Gym and health club operators need to engage with their members and focus on customer service to help them retain numbers.

In the latest issue of Health Club Management, Rod Hill, TRIB3 director of Europe, said that the fitness industry had been built on a recurring revenue model, which investors liked, but made the sector “lazy”, eventually stopping people from joining a gym.

However, large groups of people are now prepared to spend cash and time on an experience worth having, according to Hill, meaning that parts of the fitness sector must improve in how they deal with their customers.

Hill, who has worked in the industry for 25 years, said the boutique model of pay-as-you-go means that these operators have to “earn every repeat visit”, with customer service becoming “paramount”.

On the wider health and fitness industry, he said: “Operators need to give their customers a great time, while getting results, so they want to come back. Most operators are not giving their members any feedback or engaging with them.”

The full article, titled Ahead of the Game, can be read here.