When you add a one-time joining fee for new members, you can actually benefit both your business and your members. For your studio or gym, new member joining fees can increase your revenue, offset your customer acquisition and onboarding costs, and help provide promotional opportunities. For your members, this fee actually acts as a psychological factor that encourages them to visit your space, book classes, and most importantly, stay with your studio for the long run.
TeamUp makes it easy to add a one-time fee as part of your member joining process, but it’s up to you to make the most out of it. Any time you add a new fee or cost for your members, you might receive pushback. Therefore, it’s important to make the additional fee worth it for both you and your members.
In this guide, we’ll review how you can increase revenue and member retention with the new member joining fee as well as how you can use this fee as a promotional tool.
The signup process for your studio or gym is one of the first impressions members have of your business. In that case, it is important for you to justify the addition of this fee. When you explain the reasoning behind the fee, new customers will not only be more likely to pay but also more okay with paying.
Include a welcome package with merch (branded water bottle, drawstring bag, keychain, towel, etc) when a new member joins.
Offer a fitness assessment, onboarding session, or personal training intro session to new members. Note: You can make this time-based. Example: Book your new member personal training session within the first 3 months of joining.
Position the fee as coverage for the cost of account setup, app access, and staff time.
Another benefit of adding a fee to your sales cycle is that you now have a lever you can use for marketing. This new member joining fee can be flexible. You and your sales team can offer to waive it as a tool to encourage finicky prospective customers to make the decision to sign up.
Run limited time promotions where the fee is waived or reduced if a member signs up during a specific time.
Offer to waive or reduce the fee for referrals (either the referee, the referrer, or both).
Waive or reduce the fee to upsell customers into signing up for a contract with more commitment or a higher member tier.
Any time you update your pricing or add a new fee, you need to think carefully about what actually makes sense. Take into consideration what you already charge for your membership as well as the location of your studio or gym, the general cost of living, the average salary of the people in your area, and what you, yourself, would be willing to see as reasonable.
The typical range for a new member joining fee is $25–$100, depending on your brand and the services you offer.
Luxury studios and gyms can afford to charge higher fees as they are providing a premium experience.
If you offer tiered memberships, you can also create tiered joining fees to correspond with the prices of the memberships.
No one likes to pay fees, but when they are aware of them from the get-go, they can spend the sales process getting used to the idea. When you are transparent with your prospective customers, then they trust you. Don’t hide your fees at the very end and surprise someone with an additional fee right before they decide to sign up. That will hurt their trust and might even lead to lost sales.
Display fees clearly on your website, in your sales materials, and in your space.
Train staff to explain the fees confidently, with a value-forward approach. For example, “This fee helps us create the best experience for you from your first day with us.”
As people get further into the sales process, point out the fees proactively so they know you are trustworthy and not trying to sneak it by them.
Ready to take the leap and add new member joining fees to your sales process? It’s easy to set up new member joining fees on TeamUp. Head to the Help Center for the instructions.
When you add new member joining fees, you can see the benefits roll in. More revenue, stronger customer retention, new opportunities for marketing, and so much more. With TeamUp, it’s simple to add this fee and grow.
Still have questions? Book a demo and learn how TeamUp can help you and your members achieve goals.