Steal this Idea: Churned Client Re-Engagement Campaign

You work hard to engage and interact with your clients. But, at some point, many clients will eventually stop training with your business or will cancel their membership.

In fact, research shows that the majority of gyms lose 50% of their members each year.

So, how can you re-engage those churned clients and encourage them to return to your business?

Here’s how you can run a marketing campaign that targets recently churned clients.

What is a re-engagement campaign?

As the name suggests, a re-engagement campaign is aimed at bringing past clients back to your business or facility. Ultimately, the goal of a re-engagement campaign is to boost client retention and improve customer loyalty.

Using Upper Hand’s Membership Analytics, you’ll be able to easily pull a list of your churned members. Then, you’ll be able use this segmented client list to craft an email campaign that encourages them to come back to train at your business.

How to Pull a List of Churned Customers with Upper Hand

Here’s how you can pull a list of canceled members in any given month.

1. On the left hand bar, click on “Reports”
2. Click on the Membership Analytics Report
3. Click on the red number that shows “Cost of Cancellations” (Row 2) in whichever month you’re looking at
4. A list of names, emails, date, and membership type will unfurl below.
5. To export this list, click on the cloud icon at the top right of that unfurled table.

Related: Dominate the (registration field) with Upper Hand

Client Re-Engagement Marketing Email Ideas

1. Introduce a New Offering

One way to re-engage churned customers is to re-introduce them to your offerings. This is especially impactful if you’ve added a new training option or another clinic. By sharing your updated calendar or highlighting new events, you will encourage them to return to your business.

Sample Copy Ideas:

• “Get back up to speed. A lot has changed since you last worked out with us! We’ve just announced our [season] training schedule – have a look!”
• “It’s been a while since we’ve seen you. Since the last time you worked out with us, we’ve added some new classes we think you might enjoy. We’d love for you to join us!”

2. Ask for Feedback

Another way to re-engage with churned members is to get feedback on why they chose to leave. This will help you determine areas for improvement, identify any trends, and show that you value your members’ opinions. Through marketing surveys, you can gain deeper insight into why they left and what would bring them back.

It would be good practice to pull your churned customers list regularly to send this survey out in a timely manner. The more immediate marketing surveys are, the more proactive you can be in tackling issues that could lead to further churn.

Sample Copy Ideas:

• “We’re sad to see you go… We’d like to learn a little more about your decision. We appreciate you taking a few minutes to fill out this short survey so we can continue to improve.”
• “You recently canceled your membership, and we’d like to hear more about your decision. Can you please take a moment to answer a few quick questions?”

Bonus Tip: When you address the concerns and implement the changes, you’ve just created another opportunity to re-engage with that former member!

• “We really appreciate your recent feedback about [feedback/ event/ etc.]. We wanted to let you know that we were able to use your feedback to [changes you made]! We hope this will improve your experience at [your business], and we would love to welcome you back in to see these changes for yourself.”

Offer an Incentive

At the end of the day, many people are incentivized by discounts or coupons. So, another option to consider is extending a coupon code or offering a discount to attract churned clients to return. Don’t forget to include your value proposition to remind your clients why they may have started training in the first place!

Sample Copy Ideas:

• “A free month just for you… We miss you at (Business Name). It’s been a while since you’ve trained with us. For a limited time, we’re giving you this exclusive offer.”
• “You don’t have to put your goals on pause. Enjoy a (month of training/ a free lesson/ a week of classes) on us!”

Just because a client decides to cancel their membership doesn’t mean that you can’t win them back. Many subscription-based companies have tactics to re-engaged churned members. With Upper Hand, you can help your athletes see the value of your brand, and re engage them with offerings that are the best fit.