How to create a gym loyalty program?

We understand the urge to build a strong and loyal customer base. If you are struggling to boost customer loyalty and reduce churn rate, we have got your back!

The competition in the fitness industry has been going wild over the past few years. However, the rising competition has increased the customer turnover rate as well, and every other gym owner is suffering from this problem. So, we are here with an ultimate solution: a gym loyalty program.

According to recent studies, the global market size of loyalty management was valued at 6.47 billion USD in 2023 and is expected to reach 28.65 billion USD by 2030, growing at a CAGR of 23.7%. The stats clearly depict that loyalty programs create a visible difference in customer retention rates.

However, creating a gym loyalty program is not a piece of cake. So, if you want to create a loyalty program to enhance your gym business, read on.

What is a gym loyalty program?

A loyalty program is a customer retention strategy in which the members are rewarded for being loyal to your brand. In loyalty programs, the company offers rewards and discounts to its customers for the reward points they gain. Using this strategy, retaining your customers and boosting product sales can be a cakewalk. In addition, the ultimate goal of a loyalty program is to encourage repetitive purchases and strengthen relationships between customers and the organization.

Understanding the significance of loyalty programs for gym business

Retaining your existing gym customers has become a challenge because of the massive competition. That is where the loyalty programs come! The significance of gym loyalty programs can not be overstated. You can boost customer retention rates and brand loyalty with a properly functional loyalty program. 

According to Forbes, 50% of customers join a loyalty program in order to earn rewards points on their everyday purchases. Additionally, 44% of customers claim they are very satisfied with the organization due to its loyalty programs.

Loyalty programs not only help you simplify customer acquisition and retention but also foster brand awareness and loyalty. Simply put, if you promote your loyalty programs efficiently, you can enhance your brand visibility and loyalty immensely. Lastly, good loyalty programs help you increase customer lifetime value.

Tips to create a successful gym loyalty program

Creating a successful gym loyalty program is daunting. For that purpose, it is of utmost importance that you understand your audience and align your loyalty programs with their interests. In addition, it can be a time-consuming and pricy procedure, but the value it brings to your gym business is priceless. So, without more ado, let us explore the viable tips to create a successful loyalty program for your gym:

Identify your objectives

First and foremost, identify your objectives! Without clear goals, you can not measure the success rate of your loyalty program strategy. However, you must ensure that your objectives must be SMART (specific, measurable, attainable, relevant, and time-bound). For instance, if you want to boost customer loyalty, your goal should be increasing customer loyalty by 10% in the next six months.

In addition, you can implement a gym loyalty program for many reasons. For instance, if you want to boost customer retention rates, lower churn rates, reward existing customers, enhance customer acquisition, improve customer lifetime cycle, and boost the brand’s reliability – loyalty programs can help you achieve these goals. So, be certain of what you want out of your loyalty programs.

Do thorough research

Before creating a loyalty program, it is important to do thorough research regarding your competitors. To make your loyalty programs successful, ensure you offer more valuable rewards than your rivals to win the battle. For that purpose, you need to do profound homework to analyze your competitor’s program and ponder how you can make your reward program better.

In addition, research how long it takes to earn the trust and loyalty of your members. For this purpose, you can introduce short-term programs before launching your actual loyalty program. This will help you craft a gym loyalty program that would incredibly benefit your business.

Understand your audience

To create lucrative gym loyalty programs, you need to understand your audience. You can do so by conducting market research in order to collect more detailed data on your target audience. This data may include their social demographics, interests, behaviors, purchase history, and, most significantly, pain points. Additionally, you can collect information via surveys, interviews, focus group discussions, and promotional calls.

By leveraging the information, you can segment your audience into different categories. This will further assist you in creating user personas for each group to tailor your loyalty program strategies. You can also use this information to connect with your audience and personalize your communications to make them feel associated.

Select irresistible rewards

Selecting rewards is the most challenging part, and so you need to be certain that your rewards are irresistible. Furthermore, choose rewards that help you enhance the gym experience. For instance, you can offer a service to which your members are not exposed. This will not only help you offer valuable rewards but also personalize customer experiences, strengthening your relationship and loyalty.

