90% of Price Increases are Boneheaded

Or: The Simple Way Not to Be

Here’s one boneheaded mistake you can easily avoid:

Raising rates without upping the ante on value. That's a fast track to disgruntled clients and a tarnished reputation.

The dumbest move of all: blaming your rate increase on inflation.

Inflation isn't a free pass to hike prices and expect your members to not feel pissed. Even if they don’t quit or complain.

Remember: Your members are feeling the pinch of inflation themselves at every turn. Adding to their pain to alleviate yours is a punch in the face.

Churn isn’t a binary thing. Every action you take either pushes a member towards or away from churn, even if slightly. One of the biggest pushes you can make towards churning a member is to make the service cost more without increasing the value.

Your members are savvy. They're not just paying for access to equipment; they're investing in an experience, a community, and their own health and wellness journey. If you're considering a price increase, you'd better be ready to raise the bar on value, too.

So, before you adjust those rates, ask yourself: What new benefits are your members getting? Are you up-leveling your coaching, upgrading equipment, increasing member results, or enhancing the overall gym experience? If the answer is no, it's time to hit the drawing board.

Remember, a price hike without added value doesn't just risk member satisfaction; it jeopardizes the essence of why your gym exists in the first place—to support and enhance the wellness journey of your community.

Are you genuinely enhancing value, or are you just testing the loyalty of your members?