461: Fitness Studio Member Retention: The 3 Part Community Framework

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Gym member retention at 3% monthly churn: Dave Rafuse of Blended Athletics shares the community framework behind it.

Most gyms lose about 10 to 12% of their membership every month. Dave's gym has held a 3% monthly average. The idea started with his grandfather's rule: do what's right for the customer and the money will come. Dave asked what happens when the best thing for the member is also the best thing for the business.

His answer is that community is a retention system, and it should never be left to chance. After 13 years of running Blended with his wife Kimberly, the members who stayed the longest were the ones who found their people. At GSDCon, Dave breaks down the three part framework: welcome first, connect daily, and run events always. He also shows the coach scoreboard that turns engagement into a number.

This is how to keep gym members on purpose instead of by luck. If you are working on gym member retention, this talk gives you a framework and a test you can run this week.

In this episode you'll learn: — Why Dave says community is a retention system and should never be left to chance — Why great coaches, a great gym, and results are only the barrier to entry — The three part framework: welcome first, connect daily, events always — A quick test: of your last ten members, how many have someone they would call a friend — Why technology should be the bridge to an in person relationship, never the behavior itself — Why 100 of 300 members at an event is the wrong scoreboard — A weightlifting meet built on a $30 ticket, a t-shirt for every athlete, and 150 burgers — A track meet with 14 run clubs and 250 people, and the finish line moment nobody planned — A breakfast burner that costs a coffee and 10 to 15 minutes after a Tuesday workout — How to design the space for moments you cannot create — The coach engagement scoreboard that moved one coach from second last to fourth of 20 some coaches in one month

If your members are leaving faster than you would like, this talk shows you where to start.

Timestamps: 0:00 Why gyms lose 10 to 12% of members every month 1:03 The story about his grandfather 2:26 The question Blended started asking 2:58 What 13 years taught them: people stay for their people 4:41 The three part framework 5:28 Connecting daily 7:17 Technology as the bridge, not the behavior 8:14 Events always: relationship accelerators 8:31 The wrong scoreboard: 100 of 300 members 10:48 Event example: the weightlifting meet 12:18 Event example: the track meet 14:35 The simple version: the breakfast burner 16:01 Good intentions do not scale, only systems do 17:19 The coach engagement scoreboard 20:12 The tool built to support it 23:04 Do what's right for the member

Connect with Dave Rafuse, Blended Athletics: Email: [email protected]

Train With Us: https://trainwithus.app/

100K Plan: https://100kplan.com Behind Gym Doors Podcast Playlist: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLnwaMl7Us7dAkfE6idQW56EYkEEQ2E5eE

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Dave built retention into Blended on purpose, and he walks through every piece of it. The plan behind how GSD Gyms helps studios grow to $100K a month and beyond is right here.

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