To offer personalized rewards, you need to monitor members’ activities and preferences. For example, if a member buys a protein bar after their workout session, you can add this to their rewards. Additionally, you can introduce two types of rewards, including monetary and non-monetary rewards.

Set clear rules

To run your loyalty programs realistically, rules work as a foundation. So, it is vital to set clear rules before implementing your gym loyalty program. For this purpose, you need to outline your expectations and guidelines clearly. For instance, if you have a policy regarding referral programs, such as the maximum number of referral points a member can earn in a timeframe, be transparent about it. It will help you foster active participation and engagement.

In addition, with clear terms and conditions, you can ensure that your loyalty program will go according to the plan. However, enlisting the required clauses in your T&C policy can be difficult. So, have a look at the following pointers that you can incorporate into your policies:

• Clarify the values of points and rewards
• Eligible purchases that qualify for points
• Specified rules for earning points
• Cancellation and termination conditions
• Dispute resolution

Create promotion strategy

Once you have created your gym loyalty program, now it is time to market it. The success of a loyalty program immensely depends on your promotional strategies. In addition, the right marketing strategies not only help you retain existing customers but also help you make massive sales. That is why you must be very careful while crafting your marketing strategies.

To spread your message to your audience, make sure you choose the right channels to run your promotional campaigns. In addition, make sure you are reaching out to your audience during peak hours. It will help you enhance reach and maximize the productivity of your gym loyalty program.

Make use of technology

To streamline the running of your loyalty program, you need to incorporate gym loyalty program software. Using a loyalty program solution, you can simply automate the administrative tasks of your loyalty program. The best gym software allows you to create personalized reward programs, tracking gym members’ preferences and participation.

In addition, you can leverage the gym loyalty program app to craft custom-branded loyalty cards that can be accessed via mobile devices. It will not only make your reward program successful but also enhance customer experience. 

Track your progress

It is important to track the progress of your gym loyalty program in order to measure success rates. So, to track the progress of your program, check analytics and reporting on the dashboard of your gym loyalty program software. You can do so by monitoring the KPIs that are aligned with the goals of your campaign. It will give you a thorough analysis of whether your current loyalty program is achieving your goals or not.

In addition, you can track your shortcomings by tracking the analytics. If you comprehend that your current loyalty program is not bringing the desired results, you can make adjustments in time. This way, you can make smart and calculated decisions whenever required.

How to promote a gym loyalty program?

The vitality of implementing the right marketing strategies can not be denied. To ensure a successful gym loyalty program, it is important to promote it in the best way possible. So, let’s have a glance at a few promotional strategies that can help you make a gym loyalty program a huge success:

Create captivating content

The best and easiest way to promote your gym loyalty program is to create captivating and compelling content. Make sure your content speaks directly to your audience. For that purpose, create content to which your audience can relate. Incorporate their pain points and the best solutions. Additionally, make sure to post the content at the right time to get maximum reach.

Choose the right channel

It is important to choose the right platform to ensure a successful marketing campaign. According to statistics, 54% of business owners employ cross-promotion strategies to see distinct results. Since this is the era of social media, do not hesitate to reach out to your audience on social media platforms. Similarly, the significance of email marketing can not be denied. So, figure out what works best for you and carry out your promotional campaigns efficiently.

Collaborate with local influencers

Local influencers harness an incredible impact on the relevant audience. So, to make your marketing campaign successful, you can collaborate with local influencers. However, make sure the people you are collaborating with have a huge list of followers to capture potential leads. In addition, ask them to post a video to talk about your brand and give a thorough review to make your loyalty programs lucrative.

Offer time-limited promotions

Last but not least, create a sense of urgency among your audience. For that purpose, you can offer time-limited promotions. Creating a sense of urgency is a useful technique since it builds up FOMO (fear of missing out). So, push the buttons of natural curiosity to make your customers subscribe to your gym loyalty programs.

Closing thoughts

Creating an effective gym loyalty program can be overwhelming; however, it is all worth it. With the right and beneficial customer loyalty programs, you can enhance customer acquisition like never before. That is not all; you can also boost customer retention by building stronger and more loyal relationships. So, understand your audience’s pain points and craft tempting loyalty programs to build a long-lasting customer base.