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The first 12 weeks are crucial for establishing exercise habits and member retention. In this blog, we share tips for automating and strategically utilising contact moments. Think of rewards, feedback, and motivation. Discover how a good onboarding process motivates members and increases their loyalty.  

The importance of the first 12 weeks in the onboarding of new members

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Manage multiple fitness clubs with ease using one clear organisational dashboard. Gain direct insight into performance, member engagement, sales and retention per location, compare results and make data driven decisions to improve every club.

Data-driven insights with an organisational dashboard

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Would you like to know how to win back and retain former members? Discover the power of the Recycle Journey and learn how to save costs and boost member loyalty. Read our blog for practical tips and insights!

Find out how to win back members with the Recycle Journey!

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Discover practical ways to reduce operational costs in your fitness club without sacrificing quality. From smarter staff planning and automation to energy savings and data driven decisions: learn how to run a more efficient and profitable club.

Save money smartly without compromising on quality

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<p>We all know that first impressions count. But it's the first 12 weeks that really make the difference. This is the period when new members either develop their exercise habits or don't. If they continue to come regularly during those three months, there's a good chance they'll stay members.</p><p>&nbsp;</p><p>In this blog, we share useful tips and tricks on how to give the right attention to the right members. We use practical examples to show you how to use and automate contact and attention moments. These insights will help you create an optimal onboarding process, allowing you and your members to build habits together that lead to long-term engagement and ultimately loyal members.</p><p>&nbsp;</p><figure class="image"><img src="https://cdn.clubplanner.com/media//image_4dbe0ab6fc.png" alt="image.png" srcset="https://cdn.clubplanner.com/media//image_4dbe0ab6fc.png 245w, https://cdn.clubplanner.com/media//image_4dbe0ab6fc.png 500w, https://cdn.clubplanner.com/media//image_4dbe0ab6fc.png 750w, https://cdn.clubplanner.com/media//image_4dbe0ab6fc.png 1000w" sizes="100vw" width="1000"></figure><h2>Habit formation in 21 days</h2><p>You may have heard that it takes 21 days to form a habit. But did you know that it actually takes longer? Research shows that it takes an average of about 66 days for something to truly become a habit. On average, it takes between 21 and 254 days, depending on the person and the activity. This means that the first three months of a membership are crucial for forming a fitness routine.</p><p>&nbsp;</p><p>&nbsp;</p><h3>The first 12 weeks: A critical period</h3><p>You may have noticed that the first few weeks at the gym can be challenging for new members. But with the right attention and guidance, you can ensure that they don't drop out and achieve their goals. The importance of the first 12 weeks in creating loyal members cannot be overstated. This is particularly evident when looking at the benchmark analysis of new customers.</p><p>&nbsp;</p><p>This report compares the figures of fitness clubs in the Netherlands that use ClubPlanner. Here you can see the relationship between the visit frequency of new members and the percentage of them who cancel their membership within a year of joining. This is called longitudinal retention, and it shows that members who consistently visit the gym at least once a week during this period are much more likely to still be members after a year. This emphasises the importance of good onboarding and continuous engagement.</p><figure class="image"><img src="https://cdn.clubplanner.com/media//image_4a23f29ba9.png" alt="image.png" srcset="https://cdn.clubplanner.com/media//image_4a23f29ba9.png 241w, https://cdn.clubplanner.com/media//image_4a23f29ba9.png 500w" sizes="100vw" width="500"></figure><h3>Longitudinal retention and behavioural change</h3><p>Longitudinal retention measures how loyal members remain by tracking them from the start of their membership. It provides insight into their behaviour and when they are likely to drop out. Especially in the first three months, we often see a significant drop in engagement. Members often start out full of energy, but other priorities and less frequent training can cause that engagement to slowly decline. Training less is often a sign that they are about to cancel their membership.