An automated follow-up is a pre-written SMS or email that you can send automatically to a lead or existing client to encourage them to take action, whether that’s taking advantage of a free trial, becoming a member, or signing up for a class. In this article, you ‘ll learn how can Gym Owners benefit from automated follow-ups.

“More than 80% of the sales are made between
the 5th and 12th touch”
– Grant Cardone

The value of automating follow-ups does not end there. Once you’ve converted a lead, you’ll want to continue to nurture the relationship, ensuring your new member remains an engaged part of your community while keeping them up to date on your latest service offerings. 

At FLiiP, we’ve worked with many gym owners to help them set up a strategy for automated follow-ups that’s in line with their business goals, and we’ve seen firsthand the difference it can make. 

By using automated follow-ups the right way, you’ll boost conversions, build customer loyalty, generate a feedback loop to improve your services, and collect reviews that will help you to increase the visibility and credibility of your business. 

1. Convert More Leads to Members

The key to implementing a successful follow-up strategy is to act fast, while you’re still fresh in their mind. A one-minute response time can lead to 391% more conversions. This is why automation is so important. 

Follow-ups can take the form of SMS or emails, and ideally you’ll take advantage of both to create a comprehensive follow-up strategy. 

The following are examples of automated follow-ups that you might consider sending to nurture leads as well as existing customers:

• Welcome email: an automated email welcoming new members to your gym. This is a great opportunity to introduce yourself, your staff, and inform them about your services.
• Survey: check in on your lead and see how they are enjoying their experience, specially on the first 90 days of their new journey (On average 50% of new clients are dropping off by the first 90 days of their fitness journey) 
• Weekly emails: plan a series of emails for each week that promotes different aspects of your service offerings.
• End of trial survey: at the end of a trial, if they do not sign up for a membership, this is a good opportunity to send another survey to find out what you could have done better. 
• Reactivation emails: To re-engage inactive customers before it’s too late, for example members who haven’t visited the gym in a while. 

Just because you’re automating your communications, doesn’t mean they should all be identical. As you acquire new leads and members, you should aim to segment the different audiences according to their needs and interests, as well as their stage in the buying cycle.

Doing this will enable you to send more personalized communications, which leads to increased open rates and higher conversions, maximizing your return on investment. The more you can tailor your emails to each individual client, the better. This will help you see success from your automated follow-ups and prevent receivers from feeling like they are being spammed. 

2. Build Customer Relationship 

Don’t spend so much time chasing leads that you forget about your existing clients. Successful gym owners know that acquiring new clients is exciting, but customer retention is the key to building and scaling a business. 

It’s up to five times cheaper to retain your current customers than it is to acquire new ones, and the likelihood of making a sale to an existing customer is 60-70%. Needless to say, building solid relationships with your members is an excellent way to boost your overall revenue and grow your business. 

So, what keeps members happy and coming back?

A lot of this comes down to relationship-building. People can work out anywhere, but offering them a sense of community and belonging keeps them coming back. You want them to feel that they have a unique relationship with you and your staff, and one of the ways you can do this is by sending them personalized follow-up messages tailored to their specific needs, likes, and dislikes. 

3. Use Feedback to Improve Your Customer Experience

Another benefit of automated follow-ups is the opportunity to build a feedback loop between you and your clientele. Feedback from clients can vary widely, but by collecting and analyzing this data it should give you a good idea of what you’re doing right, and where there are improvements to be made.  

This kind of feedback allow you to keep tabs on day-to-day operations at your gym even when you’re not there, giving you a better understanding of the strengths and weaknesses of your customer experience. 

Positive feedback provides you with the reassurance that the efforts you are making to create a positive customer experience are paying off. It can also be very motivating for the rest of your team to receive praise and to know that their work is appreciated, encouraging them to maintain that high standard. 

While no one likes getting negative feedback, it’s bound to happen. When it does, don’t take it personally—embrace it as an opportunity to identify what went wrong and make changes before it has an impact on your customer relationships.

4. Automate Google Reviews to Increase The Visibility of Your Gym

When potential customers are looking for a gym, odds are the first place they will start is by reading reviews. In fact, 63.6% of consumers say they are likely to check Google reviews (through Google Maps and Search) before visiting a business location. 

Improving your SEO is paramount to boosting your online visibility, generate more traffic to your website, and ultimately increase your revenue. While many businesses opt for methods such as blogging and keyword research to improve their ranking, a faster option is by getting as many Google reviews as possible. 

Because people who got great experience often don’t think about leaving a review. Most of the time it’s quite the opposite. Automated follow-ups help you to secure that valuable feedback from clients in a timely manner, while their experience is still fresh in their mind. That’s why we created a feature that automatically redirects your members, who left a 5-stars review in FLiiP, to Google Reviews to spread the word!

How Can a Gym Owner Start Using Automated Follow-Ups?

Automated follow-ups are a key component of your digital marketing strategy, keeping members engaged whether they’re in the gym or not. Focus your attention on building personal relationships with your members and watch your business flourish year after year. 

If you’re ready to see the results automated follow-ups can produce for your gym, we can help. We work with gym owners to create workflows that help them reach their ideal customers. Learn more about automated follow-ups for Gym Owners, book your demo now!