Are you surveying your members?

We all should be doing a good job asking our brand new members questions about their goals and how we (our business) can align with them. Then, hopefully, when they’re canceling, we’re asking more questions to try and save the membership or figure out where we went wrong. This article aims to suggest that if you’re currently not randomly surveying your members, you might want to start now. 

Every day as a business operator, you have your daily routine. While everyone has a different one, we should have some type of process. During said routine, you should be reviewing surveys that you sent out or a service you work with that integrates to your software to send out on your behalf.  

*WARNING*

The return you receive on your surveys will be eye-opening!

You’ll be surprised by the responses of people you interact with and know on a first-name basis. 

It’s incredible how some people feel more comfortable filling out a survey instead of telling you in person. First, You should not fixate on the comments they’ve withheld from sharing with you but instead be relieved that one, the survey initiative you’ve started is working & two, you’re getting feedback! 

The information you begin to generate can make real-time impacts in your club or allow you to collect enough data to help you on the next investment you are making at your gym. 

Yes, some can be minor, like ‘The music is too loud or your guest WiFi is ‘too slow.’ but some can be insightful such as, ‘The gym doesn’t open on time,’ or ‘the equipment is always broken.’ 

With any feedback, you should be emailing or calling (I recommend calling) the member, thanking them for their survey, and sharing your plans to fix or improve the situation with them. 

Over time you will begin to see how your surveys reflect more positively, and you’ll be able to attest that to your proactive approach to handling member feedback. 

When you are setting up your survey, you should ask between 3-7 questions. I’ve found that you get must more responses from a few questions. You also want to make 4 or 5 of those questions multiple choice, 

• EX. Is the gym clean?

1. Always
2. Almost Always
3. Sometimes
4. Needs improvement

And then add 2 or 3 more questions with a text box below: 

• EX. Where are some areas that you would like to see improved?

Now, this is a fundamental starting point, and there are several different websites that you can use at no cost, such as https://www.surveymonkey.com/ and https://www.surveyplanet.com/

You can also go to https://www.google.com/forms and create your own doc. 

As you progress, you’ll learn that you can factor and track other metrics or sign up with companies that will cross-examine your google reviews & social media reviews and compile scores for you. I will save that in-depth look for another time. 

Are you currently surveying your members? Is it random, or do you have a method you wouldn’t mind sharing with fellow industry peers?

If so, please leave that in the comment section below & if you’re not already subscribed to our blog, please help us, and by doing so, you’ll be updated every time we publish new articles. 

Don’t forget, together we’re stronger!