</p><p>&nbsp;</p><p>It is therefore important to guide members during this period and help them build a new, healthy routine. This can be done by taking them by the hand and supporting them in their training habits. In reality, this often turns out differently than you might want. As the Research Director at Activity Workx, Peter Wolfhagen has noted: ‘No matter how hard you try, you cannot follow every customer on every visit.’ That is why it is essential to make strategic choices in distributing attention and guidance. Which members do you give attention to and which do you not? When are the best times to give them attention? And how do you give attention to your members?</p><p>&nbsp;</p><figure class="image"><img src="https://cdn.clubplanner.com/media//image_71b42e6df4.png" alt="image.png" srcset="https://cdn.clubplanner.com/media//image_71b42e6df4.png 245w, https://cdn.clubplanner.com/media//image_71b42e6df4.png 500w, https://cdn.clubplanner.com/media//image_71b42e6df4.png 750w, https://cdn.clubplanner.com/media//image_71b42e6df4.png 1000w" sizes="100vw" width="1000"></figure><h3>Three forms of attention</h3><p>There are three forms of attention that fitness clubs can use to support new members:</p><ul><li>Guaranteed attention</li><li>Necessary attention</li><li>Surprising attention</li></ul><p>&nbsp;</p><p>Applying all three forms of attention is an indispensable part of building a strong onboarding process and retaining loyal members. Would you like to know more about these forms of attention and their importance for member retention? Be sure to read Peter Wolfhagen's blog: Retention management is managing attention.</p><p>&nbsp;</p><h3>How can you apply all this in practice in your own club?</h3><p>You may be wondering how these insights can be applied in practice within your fitness club. Our onboarding report, for example, gives clubs insight into the status of their new members:</p><ul><li>Good status: Members who have been at least once a week in the past three weeks.</li><li>Status Caution: Members who have not attended at least once in the past three weeks.</li><li>Status Poor: Members who have not attended two or more times.</li></ul><p>&nbsp;</p><p>This report allows you to take immediate action, such as scheduling a call. This kind of proactive attention can make a big difference in retaining members.</p><p>&nbsp;</p><figure class="image"><img src="https://cdn.clubplanner.com/media//image_639cb1ba65.png" alt="image.png" srcset="https://cdn.clubplanner.com/media//image_639cb1ba65.png 245w, https://cdn.clubplanner.com/media//image_639cb1ba65.png 500w, https://cdn.clubplanner.com/media//image_639cb1ba65.png 750w" sizes="100vw" width="750"></figure><h3>Practical tips for implementation</h3><p>Here are some practical tips and tricks to make the most of the first 12 weeks and improve your customer journey:</p><p>&nbsp;</p><ul><li><strong>Automate contact:</strong> Use a messaging module to automatically send communications to members based on their status in the onboarding process. This ensures that each member receives the right attention at the right time, without you having to intervene manually. This optimises the customer journey and guarantees personal attention at crucial moments.</li></ul><p>&nbsp;</p><ul><li><p><strong>Rewards and motivation:</strong> Reward consistent members with small extras, such as a free shake or a thank you gift. This strengthens their motivation and commitment, which helps with retention.</p><p>&nbsp;</p></li><li><strong>Ask for feedback:</strong> Ask for feedback at regular intervals via automatic emails. This makes it easy to make improvements based on member experiences and ensures a better customer journey.</li></ul><p>&nbsp;</p><ul><li><strong>Monitor visit frequency:</strong> Set triggers for when members visit less often. By sending an email or scheduling a phone call in good time, you can take quick action and prevent dropouts.</li></ul><p>&nbsp;</p><p>&nbsp;</p><h3>Conclusion</h3><p>Finding the right balance between engagement, attention and guidance is difficult, but once you've achieved it, onboarding and retaining new members at your fitnessclub becomes a lot easier. By strategically using attention and the available tools, you can automatically reach the right members and increase the chance that new members will develop good habits and remain loyal. Whether it's giving a warm welcome, offering personal guidance or using surprising moments of attention, the focus should be on creating a positive and motivating experience for your members.</p><p>&nbsp;</p><p>So, what are you waiting for? The first 12 weeks are your chance to turn new members into loyal members of your club. Use the power of a good onboarding process to your advantage and see for yourself how your members stay longer and become more loyal.</p><p>&nbsp;</p><p>Are you curious to see how this could work for your club? Book a demo!</p>

