Keep your members, and win back the ones who drift

Avana is studio booking software that messages members automatically at the moments they would otherwise drift away. Finding a new member takes far more effort than keeping one who already trains with you. Even so, most of a studio's energy goes on newcomers: posts, a trial class, an offer. Existing members often disappear quietly. They rarely cancel; they skip a few weeks, and then they stop coming.

Why members stop coming

Members seldom leave because the classes disappoint. Usually the rhythm breaks: a holiday, a busy month at work, a pack that runs out and doesn't get topped up. After a few weeks, going back feels like a bigger step than it is. They wonder whether they can still keep up, whether the instructor remembers them and whether the group has changed.

There are three moments when a member is most likely to slip away: after the first class, when the pack runs out and after a few weeks away. People who hear from the studio personally at those moments come back more often. You don't need big campaigns for that. You only need to be there on time, which is the hard part when you're the one teaching.

The first weeks decide whether a member stays

A new member doesn't know anyone yet, isn't sure which class suits them and has no regular day. A warm welcome after the first class helps: a short message saying you're glad they came, with a button to book the next class. Someone who has already booked their second class is far less likely to vanish.

After a trial class, people mainly want to know how to carry on. Show your packs and memberships, with a line on which suits whom. There's more on that first step under trial classes and intro offers.

Writing a good win-back email

A win-back email works best when it's short and personal. Use their first name, say you've missed them and make the way back small: one class, at a time that suits them, with a button to your timetable. A discount code can help, though often the feeling that the studio noticed is enough.

Timing matters. Too soon feels pushy, for instance with someone who's away for a week. Too late and they've found another sport. A studio where members come every week, like a reformer studio or a bootcamp, suits a shorter gap. A yoga studio where people come and go suits a longer one. In Avana you choose after how many weeks the email goes out, and nobody gets it twice before they've been back.

Members who bring friends

Your best new members come through your current ones. Training with a friend is a plan you don't drop lightly, and the friend already knows someone in the group. A refer-a-friend scheme makes it easy: your member shares their own link, the friend gets a discount on their first purchase and your member earns class credit.

Keep it fair. Reward only once the friend has actually bought something, and only for people who have never been to your studio. Avana handles that for you, adds the credit to your member's account straight away and applies the limits that stop it being abused.

Email, text or an app notification?

Email suits things a member can read at their own pace: the welcome, your packs, a new class. A text is for what mustn't be missed, like a reminder a few hours before class. An app notification gets noticed fastest: a spot that opens up, a class that's off. Use all three side by side, and don't send too much.

With your own messages in Avana, no texts or notifications go out late in the evening or at night, and nobody gets too many in one week. How members receive those notifications is explained under the member app.

What works for each type of studio

A Pilates studio selling class packs gains most from the nudge when a pack is nearly used: the next pack follows without a gap. In a gym with memberships, watch for members who still pay but no longer come, because they'll cancel at the next opportunity. Avana lists the members who need attention, and one email campaign reaches that whole group.

At a dance school that runs in terms, it's all about signing up again. A campaign to former members just before the new term starts brings part of the group back without contacting everyone one by one.

Seeing whether it works

Count who stays as well as who joins. With Studio Plus, Insights shows how many trial classes turn into regular members. With Studio Max, the reports show how many members stay and leave across the year. Each member's card lists the messages they've had, so you know who already got an invitation and who to give a call.

What Avana does for you

On every plan, Avana sends the reminder before class, the email after a trial class and a heads-up when a pack is about to expire. Studio Plus adds the welcome after the first class, the nudge at the last class on a pack, the win-back email and refer a friend. Studio Max adds the text before class, email campaigns and your own automatic messages. It all works with your class packs, your memberships and the waitlist. What each plan costs is in the pricing above.