Personally, I am a big fan of the paid trial membership (it generates better qualified prospects and sorts out the “buyers” from the “tryers”), in fact, paid trial memberships are one of the cornerstones of the iPOS advertising system.
Thom knows his stuff when it comes to trail memberships but one point I differ on is the $9 trial membership to compete with the low-pricers. I think that it is smarter to offer a higher priced trial but to add more value to it with personal training and/or group training session(s).
The reason being that you don’t want to compete with the low-pricers on price… that’s their strength not yours. Better to provide them with something that the low-pricers can’t or won’t offer, adds to the trial member’s experience in your club, and moves them up the expertise curve.
So rather than merely getting prospective members who are only loyal to price, you can begin to demonstrate to them why it is better to pay a little more with you to get personal assistance in your club. And by the end of their trial they can see the value of your membership as opposed to the low price of your competitor’s membership.
Anyway have a read of Thom’s Blog post if you want some sensible advice on trial memberships… my recommendation is for a value added paid trial membership.
Comments