May 2018 Newsletter
If like us, you strive to get more people active, there's a busy time ahead. We'll be at Elevate next week, SIBEC at the end of May, and Active Uprising in Manchester in June. Scroll down to read more about what's going on at these events...
But first, we've collaborated with TextAnywhere to bring you a series of articles on the benefits of using text messaging (SMS) in your member communications. In a world of apps and wearables, sometimes the simple stuff can be the most effective...
SMS has the best hit rate
We send a plenty of emails, letters, postcards everyday, but for certain triggers, particularly absentees, we recommend SMS. This is because SMS is more effective at getting absent members to return. (Actually, postcards are most effective, but they are also most costly).
The average open rate for email in the Health & Fitness Industry is just below 20%. We typically achieve more than 50% with clever subject lines and engaging content, but nothing beats the SMS open rate of 98%... within 10 minutes! We know we can get through to members quickly with a critical SMS message, and we see lower unsubscribe rates with SMS too. For every 1,000 messages sent, we see around 4 unsubscribes from email, compared with 2 STOPs from SMS (these are GGFit client stats, not industry averages).
SMS is sometimes considered to be old tech, even though it post-dates email by 20 years, and particularly when clubs these days are being encouraged to use social media and apps, etc. But we have yet to find a club where even half of the members have downloaded the club's app or follow/like its social media channels. Compare this with average mobile opt-in of over 96%, and SMS is really a no-brainer in terms of member contact.
In a world going crazy for apps and social media, SMS simply works, and has a proven return on investment. It’s a key weapon in the health-club retention battle.
Click here to read more of our articles in conjunction with TextAnywhere.
and you can view or download a handy GDPR e-book from TextAnywhere, or read their creative ways to use SMS to gain consent.
Elevate 9-10 May : Excel London
The Elevate Arena of Physical Activity, Health and Performance has quickly established itself as the go-to conference and exhibition for the UK Fitness Industry. Let us know if you're going and would like to meet up for a coffee by tweeting @GGFit or contacting info@ggfit.com.
The conference sessions look really interesting this year, with the "Business of Physical Activity" stream sponsored by eGym, and a highly recommended session on "Using Data Effectively" at 3pm on Thursday, featuring Kerstin from eGym, Utku from DataHub, Jon from the Leisure Marketing Forum, and chaired by Guy Griffiths.
Click the image above to book your tickets.
If you would like advice or help to improve member retention at your club, please contact us.
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