Reducing gym dropout rates

[jayjay5]

Hello,
I am a sports product designer at Coventry University. For my final year project, I'm looking at designing a gym product to reduce dropout rates. So I wanted to ask for peoples views on, what would make your gym experience better, more enjoyable and more motivating? Do you think music/video/media helps?

What would help gym members keep motivated and want to return week after week?

Any opinions would be a gratefully received , thanks

 

[SXIPro]

You'll be cutting into the gym's profit margin. Gyms LOVE people that sign up for a long contract and then never show up. 100% profit. No wear and tear on equipment, no water usage for showers. less road dirt dragged in to vacuum. etc etc

People need to be self motivated. No piece of equipment is going to get some lazy fat ass off the couch and to the gym. Motivation comes from within.

 

[Goldfish]

You'll be cutting into the gym's profit margin. Gyms LOVE people that sign up for a long contract and then never show up. 100% profit. No wear and tear on equipment, no water usage for showers. less road dirt dragged in to vacuum. etc etc

People need to be self motivated. No piece of equipment is going to get some lazy fat ass off the couch and to the gym. Motivation comes from within.

My gym doesn't love that kind of customer so much. Yes, they're all profit, but they're only immediate profit. They want a retention rate, because it's better for their reputation, and it costs about 9x more in marketing to get a new customer than it does to keep an old one.

The purpose of PT's in my gym, then, isn't to thrash people, it's to keep people coming into the gym longterm, which means more profit for the gym and the PT's alike, as the gym gets a cut of the PT fees.

To break it down most simplistically, if you want people to stay at the gym, you have to give them an insentive. If they don't feel a NEED to be there, they won't be there. When I first started training, I came from a home where we kept the budget quite tight. Anything that wasn't essential for survival was always considered a luxury. So when we were paying money to join the gym, I knew that every day I didn't go to the gym, I was wasting money. Just something to consider.

 

[SXIPro]

Besides self motivation, the biggest thing to get people to go to the gym is having a workout partner. Back in the day, when I was pretty hardcore, there were plenty of days I didn't feel like going to gym, but I didn't want to leave my friend without a spotter. And vice versa, same deal for my buddy. Again, a piece of equipment is NOT gonna be a motivator.