<p>The fitness industry is changing rapidly, and as the owner or manager of multiple venues, it is essential to always have a clear overview. With an organisational dashboard, you can not only track the performance of a single club, but also compare multiple locations against one another. Whether it’s membership management, sales, or customer satisfaction, the organisational dashboard provides a clear overview of where you need to make adjustments. This allows you to act proactively and respond quickly to challenges, ensuring you always stay in control.</p><p>&nbsp;</p><figure class="image"><img alt="image.png" src="https://cdn.clubplanner.com/media//image_e3d9e6b6a6.png" srcset="https://cdn.clubplanner.com/media//image_e3d9e6b6a6.png 245w, https://cdn.clubplanner.com/media//image_e3d9e6b6a6.png 500w, https://cdn.clubplanner.com/media//image_e3d9e6b6a6.png 750w" sizes="100vw" width="750"></figure><h3>Insight into the figures that really matter.</h3><p>Running multiple fitness clubs requires more than just good classes and modern equipment. The success of your clubs depends on the data that reflects your performance. How often do members visit, how many new sign-ups are there, and do those new members stay active? With an organisational dashboard, you not only gain access to these figures per location, but you can also compare locations with one another. This allows you to quickly see which branches are performing better than others and enables you to implement targeted improvement measures.</p><p>For example, if you see that one of your locations has fewer sign-ups than the others, you can analyse this quickly and take immediate action to improve results. In addition, the dashboard provides insight into the membership overview per location, including the number of new customers, recent visitors, non-recent visitors, and dormant customers. This helps you to quickly see where action is needed.</p><p>&nbsp;</p><h3>Efficiency: Get a handle on your daily results at a glance.</h3><p>As a manager, you have many responsibilities, and keeping track of multiple locations can be a challenge. An organisational dashboard helps you quickly and efficiently identify where adjustments are needed. It not only provides insight into daily tasks, such as outstanding tasks per location, but also immediately shows where your expertise can make a difference.</p><p>For example, does a particular location have a higher percentage of missed appointments or more tasks completed late than other clubs? You can then delve deeper into the figures, identify the cause and apply those insights to your other branches. The dashboard also helps you to immediately identify and address tasks that have been followed up late across all locations.</p><figure class="image"><img alt="image.png" src="https://cdn.clubplanner.com/media//image_791cb2db67.png" srcset="https://cdn.clubplanner.com/media//image_791cb2db67.png 245w, https://cdn.clubplanner.com/media//image_791cb2db67.png 500w, https://cdn.clubplanner.com/media//image_791cb2db67.png 750w" sizes="100vw" width="750"></figure><h3>Member engagement: Compare and improve by location.</h3><p>Attracting new members is important, but the real success of your fitness clubs lies in retaining these members. With an organisational dashboard, you gain insight into member movements per location, including a complete overview of the number of active, new and dormant members.</p><p>You can also easily see how many new members have returned for another visit within two weeks of signing up.&nbsp;</p><p>&nbsp;</p><p>This early engagement is a key indicator of retention, and by comparing this data across locations, you can quickly identify where the onboarding process is working well and where it could be improved.</p><p>If a specific location has a lower percentage of returning new members, you can respond immediately by adjusting your communication or support. This helps to address issues quickly before they affect member satisfaction and loyalty.</p><p>By comparing the membership overviews of all your locations side by side, you can see exactly where extra attention is needed. Whether it’s a lower retention rate or more inactive members at a particular branch, the dashboard helps you take targeted action. This allows you to effectively address the unique challenges at each location and ensure your membership base remains strong and engaged.</p><p>&nbsp;</p><h3>Customer satisfaction: Local insights for better decisions.</h3><p>Satisfied members are at the heart of every successful fitness club. With an organisational dashboard, you can measure and compare customer satisfaction across different locations based on concrete data such as:</p><ul style="list-style-type:square;"><li>Number of new customers</li><li>Number of recent visitors</li><li>Number of non-recent visitors</li><li>Number of dormant customers</li></ul><p>&nbsp;</p><p>By analysing these figures, you can quickly identify where extra attention is needed and how to improve customer satisfaction at each location. This helps you to intervene early and prevent problems from escalating.</p><p>&nbsp;</p><h3>Sales and lead follow-up: Consistency across all your locations.</h3><p>A structured sales strategy requires consistency and clear lead follow-up. The organisation dashboard provides an up-to-date overview of the sales pipeline per location, allowing you to see exactly which leads have been followed up and where further action is required. In addition, the dashboard provides insight into the return on prospects per location. This makes it easy to measure how effective your lead follow-up is and which locations achieve the highest conversion rates.</p><p>If you notice that a particular branch is struggling to convert leads into paying members, you can take immediate action by investigating where the process is stalling.&nbsp;</p><p>By comparing the performance of leads across all your locations, you gain insight into the strengths and weaknesses of your sales strategy, enabling you to optimise it and apply it to other branches.<br>&nbsp;</p><figure class="image"><img alt="image.png" src="https://cdn.clubplanner.com/media//image_12ac88fbd9.png" srcset="https://cdn.clubplanner.com/media//image_12ac88fbd9.png 245w, https://cdn.clubplanner.com/media//image_12ac88fbd9.png 500w, https://cdn.clubplanner.com/media//image_12ac88fbd9.png 750w, https://cdn.clubplanner.com/media//image_12ac88fbd9.png 1000w" sizes="100vw" width="1000"></figure><h4>Personalised follow-up: Make a difference for your members at each location.</h4><p>Personalised follow-up is essential for retaining members. The organisation dashboard provides you with a comprehensive overview of how well your teams are performing in this area, by location. For example, you can see which locations benefit most from automated reminders or personal contact moments.</p><p>In addition, the dashboard helps you combine efficiency with personal attention, which is essential for maintaining high engagement and ensuring members feel welcome everywhere.</p><figure class="image"><img alt="image.png" src="https://cdn.clubplanner.com/media//image_e1f7b8b9e5.png" srcset="https://cdn.clubplanner.com/media//image_e1f7b8b9e5.png 219w, https://cdn.clubplanner.com/media//image_e1f7b8b9e5.png 500w, https://cdn.clubplanner.com/media//image_e1f7b8b9e5.png 750w" sizes="100vw" width="750"></figure><h3>Make a difference with an organisational dashboard that provides an overview of all your locations.</h3><p>Having a firm grasp of your figures, engaging with your members and keeping track of your daily processes are the building blocks of a successful fitness club. An organisational dashboard allows you to manage not just one location, but multiple branches, and compare performance. By organising your processes effectively and evaluating them regularly, you can stay ahead of problems and ensure all your clubs continue to grow.</p><p>Club management is not just about figures, but above all about understanding the unique challenges of each location and responding to them. The more control you have over these processes, the better you can capitalise on opportunities in the ever-changing fitness industry</p><p>&nbsp;</p>

