Marketing 101: Why Most Get This Wrong 

Even within those, there are ranges (and other categories). Semi private is all about honing in on that target audience (more so than the others) as culture with who else you work out with will be a big part of the reason you stay/go. With private, it's mostly about the trainer to not lose sight of his purpose in the relationship. Many start out strong, then within 45 days, tend to let their foot off the gas and gradually become more conversational than is necessary. By the 6 month, if you compare their average session to one in their first 30 days, it looks like an entirely different trainer. Those that stick to being focused on training and not being friends have a much better retention and referral rate (which may seem counterintuitive). Large group is mostly about consistency. Consistency in the coaching from all the different instructors and classes (there should be very little variance, otherwise when an instructor leaves, their most loyal members follow), consistency in the events that you host (community is the name of the game here - create opportunities for people to bond). Lastly... age is a big difference as well. If you're in a college town or target younger folks, your attrition will likely be higher than if you target an older demographic. Data shows that fitness members between 21 and 24 stick with a program for 3 months on average. 25 - 34 stick for 7 months. 35 - 44 stick for 11 months. And 45+ stick for 14 months. The retention is best with the older members. Alloy Personal Training, for example, learned this and focuses completely on the 45+ age bracket in their marketing efforts. Hope this helps! I'll make a more in depth audio episode on this as well - The GSD Show podcast

Great information. This mostly confirmed what I already thought. Although I have had slightly different results with personal training since a lot of my clients have become great friends and are the reason why I will be opening my first boutique fitness studio next year. Just listened to your podcast and found the decoy pricing strategy quite insightful. Although sometimes I wonder if you even need a decoy. Simply offer your high ticket item and value stack as you say.

Let me clarify... I'm not saying you can't become great friends with your clients. I'm just saying that the focus of the sessions tend to become more conversational and friendly than on the main purpose for the relationship - get in the best shape possible in the time together. Maybe not for you, which is excellent. But, it's very common (too common) for trainers to lose sight of the main goal. Being friends isn't the goal, but it can absolutely be a side-outcome.