The Client Journey is what we call a customers experience with our gyms. All the way from the very first time they get in contact with us to when they start training with us and then the rest of their time spent with us.
How easy is it for a client to know how to get in contact with you? What happens after they have contacted you? How have you planned their first meeting with one of your staff? What does the onboarding process look for a new member? Do you offer the same client journey for everyone or could it be different based on the individual?
Spending time on designing the Client Journey is one of the most crucial things you can do if you want to build a solid business and offer the best possible service for your clients.
What is the key for motivation for instance? If we know that you need to experience success to get motivated then we can create a first encounter where we talk a lot about things our client is already doing well, in Two Brain Business we call this Bright Spots. We can also design a first training experience with lots of success so a new client will feel motivated for more.
The most important thing you can take away from this article is that you CAN and SHOULD control your client journey.
In our gyms, we believe that the best possible introduction to a new training program is done by one on one training. Therefore, every new client who wants to start doing CrossFit have to meet a coach at least 4 sessions the first month and at least 4 sessions in month 2 and 3. We have a few reasons for doing it like this;
- We truly believe we are giving them the best service we have, we help them the most by doing it like this
- We make sure that new clients get many “touching points” with us, and in particular with a specific person. We don´t lose sight of them you could say
- Adding personal training for everyone is a great way of increasing ARM (Average Revenue per Member) and also giving the coaches more income
Once every month, the coach sits down with the client for a check in/goal review to talk about their journey so far. We get feedback on how they like us and our services. We ask them what achievements they are most proud of so far (bright spots) and we ask them what their goals are now. By doing this we also end up in the role as experts and can give them our best advice on how to continue their journey.
So, as you can see, we have a first 90 day journey that contains lots of touching points. After those first 90 days we have another goal review and there is where we plan their journey going forward. Going into group training is definitely not the “best solution” for everyone, if we believe that a client would benefit more from doing personal training combined with nutrition coaching, we SAY so. If we believe that a client could benefit from group training combined with regular PT-sessions, we SAY so. It is always up to the client to choose but we always, always recommend what we believe would be the best solution.
No matter what their journey looks like after the first 90 days we always meet up with every client at least once every quarter. We want to make sure that they are still making progress and we want to make sure we help them reaching the goals they have now.
If you have a well planned client journey, you are making sure that your members are constantly experiencing success and then they will continue feeling motivated for more. How much more would your business make if every client stayed for 3 months longer in average?
Some key factors to think about when planning a client journey;
- How easy is it to book a consult with you on your website?
- What does the first in person meeting with someone at your gym look like for a new client?
- What does the first month look like for a new client in your gym? How do you set them up for success?
- If you have some sort of introprocess, what happens AFTER that introprocess and how do you make sure that they keep succeeding?
Discuss this in your team and then see if there are things you would like to change. I strongly recommend finding a coach/mentor to help you in this process. One of the things gyms can really improv is how they take control of the Client Journey.
Do not hesitate to reach out if you want help. The Client Journey is going to be a topic at the Coaches Congress in January, see you there!
//Per
