Finding students who have stopped coming, and winning them back
Regulars stop coming quietly: nobody cancels a drop-in class, they just miss two weeks, then four. Define a regular (came three of the last six weeks), list the regulars not seen for two to four weeks with the class each was last at, and have the teacher who knows them send one short personal message. A class that is two people short of breaking even is usually two people who used to come.
Why drop-in classes lose people without noticing
At a membership gym, leaving is an event: someone cancels, and the system knows. At a drop-in class there is no event. A regular misses a week for a cold, then a week for work, and by the fourth week they are "someone who used to come". Nobody noticed because nobody was counting, and the roll only shows who is here, never who isn't.
The cost is real. A Monday class averaging 8.5 people that needs 10 to break even is not short of marketing; it is short of two regulars who were there in June. Winning back one of them costs a text message. Finding a new one costs an ad, a trial, a sign-up and a first night.
Three lists
- Regulars. Someone who has been to at least three of the last six weeks of a class. Your own definition; the point is to have one.
- Drifting. Regulars not seen for two to four weeks. Still warm. Worth a message.
- Gone. Not seen for longer than four weeks. Worth one message, then leave them be. Some come back in a new term.
Each name on the drifting list should carry the class they were last at, because that decides who sends the message. A note from the teacher they know is answered. A note from "the studio" is marketing.
What to send
Short, from a person, no offer. The job is to say that someone noticed.
Hi Jo, Sam here from Monday Swing. Haven't seen you for a few weeks, hope everything's OK. We've started on Charleston if you feel like jumping back in. No pressure either way.
Don't attach a discount. A regular who left because life got busy doesn't need a cheaper class, and a discount teaches everyone that leaving is how you get one. If they reply "money's tight", then offer the 10-class pass.
Measure it, lightly
- Do first-timers come back? Of the people whose first visit was last month, how many have been twice? Five times? If first-timers don't return, the first night is the problem: wrong level, nobody said hello, no clear "next week we do X".
- Do free trials convert? Same question for people whose first visit was free. If under one in five pay for a second class, change the trial (a trial pass of two classes converts better than one free class, because the second visit is the habit).
- Monthly retention. Of the regulars three months ago, how many are regulars now? Track it per class; the studio average hides the class that is bleeding.
Count complete months only. A half month always looks like a collapse.
What ClassMetrix does
The money page has a Drifting away list: regulars (your definition: how many weeks, how many visits) not seen for a number of days you set, each with the class they were last at, so the right teacher can check in. Socials and events are left out, so a regular who only skipped the party isn't listed. Each person's page shows their recent classes and how they paid. The roll marks someone whose only visits so far were free trials, which is the first-timer question answered at the door.
See the drifting-away list in the demo
The demo studio has six months of attendance and a dozen regulars who have gone quiet.
Read next
Questions
How do I know when a student has stopped coming?
Define a regular first: someone who has been to, say, three of the last six weeks. A regular who has not been for two weeks is drifting; four weeks is gone. The list of drifting regulars, with the class each was last at, is the one that is still worth a message.
What should I say to a student who has stopped coming?
Something short, personal and from the person they know, with no sales pitch: "Hi Jo, Sam here from Monday Swing. Haven't seen you for a few weeks, hope all is well. We've moved on to Charleston if you want to jump back in." The point is that someone noticed. Most replies are "life got busy" and half of those come back.
What retention rate is normal for a drop-in class?
Drop-in classes keep fewer people than membership gyms because nothing is automatic. Measure your own: of the people who were regulars three months ago, how many are still regulars? Watch the number move month by month rather than comparing it with a published average, which will be for a different kind of business.
Do free trials turn into regulars?
Some do. Count it: of the people whose first visit was a free trial, how many came a second time, and a fifth? If it is under one in five, the trial is the problem (wrong class, no follow-up, nobody said hello), not the price.