Member Referrals Are Like a Box of Chocolates…Or Are They?

Grant Ian Gamble is a best-selling mindful leadership author and speaker. He has over 30 years of experience in leading teams to create innovative customer experiences, building engaged workforces, and developing leaders who prioritize mindfulness in their approach.

Referrals are the No.1 source of Members in the Fitness and Wellness Industry.

Here are some facts:

• Referrals are the number one source of new members across the fitness and wellness sector.
• $ROI is highest on Referrals when compared to all other marketing sources.
• Three quarters of all referrals come from ‘Promoters’ (high NPS* score) in the fitness and wellness sector.
• The avg. referral rate for Promoters = 58% when offered a referral opportunity. 
• Prospective members are 4x more likely to join a gym if they were referred by a friend​.
• In the fitness industry, referred members have historically had a 37% higher retention rate as opposed to non-referred members.**

And yet most clubs and club groups do a pretty average job garnering and leveraging referral opportunities. Asking random members for referrals is like ‘a box of chocolates’, you never know what you’ll get. 

Whereas asking Promoters is almost guaranteed to be met with a positive response. Every club has its fair share of Detractors and Passively Satisfied members, but the Promoters have stated clearly that, they “Are likely to recommend the club to their friends, family and/or colleagues.”

AFFINITY OS™ automatically provides Promoters with a simple but compelling referral opportunity. The uptake and conversion is significantly higher than mass marketing offers to all club members. 

Below are some averages for clubs using the AFFINITY OS Referral System:

• 52 promoters ave. per month  = 30 referred prospective members per month 
• Average conversion of referred members @ 85% = 25 new referred members per month
• If Ave. Lifetime Value per member = $2,500 those referrals add $62.5k each month

You can do your own math based on your LTV, but as Forrest Gump might say, “Referrals and growth go together like peas and carrots”.

* NPS = Net Promoter Score

** IHRSA attributes this higher retention rate to the social connections and sense of belonging that often comes with being referred by a friend or acquaintance.

Interested in learning more about how to transform your organization’s approach to team member engagement and customer experience? Reach out to our team at AFFINITY OS, specialists in AI-driven customer experience and team member engagement optimization.

Dive into the heart of exceptional leadership and customer-centric success with AOS Academy. Our certification courses, guided by the “PEOPLE FIRST, ALWAYS” mantra, are designed to support professionals as mindful, effective leaders and service providers. 

By integrating key insights from Grant Ian Gamble’s best-selling mindful leadership book, “The Affinity Principle”, we focus on nurturing people-centric cultures of empathy, effective communication, and customer service excellence.

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