<p>Would you like to find out more about how an organisational dashboard can help your fitness clubs? Please get in <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://clubplanner.com/en/contact">touch with us</a> for a no-obligation chat or book a demo!&nbsp;</p><p>&nbsp;</p>

<p>Attracting new members is great, of course, but did you know that it’s much cheaper to reactivate former members than to recruit completely new ones? At MyLife, the cost of a new registration is €145, whilst the cost of bringing back a ‘recycle’ member is just €35. This shows just how powerful the Recycle Journey can be in re-engaging and winning back former members.</p><p>In this blog, we take a closer look at the Recycle Journey and share practical tips and best practices from Menno Schreutelkamp, Technical Director, and Bjorn van Rosmalen, Operations Manager at MyLife. They share their experiences and strategies for retaining and reactivating members.&nbsp;</p><figure class="image"><img alt="image.png" src="https://cdn.clubplanner.com/media//image_9bcf4886db.png" srcset="https://cdn.clubplanner.com/media//image_9bcf4886db.png 245w, https://cdn.clubplanner.com/media//image_9bcf4886db.png 500w, https://cdn.clubplanner.com/media//image_9bcf4886db.png 750w, https://cdn.clubplanner.com/media//image_9bcf4886db.png 1000w" sizes="100vw" width="1000"></figure>

<h2>What is the Recycle Journey?</h2><p>The Recycle Journey is a key part of the Customer Journey that focuses on winning back former customers and re-engaging them with your fitness club. The aim is to rekindle former members’ enthusiasm for your club and motivate them to rejoin. This can be achieved through targeted marketing campaigns, personalised approaches, and the provision of special offers or incentives. It’s all about regaining the trust and interest of your former members, so that they’ll happily return to your fitness club.&nbsp;</p>

