At Club Automation, we are focused on defining, refining and elevating the Member Lifecycle Journey.

With that, we were thrilled to attend a recent IHRSA webinar centered on crafting a compelling member journey. This informative webinar was led by Francesca Schuler, experienced executive and CEO of In-Shape Health Clubs , a California-based chain of over 60 full-service health clubs. Schuler’s presentation focused on three main sections; Why a Compelling Member Journey Matters, Four Steps to Engaging Members and How to Motivate Your Team to Focus on Member Journey.

Why is Crafting a Compelling Member Journey Important?

This intro set a strong tone for the entire webinar, listing some massively important statistics about member behavior.

• What Members Want: 67% of consumers say their expectations for a good experience are higher than ever.
• Why Members Pay: 67% of consumers say they will pay more for a good experience.
• Why Members Stay Loyal: 74% of consumers say they switch if purchase process is too hard.
• Why Members Recommend: 64% of consumers are likely to recommend if a brand offers a simpler, more relevant experience.
  

Four Steps to Engaging Members

1. Understand Me

• 76% of consumers expect company to understand their needs and wants.
• Segmenting members is critical to understand how to best engage them.
  

2.  Define Member Journey and Member Path

• How does your brand want members to feel in each phase?
• How can member needs be satisfied in each phase?
• How do you help members transition from one milestone to the next?
• What do you do if they fall of their journey?
• How do members navigate your club, website and app?
• How can it be as intuitive as possible?
  

3.  Remove Pain Points

• Identify and improve the pain points in the member journey and member path.
• A great example of this step mentioned in the webinar is Warby Parker making it easier to try on glasses with a convenient mobile app.
  

4.  Speak to Me

• Use language and images that are member centric, not industry centric.
• The key here is to consider how language and images make your members feel . Don’t use terms that only industry leaders like you are familiar with, and don’t try to impress your members with complex explanations and concepts. Clubs can tell a beautiful story and engage members while also being member-centric.
  

Motivating Your Team

Without staff buy-in, crafting a compelling member journey is impossible. Schuler touches on this in her webinar and focuses on the importance of culture. When it comes to motivating your team to focus on the member journey, GM is the most important role in the club. According to Schuler, the GM must foster a one-team mindset and recognize the how , not the what .

Like all IHRSA webinars, this was an incredibly informative presentation. The member journey is a hot topic today and for good reason. Members power your club.

Club Automation's membership software makes it easier to craft a compelling member journey by saving you and your team valuable time. Schedule a demo to see how.

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