Churn Matters, Part 3: 4 tips for minimizing churn in a service business

In Churn Matters, Part 1 we talked about calculating and tracking churn. In Part 2 we looked at how to determine how much churn is too much. To wrap up this series let’s look at four ways to minimize churn in your business.

1. Create a great client experience

Revisit all stages of the client path in your business—can you make any improvements? How are new clients greeted? Is your studio or facility as clean as it could be? Is your business welcoming? Or is it intimidating? Take some time to periodically evaluate all touch points of the client experience and refine and iterate as needed. Clients who feel safe, are making progress and are having a great time in the process are far less likely to churn.

2. Leverage attendance data

Clients with poor attendance are at greater risk of churn. Failure to attend your services regularly can lead to suboptimal results—or even no results—which certainly doesn’t help your retention efforts.

Taking consistent attendance gives you access to a host of visit metrics in Pike13. In addition to accessing visit data and trends, tracking attendance means you can use our integrated email marketing tools like MailChimp or Emma to automate your retention efforts and send a “We Miss You” email to clients who haven’t attended recently.

Keeping clients is far easier when you leverage the data and tools at your disposal.

3. Survey clients at key intervals

Periodically survey your clients to check in and collect feedback. A great time to send a survey is at the two month mark—early in the client’s relationship with you. If a client reports anything concerning you can address it immediately, before it becomes a bigger issue. Sincerely asking for and responding to feedback early in the client's lifecycle conveys a willingness to listen and a desire to improve—both of which inspire confidence and trust in your business.

The two month mark is also a great time to ask for referrals from clients who are happy!

4. Build a team of retention specialists

Your staff represent your business and your brand and are a huge part of your ability to retain your clients. Take your time when hiring to make sure potential new hires will be a great cultural fit for your company. Professional, skilled instructors who are also retention specialists will keep your business’ churn to a minimum.