<h2>&nbsp;</h2><h2>Smart strategies for the Recycle Journey.</h2><p>Winning back former members requires a smart approach and targeted strategies. Here are a few key things you can do to rekindle former members’ enthusiasm for your fitness club:</p><p>&nbsp;</p><p>&nbsp;</p><h3>Former Leads and Former Members.</h3><p>It is important to distinguish between former leads and former members. Former leads are potential customers who once showed interest in your fitness club but never became members.</p><p>Former members are customers who were once members of your club but have cancelled their membership. Both groups require a different approach to re-engage them.</p><p>&nbsp;</p><h3>What should you do before cancellation?</h3><p>Prevention is better than cure. Make sure you stay in regular contact with your members and monitor their satisfaction. Offer extra help and guidance to members who have become less active. This can be done through personal check-ins, motivational emails and special offers. The aim is to identify and resolve issues early on, before a member decides to cancel their membership. By being proactive, you can reduce the number of cancellations.</p><p>&nbsp;</p><h3>A customer has unsubscribed...what now?</h3><p>When a customer unsubscribes, it is important to take immediate action. Send a confirmation email acknowledging the unsubscription and ask for feedback on the reason for cancellation. This provides valuable insights into potential areas for improvement. Let the customer know that you will contact them again in the future with a special offer. This way, you stay in touch and keep the door open for a possible return.</p><p>&nbsp;</p><h3>How many cancellations?</h3><p>It is important to track how many members cancel their membership and why. This helps you to identify patterns and take targeted action to reduce the number of cancellations. Use tools to collect and analyse this data. This will give you a better understanding of the reasons behind the cancellations and enable you to respond accordingly.</p><p>&nbsp;</p><h3>How long do customers remain members?</h3><p>Analyse how long customers remain members of your fitness club on average. This gives you insight into your members’ lifecycle and helps you develop targeted strategies to improve retention. By knowing how long customers remain members on average, you can better respond to their needs and expectations. This helps you increase member loyalty and keep them connected to your club for longer.</p><figure class="image"><img alt="image.png" src="https://cdn.clubplanner.com/media//image_a90523f1f4.png" srcset="https://cdn.clubplanner.com/media//image_a90523f1f4.png 241w, https://cdn.clubplanner.com/media//image_a90523f1f4.png 500w" sizes="100vw" width="500"></figure>

<h2>Managing/coaching based on the Recycle KPIs</h2><p>It is essential to manage based on KPIs (Key Performance Indicators) for the Recycle Journey. These KPIs help you assess how well your recycling process is working and where improvements can be made. Consider KPIs such as following up with former members, reactivating dormant members, and the results of activation procedures.</p><h3>&nbsp;</h3><h3>Here are a few key KPIs to keep an eye on:</h3><ul><li><strong>Follow-up with Former Members:</strong> Ensure you schedule regular contact to maintain engagement with former members. This can be done through follow-up emails, phone calls or face-to-face meetings.</li></ul><p>&nbsp;</p><ul><li><strong>Former Leads:</strong> Approach leads who previously did not become members to see if they are now interested. This can be done through targeted marketing campaigns or personal approaches.</li></ul><p>&nbsp;</p><ul><li><strong>Results of reactivation procedures: </strong>Measure the number of former members who, thanks to a specific reactivation procedure, such as a special offer or trial period, have decided to re-register. This helps you gauge the effectiveness of your reactivation strategies</li></ul><p>&nbsp;</p><ul><li><strong>Results from exit procedures:</strong> Analyse the percentage of members who, following an exit interview or follow-up, are still interested in returning or taking part in activities. This gives you an insight into how effective your exit strategies are.</li></ul><p>&nbsp;</p><ul><li><strong>Unreachable former members/leads:</strong> Assess how you can approach former members/leads who are difficult to reach differently in the future. This can be achieved through alternative communication channels or adapted outreach strategies.</li></ul><p>&nbsp;</p><p>By focusing on these KPIs, you can develop targeted strategies to increase your members’ engagement and loyalty and reactivate dormant members. Regularly monitoring and analysing these KPIs helps you to continuously improve your retention processes.</p><figure class="image"><img alt="image.png" src="https://cdn.clubplanner.com/media//image_2068076da3.png" srcset="https://cdn.clubplanner.com/media//image_2068076da3.png 226w, https://cdn.clubplanner.com/media//image_2068076da3.png 500w" sizes="100vw" width="500"></figure>

