These days, memberships are a normal part of everyday life. People are used to paying for monthly access at the gym, for TV and online content, and even for savings and benefits from online retailers. And do most people cancel their gym membership if they slack on their workout routine for a couple months? Probably not. Do people rush to cancel Netflix after realizing they didn\u2019t use it for a month? Nah. Could many of us even imagine living without Amazon Prime? No way.<\/p>\n
You want your tanning business needs to be thought about in the same way. Their tanning EFT is just another monthly charge on their card. You are a part of your members\u2019 lifestyle. Their tanning and service routines, much like their workout regimens, entertainment consumption, and most other things people spend money on, will vary. But that doesn\u2019t mean they want to go through the hassle of canceling their membership.<\/p>\n
These days, we love convenience. That\u2019s an important part of the appeal of all these memberships. Even though your cancellation and sign-up process is probably relatively simple, many people would often rather not bother with it as long as they know they\u2019ll be using it again.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s more common to sign up on EFT because that\u2019s how their gym membership and Netflix are. What that\u2019s done is help us sell services like SmartSun Therapy and have a bigger impact because we can add that to people’s memberships or they\u2019re OK with just having an SST membership. People are OK with that membership and have a better understanding. They’re willing to keep it longer. It\u2019s not that oddball sitting on your credit card statement anymore,\u201d says SunSeekers by Rosie co-owner and GM Scott Nichols.<\/p>\n
Memberships are now the norm rather than the exception, and that should continue to become even more predominant. When people didn’t have numerous EFT charges every month, it makes sense why they were quick to cancel their tanning membership when they didn’t need it as much. But now people are accustomed to the convenience of automated payments and unlimited access. They want a reason to keep it. You just have to give them one.<\/p>\n
There are tons of reasons why someone should keep their tanning membership all year long. That\u2019s the beauty of today\u2019s common membership strategy of loading value at the top level and to lesser degrees throughout. When the thought of canceling comes to mind, there are that many more reasons to reconsider.<\/p>\n
Years ago, when Dennis Ligon, owner of Sundays Blue Box Sun Spa Shop, dug deeper into the numbers, he was surprised to find that the retention rate for his $78.88 all-inclusive members was within \u201cone to two percent\u201d of that for the $18.88 base memberships. \u201cI was like, \u2018Holy cow, I\u2019d be a fool to go away from that because they\u2019re staying on that just as much. That\u2019s when I knew we were going to stick with that long term,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s like, why does Amazon offer Amazon Prime? Why give free shipping and everything for $100? Because they know the more you use it, you\u2019re going to say, \u2018This is a great value; I\u2019ll never be without it.\u2019 If you do something well enough that they\u2019re scared to take it away, you\u2019re set.\u201d<\/p>\n