Generating gym membership leads online

Despite what people might think, traffic and sales don’t always go hand in hand.

Just picture your gym website like a bricks and mortar shop. Getting prospects through the door is simply one part of the process. But what’s to say they won’t take a quick glance before crossing the road and choosing your competitor?

As experts in helping close Direct Debit sales for our health and fitness clients, we’re pretty savvy on the mechanics that drive a purchase. Consider a typical sales funnel:

Awareness

 

Interest

 

Decision (this may happen after they’ve left your website)

 

Action

Each member’s purchasing journey will start before and even after they view your website, and your website needs to reflect this. Focusing on the following is the key to keeping them on your side of the road:

 

Value proposition 

First impressions count. Giving people an idea of exactly what makes your gym stand out from the crowd is crucial – hitting the back button on their browser makes no odds to them. Everything from the design of your website through to the content impacts this.

 

Data, data and more data

What demographics is your website targeting? Younger people may prefer a more ‘nitty-gritty’ feel. Families will like to see all of the kids activities. Knowing your audience is critical to engaging them.

 

Navigability

We’re in a relatively new age of instant gratification. That is to say, attention spans are shrinking and prospects take no prisoners in their pursuit of a purchase. If it feels like a challenge to objectively analyse your gym website’s navigability, get someone else to have a play.

 

Retargeting 

Bigger purchases like gym memberships take more time to consider. Even if they like what they see on your website, they probably won’t make a purchase straight away. Targeting your paid marketing at people who have visited your website and are in the middle of the sales funnel will keep your gym in the forefront of their mind in the decision and action part.

AND MOST IMPORTANTLY…

 

Online joining 

Give your gym prospects somewhere to convert! Many gyms haven’t got this far yet because they think a simple contact form or phone number will suffice. The bottom line is that it won’t. If your organisation doesn’t already have online joining, you can bet your bottom dollar that a good handful of your competitors do.

Online joining is an ingenious 24-hour sales aid with the ability to speed up the sign-up process, reduce manual errors on entry, and market your centre at the same time! New members can sign up from the couch, on their morning commute or through a Facebook post marketing an offer.

Without online joining, you could be losing heaps of potential members.

 

FastDD is DFC’s online joining portal – a bespoke, effective way for your customers to make paperless Direct Debits. FastDD can be fully integrated into your existing website and CRM, and whitelabeled in line with your branding. Automatic bank account verification reduces delays and problems at first payment. Find out more: https://www.debitfinance.co.uk/solutions/fastdd-platinum/

Keep track and keep ahead with Data Retrieval

Welcome to the future with our innovative solution for your business – DFC Data Retrieval Service. It helps you keep your customers’ Direct Debit data up to date and makes it a breeze to monitor and maintain their payment information.

 

What exactly is data retrieval?

Data Retrieval is DFC’s unique management system provides you with up-to-date reports on your incoming Direct Debit payments. It gives you the tools to make membership and subscription administration a breeze.

 

How can it benefit my business?

Thanks to DFC’s unique management platform, integrating DFC’s Data Retrieval System to your existing CRM can be done with no hassle. It also makes the process easy and user-friendly, without having to deal with complex queries to extract the desired data. However, this does not mean that our Data Retrieval Solution isn’t powerful.

In fact, it has the capabilities to help you track, monitor and manage:

Existing Direct Debit information;

Unpaid Direct Debits;

Frozen Direct Debits;

The new DDs that have been processed;

Customer, that have cancelled the instruction;

Accessible 24/7, Data Retrieval can provide you with handy insights on anything from your best-paying customers to your worst – information that could ultimately be strongly impacting your bottom line.

 

Why should I choose DFC?

We offer a transparent service, with clear pricing and no hidden extras. Constantly working hard to provide new solutions for our clients, we deliver on our promises – day in and day out.

Our mission is to make our clients business easier and help improve your relationships with your customers so that they stay longer. You can let us collect your Direct Debits, while you concentrate on running and growing your business and on the things that you really value.

Best practise for secure Direct Debit collections

The GDPR is now in force! Are you locking your work computers? Have you updated your passwords? And have you reassessed your Direct Debit strategy?

Whilst Direct Debit is one of the safest payment methods available in the UK (governed under the rules of the Direct Debit Guarantee), safeguards are a vital facet in any situation where money and personal data unite.

Here are some of the safety measures you can put in place to ensure your Direct Debit practise operates smoothly:

  1. Use online joining – gyms and fitness centres, in particular, have lorded online joining as the holy grail of membership acquisition. Online joining, such as DFC’s FastDD, is a safe way for customers to sign up to a Direct Debit. Automatic bank verification reduces delays and errors on first payment, and all data is locked away in a paperless vault (aka. Your CRM).
  2. Keep the bank and Bacs in the loop – particularly with regards to your security info. If this information is incorrect, then they may not be able to get in touch regarding important matters. They’re also less likely to accept authorised verbal instructions.
  3. Develop a damage control strategy – most operations function much more efficiently when processes are put in place. A disaster mitigation plan will set the wheels in motion to handle something as small as late payments (which are unfortunately a given) to rarer crises such as system failures.
  4. Use a bureau – this is arguably some of the best advice you will receive, in this case for contingency, but also for many other motives. A bureau will handle every aspect of the Direct Debit process for you, from the attainment of a member or subscriber to customer service and data control. Bureaus are the font of knowledge on everything Direct Debit. Security is their forte and they’re happy to remove the onus from you.
Who is DFC?

DFC is a leading Direct Debit bureau offering a transparent service, with clear pricing and no hidden extras.

DFC’s mission is to make our clients business easier and help improve your relationships with your customers so that they stay longer. You can let DFC collect your Direct Debits, while you concentrate on running and growing your business.

What is a Direct Debit Instruction?

A Direct Debit Instruction, also known as a mandate, is a green light from your customer to collect future payments out of their account. Each Direct Debit Instruction will be privy to the following terms:

  1. All future payments are authorised. A service provider can collect money from their customer’s account at any time without the need for confirmation.
  2. Customers must be notified of every payment leaving their account via a Direct Debit related to that good or service.
  3. Organisations must adhere to the Direct Debit Guarantee, a set of regulations protecting customers from any wrongdoing.
Direct Debit Guarantee

Devised by Bacs, the regulatory body responsible for overseeing UK automated payment methods, the Direct Debit Guarantee acts as a safeguard for customers.

Anyone with a Direct Debit Instruction is automatically protected under regulations laid out in the scheme. Under the Direct Debit Guarantee, customers can cancel their instruction at any time and receive an immediate refund in the event of an error (amongst many other protections).

Setup

A Direct Debit Instruction can be set up online, over the phone or old-school style – via a paper mandate form.

Secure online joining and telephone setups are the most popular methods of setup, as they are much quicker and more convenient. Online joining portals, in particular, can be accessed with little hassle and the process is generally painless.

To set up a Direct Debit instruction, a customer will simply need their name, bank name, sort code and account number. The service provider will then need to submit this to the banks.