<h2>Smart tips and interesting statistics.</h2><p>Acquiring new customers is 5 to 25 times more expensive than retaining your current members. This highlights just how important it is to keep your existing members happy for the long-term success of your fitness club. Retaining members is not only cheaper, but also essential for a stable and growing membership base.</p><figure class="image"><img alt="image.png" src="https://cdn.clubplanner.com/media//image_730cd7a5b5.png" srcset="https://cdn.clubplanner.com/media//image_730cd7a5b5.png 245w, https://cdn.clubplanner.com/media//image_730cd7a5b5.png 500w, https://cdn.clubplanner.com/media//image_730cd7a5b5.png 750w, https://cdn.clubplanner.com/media//image_730cd7a5b5.png 1000w" sizes="100vw" width="1000"></figure><h3>Why member retention is so important.</h3><p>Did you know that 80% of your future revenue comes from just 20% of your current customers? This means that a large proportion of your income depends on a relatively small number of loyal members. By keeping these members happy and increasing their loyalty, you can create a solid foundation for the growth of your fitness club.</p><p>&nbsp;</p><p>At MyLife, it emerged in October 2024 that 25% of new prospects were former members and 10% of final sign-ups were also former members. This shows that a significant proportion of new sign-ups come from people who have previously been members. It highlights just how powerful the Recycle Journey can be in re-engaging and winning back former members.</p><p>What’s more, it’s much cheaper to reactivate former members than to recruit completely new ones. At MyLife, they’ve found that the cost per new sign-up is €145, whereas the cost per reactivated member is just €35. By investing in the Recycle Journey, you can therefore not only make significant savings, but also boost member retention and loyalty.</p><figure class="image"><img alt="image.png" src="https://cdn.clubplanner.com/media//image_55aca5e49e.png" srcset="https://cdn.clubplanner.com/media//image_55aca5e49e.png 245w, https://cdn.clubplanner.com/media//image_55aca5e49e.png 500w, https://cdn.clubplanner.com/media//image_55aca5e49e.png 750w" sizes="100vw" width="750"></figure>

<figure class="image image_resized" style="width:68.77%;"><img alt="image.png" src="https://cdn.clubplanner.com/media//image_fa28f20acd.png" srcset="https://cdn.clubplanner.com/media//image_fa28f20acd.png 115w, https://cdn.clubplanner.com/media//image_fa28f20acd.png 369w, https://cdn.clubplanner.com/media//image_fa28f20acd.png 554w, https://cdn.clubplanner.com/media//image_fa28f20acd.png 739w" sizes="100vw" width="739"></figure><h2>Conclusion</h2><p>The success of your fitness club depends not only on attracting new members, but above all on retaining existing members and winning back former members. The Recycle Journey offers an effective way to re-engage and win back former members. By investing in a structured approach and using the right tools, you can increase member retention and loyalty.</p><p>It is clear that it is much cheaper to reactivate former members than to recruit completely new members. By focusing on the right KPIs and applying targeted strategies, you can optimise your marketing efforts and increase your success.</p><p>Would you like to know more about how to implement the Recycle Journey and grow your membership base? Then get in touch with us! We’d be happy to help you with tailored advice and solutions.</p>

How to optimise your gym's operating costs

<p>Let’s be honest: running a fitness club is a top-level sport. You motivate members, manage your team, keep day-to-day operations running smoothly… and then there’s that other game behind the scenes: costs. If you’re not careful, these can really add up. But here’s the good news: saving money doesn’t have to come at the expense of quality. In this blog, we’ll give you a few practical tips you can put into practice today.</p><h3>Start with the basics: your fixed costs</h3><p>Your fixed costs form the backbone of your monthly expenses. And the energy bill? In many gyms, that’s a real money-drainer. Think of treadmills running non-stop, music blaring round the clock, and lights left on from morning till night.</p><p>Fortunately, it’s often surprisingly easy to make savings here. LED lighting and motion sensors (for areas such as changing rooms or toilets) already make a big difference. According to Essent, gyms can save up to €18,614 a year with energy-saving measures. That’s serious money.</p><p>Cleaning can often be done more efficiently too. Perhaps you can schedule certain tasks differently, combine them, or make better arrangements with your cleaning company. Small changes, big difference.</p><h3>Managing staff costs effectively</h3><p>Staff costs are usually your biggest expense. And whilst you want to invest in a good team, it is wise to take a critical look at your staffing levels. Flexible working hours are key here: more staff during peak times, fewer when it’s quiet.</p><p>Another useful tip: provide your staff with broader training. A receptionist who also manages social media or helps out on the shop floor? It’s super efficient and great for your team.</p><p>But automation is what really makes the difference. Think digital timetables, leave requests and time tracking. Fewer mistakes, less hassle.</p><figure class="image"><img style="aspect-ratio:1000/578;" src="https://cdn.clubplanner.com/media//large_Skeleton_Urenplanning_228f4adaf1_15c0f9c283.png" alt="large_Skeleton_Urenplanning_228f4adaf1.png" width="1000" height="578"></figure>

