As a personal trainer, landing a new client is always a win. In a competitive fitness market like the US, the ability to keep clients engaged, progressing, and coming back is what builds a sustainable, profitable business.
Whether you're training online, in-person, or using a hybrid model, retaining clients should be one of your top business priorities. Fortunately, tools like PT Distinction can help.
In this post, we’ll explore why retention is the foundation of a successful online PT business, the most common challenges personal trainers face, and how PT Distinction’s personal trainer software is designed to improve retention at every stage.
Most fitness businesses depend on repeat customers. In the personal training world, that means making sure that clients stick with you for as long as possible.
After all, a client is more valuable to you if they stay with you for twelve months rather than a single month. In fact, in that scenario, the client would be twelve times as valuable. And now imagine if you had twenty or more clients who stuck with you for more than a year, that’s a whole lot of revenue.
Ultimately, retention is more than just a feel-good metric. It’s a direct indicator of your business health and future growth.
Let’s take a closer look at just some of the reasons why client retention can have such an impact on long-term revenue.
While there are methods for acquiring new clients without breaking the bank, most personal trainers have to invest cash into their marketing strategy to attract new clients.
On average, it costs between $50 - 100 to acquire a new client. That cost is acceptable if the client sticks with the personal trainer for six or more months, but not if they leave after two months.
After all, it’s simply not good business to repeatedly have to spend money on expensive marketing campaigns because you need to replace clients who have left.
A loyal list of clients can give your business the stability it needs to thrive.
As well as providing a reliable revenue stream, you’ll also have peace of mind that your clients are happy, and that can provide a big confidence boost that can provide the momentum you need to achieve even more success.
In addition, high client retention means you can dedicate less time and resources to acquiring new clients, and more time towards improving your core services.
Short-term clients are unlikely to refer you to their friends and family. People recommend personal trainers to others once they have confidence that they're the real deal, and that’s something they can only learn after many months.
By keeping your clients onboard for as long as possible, you should find that you acquire a steady stream of new clients, all without having to pay a penny for marketing.
As we saw above, boosting client retention can help build consistent revenue, attract new clients, and much more.
That all sounds good, so what’s the catch? Client retention can be a challenge, especially in a market as competitive as personal training.
Clients begin their journey with a new personal trainer full of motivation and zeal. Over time, or perhaps even within a few weeks, that motivation begins to fade.
Why does this happen?
Pro Tip: PT Distinction, the best personal trainer software trainers can access, includes a Habit Coaching feature that keeps clients motivated between sessions.
Clients have high expectations when they begin working with a personal trainer. If the client doesn’t see progress as quickly as they’d like to, then they may assume that they’ll never reach their goals.
If a client finds it difficult or impossible to get hold of their PT between sessions, then they may become disengaged, and disengaged clients are much more likely to walk away.
Luckily, PT Distinction helps you with the communication strategies that strengthen trainer-client relationships.
Clients who don’t fully believe in their personal training plan will be less likely to stick around. Putting together personalized training plans that are in line with the client’s goals and preferences is paramount for boosting engagement and retention.
Clients will be more likely to check out if their personal trainer isn’t offering the level of engagement they expect.
While no PT would intentionally disengage, the pressure of manually managing a long list of clients can take its toll, resulting in high-stress levels, fatigue, and burnout.
At that point, the standard of service begins to drop, and clients begin heading to the exit door.
Want to reduce admin workload and boost retention? Explore PT Distinction’s automation tools.
We’ve outlined the client retention challenges that personal trainers face. Now the question becomes: what can you do about them?
While no magic bullet’ll keep all of your clients with you for years on end, personal trainer software tools such as PT Distinction can increase the chances.
Our highly-rated tool comes jam-packed with features that help personal trainers offer a premium service that drives engagement and ultimately boosts client retention.
Clients are often motivated and engaged during sessions, but less so outside of those sessions.
PT Distinction’s habit coaching feature helps personal trainers bolster engagement round-the-clock by making it easy to set nutrition, training, and lifestyle habits that keep clients on the right track in between sessions.
It takes time to see results, and while you may know that, not every client does. PT Distinction personal trainer software includes a progress tracking feature that demonstrates to clients that they’re moving in the right direction, even if they can’t yet see the results of their efforts.
Use PT Distinction’s tracking tools to show:
This visual feedback helps clients stay the course.
Strong communication can be a game-changer for client retention. PT Distinction software makes communication between PT and client easier than ever, allowing both parties to send and receive messages on the fly.
PT Distinction’s nutrition and workout compliance tools increase client accountability, making it more likely that they’ll stick to the plan.
It’s also an easy way to build momentum early on they may not (yet) be seeing visible improvements, but by following your plan each day, they’re already claiming victories.
Clients are more likely to stick with a program that has been specifically designed with their needs in mind. With PT Distinction, you can:
Personalization leads to better engagement, which leads to better retention.
The best personal trainer software benefits the client and the PT. You can think of the software as your own personal assistant, one that can do much of the heavy lifting required to keep clients engaged and motivated.
PT Distinction automates:
In the meantime, you’ll find that you have more free time, less stress, and more space to come up with other engagement-boosting activities and strategies that help to grow your business — or to take a well-earned break.
PT Distinction does more than help personal trainers retain their clients.
Our software also features a suite of features that make it easier than ever for personal trainers to attract and onboard new clients.
With PT Distinction, you can:
Retention doesn’t happen by accident, it’s built through systems, service, and consistency. PT Distinction gives you the tools to deliver an exceptional experience that keeps clients loyal and progressing.
Thousands of personal trainers around the world already trust PT Distinction to power their businesses.
Want to try it for yourself?
Sign up for a 1-month free trial and see how PT Distinction can transform your retention and your results.
We'll get you up and running in no time. Start with our zero-risk free trial and build your personal training empire today.
