While future gym-goers psyche themselves up during the holidays for getting fit in the new year, the teams at Fit Body Boot Camp franchises are preparing for the influx of new clients.
Every year on Jan. 1, millions of Americans resolve to get in shape. They buy new workout gear, shoes and gym memberships. Gym parking lots fill up and new members occupy the once idle machines. But, it doesn’t last long. Typically, 80 percent of those well-intentioned new gym members stop showing up by mid-February.[i]
The opposite happens at Fit Body Boot Camp gyms because our franchise owners and their teams are prepared for the rush which they helped create and know how to keep new clients coming back at the start and throughout the rest of the year.
Why Fit Body Boot Camp Franchises Don’t Experience the Drop-off
New Fit Body Boot Camp clients typically don’t start showing up to the gym until later in January, after the kids go back to school and after they’ve recovered from their holiday spending hangover. Because we’re dialed into the post-holiday habits of consumers, we know they don’t start getting serious about fitness until then.
That’s why we kick off the New Year New You (NYNY) Challenge in the third week of January, which franchisees and the team at Fit Body Boot Camp headquarters began promoting in November.
The NYNY Challenge gets resolution-makers fired up to begin their fitness journey and stick with it. The step-by-step program includes unlimited workout sessions, a meal plan, custom nutrition guide, coaches to help hold participants accountable, a private support group on Facebook and the chance to win $100,000 in cash prizes at the end of the eight-week challenge.
It’s at this time Fit Body Boot Camp franchise owners start to experience the post-holiday rush while big box gyms see new members stop showing up.
The NYNY Challenge not only gets new members hooked on the workouts and the results, but it ignites word-of-mouth referrals that bring in even more clients. February and March are typically the biggest months of the year in terms of client revenue. Fit Body Boot Camp franchises can see upwards of 30-40 percent growth during this period. Fit Body Boot Camp franchise owners and their teams need to be ready for the influx of new business.
How Fit Body Boot Camp Franchise Teams Prepare
November is when we push hard to gain enrollment for the NYNY Challenge. Our content team at headquarters prepares and finalizes the resources for the challenge, as well as other programs throughout the year. Videos, nutrition guides, food lists, meal plans and advertising content are delivered by mid-December so owners have time to review and implement it with their teams by the time the NYNY Challenge starts. December and early January are used for meetings and training sessions so teams are ready to deliver superior workouts, support and service when new clients when our new-client rush starts in the third week of January.
Additionally, Fit Body Boot Camp provides an “Elite Training” Workshop for owners, facility leaders and coaches in November in Dallas and in early January in Phoenix, to fine-tune their leadership, coaching and training skills.
After the Rush: How Our Gyms Maintain Momentum
Although the NYNY Challenge wraps up in March, Fit Body Boot Camp gyms continue to experience significant new client growth through April along with a high retention rate. On average, Fit Body Boot Camp gyms retain 75 percent of new clients. By contrast, retention rates for big box gyms only average the mid-60 percent range, and other group fitness concepts average 73 percent.[ii]
The NYNY Challenge helps get new clients in the door, but our concept, workout structure, accountability and support keeps them coming back. Fit Body Boot Camp franchisees and their teams do an exemplary job of challenging clients to reach their full potential, coaching them through workouts and on nutrition, holding them accountable to their goals and supporting them when their fitness journey gets rough.
Ultimately, it’s the results each Fit Body Boot Camp client achieves that keeps him and her coming back. They actually experience the “new year, new you” when they feel better and look better. But that comes about when gym owners and their teams are well-prepared to help their clients.
To learn more about the franchise opportunity with Fit Body Boot Camp, fill out our franchise form at fbbcfranchise.com or call (888) 638-3222.
[i] https://health.usnews.com/health-news/blogs/eat-run/articles/2015-12-29/why-80-percent-of-new-years-resolutions-fail
[ii] https://member.afsfitness.com/content/why-your-retention-rate-key-understanding-fitness-business-success
