendance.
- Progress Rewards: Achieve fitness goals and get special recognition or rewards.
- Class Package Discounts: Earn discounts on class packs for regular attendance.
- Nutritional Consultations: Redeem points for free or discounted consultations.
- Priority Class Booking: Higher-tier members can book popular classes in advance.
- Exclusive Member-Only Classes: Access to special, invite-only fitness sessions.
- Spa or Massage Perks: Points can be redeemed for wellness services like massages or sauna sessions.
- Seasonal Challenges: Special point multipliers during holiday or seasonal events.
- Leaderboard Recognition: Feature top loyal members on a digital board or social media.
- Bring a Friend Day: Loyal members can bring friends to the gym for free on certain days.
- Free Smoothies or Snacks: Points redeemed at the gym’s cafe for free post-workout refreshments.
- Exclusive Online Content: Access to members-only workout videos or meal plans.
- Discounted Membership Renewal: Offer lower renewal rates for long-term loyalty.
- Fitness Tracker Sync: Sync with fitness trackers and reward members for meeting activity goals outside the gym.
FAQ
Yes, they do. A loyalty program in the fitness industry is as valuable as in any other branch. The idea of gym loyalty programs is to create and keep member engagement. Existing members thanks to their gym loyalty can get interesting rewards and increase the member satisfaction during their fitness journey. What can be rewarded in a point system is, for example, high gym attendance.
There are many ideas for … in a gym or fitness studio. Some of them are: rewarding for member feedback, membership discounts for loyal customers, referral program, gifts for high paying customers, free fitness events for existing members, etc.
A gym membership is a subscription that provides access to a gym’s facilities and services, often for a recurring fee. A gym loyalty program, on the other hand, is a rewards system that offers incentives, such as points or perks, for regular attendance, referrals, or purchases, encouraging long-term engagement and retention. The key difference is that membership grants access, while a loyalty program rewards member loyalty (consistent usage or specific actions).