<h3>Automate whatever you can</h3><p>Are you still doing your admin manually? That’s like using a fax machine in a world full of smartphones. These days, almost everything can be automated: from membership management to communication.</p><p>Imagine this: a member asks a question via your website and receives an immediate reply from your AI agent. They book a training session straight away, automatically receiving a confirmation and a reminder. No emails, no phone calls, just sorted.</p><figure class="image"><img alt="image.png" src="https://cdn.clubplanner.com/media//image_0550ef9cf5.png" srcset="https://cdn.clubplanner.com/media//image_0550ef9cf5.png 245w, https://cdn.clubplanner.com/media//image_0550ef9cf5.png 500w, https://cdn.clubplanner.com/media//image_0550ef9cf5.png 750w" sizes="100vw" width="750"></figure><h3>Put data to work for you</h3><p>If you want to save money, you need to know where your money is going. So don’t just look at your accounts; take a look at your members’ behaviour too. Which classes are popular? When is it quiet? How many people actually turn up?</p><p>With these insights, you can make smarter choices about your scheduling, staff deployment or even adjust your offering. More and more clubs are using predictive analytics to plan ahead more effectively.</p><figure class="image"><img style="aspect-ratio:1246/720;" src="https://cdn.clubplanner.com/media//Skeleton_Web_bot_NL_2_658080e426.png" alt="Skeleton - Web bot - NL (2).png" width="1246" height="720"></figure><p>Go online (even if your club is a physical venue)</p><p>Online fitness has become an integral part of life since the pandemic. And no, you don’t need to become a YouTube star. But a few simple online classes, a video library or coaching via Zoom can significantly expand your reach.</p><p>This way, you can also offer value to members who are (temporarily) unable to visit the club.</p><p>&nbsp;</p><h3>Keep marketing simple and smart</h3><p>Marketing really doesn’t have to cost a fortune. In fact, a bit of creativity goes a long way.</p><ul><li>Collaborate with local businesses or micro-influencers</li><li>Set up a referral scheme: member brings a member = discount</li><li>Be active on social media: bring your club to life online</li></ul><p>&nbsp;</p><p>Did you know that the Dutch spend an average of 1 hour and 55 minutes a day on social media? That’s an opportunity you don’t want to miss.</p><p>And influencers? They work. For every euro you invest in influencer marketing, you get an average return of €6.50, according to research by Convince and Convert.</p><p>&nbsp;</p><h3>Keep measuring, learning and improving</h3><p>Finally: saving money isn’t a one-off exercise. It’s a continuous process of measuring, adjusting and improving. Use dashboards to track your figures, ask for feedback from your team and your members, and keep comparing yourself with other clubs. That way, you’ll not only stay financially healthy, but also attractive to your members. Need help? Then get in touch with us.</p><figure class="image"><img alt="image.png" src="https://cdn.clubplanner.com/media//image_d4ef66b7a8.png" srcset="https://cdn.clubplanner.com/media//image_d4ef66b7a8.png 245w, https://cdn.clubplanner.com/media//image_d4ef66b7a8.png 500w, https://cdn.clubplanner.com/media//image_d4ef66b7a8.png 750w" sizes="100vw" width="750"></figure><h3>In summary: save smartly, stay strong</h3><p>Cutting costs doesn’t mean you have to compromise on quality. On the contrary. With the right changes, you can actually make your club stronger and more attractive. Start small, experiment, and find out what works for your situation.</p><h5>Good luck!</h5><figure class="image"><img alt="image.png" src="https://cdn.clubplanner.com/media//image_f006671e88.png" srcset="https://cdn.clubplanner.com/media//image_f006671e88.png 237w, https://cdn.clubplanner.com/media//image_f006671e88.png 500w, https://cdn.clubplanner.com/media//image_f006671e88.png 750w" sizes="100vw" width="750"></figure>