Create Engaged Clients with Engaging Experiences
By Colin Milner
Offer compelling programs to build your client base and participation levels.
| You spent a few years researching the type of wellness centre to build. Then, you invested lots of money to create a centre you now proudly call your own.
You’ve nurtured an environment that is appealing, accessible and non-intimidating. Best of all, you’ve themed the facility to differentiate it from your competitors. You’ve purchased the best age-friendly equipment on the market and recruited staff with expertise in serving mature adults. The cutting-edge programs you offer serve members with all levels of function. And you’ve built a wellness culture embracing all six dimensions of wellness – spiritual, physical, social, intellectual, vocational and emotional. |
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Your marketing campaign reflects your mission, communicating a message that attracts and inspires potential older members while reinforcing the purchases your current members have made. You’ve even sent your sales team and support staff to age-sensitivity training.
But despite doing all the right things, your centre is losing members. To add insult to injury, participation levels have slowly declined.
So what’s gone wrong?
You’ve probably second-guessed every decision made since the start and wondered if the numbers are declining because of your competitors, your location or your staff.
While there’s no shortage of questions you might ask, the most important ones at this stage are, “What can I do now?” and “What is my centre missing?” The answer, in a word, is engagement.
We’ve all experienced it: the book we couldn’t put down or the movie we didn’t want to miss a moment of despite needing to use the restroom. Fans of the television show 24 know these feelings well as they wait each week to see what will happen to Jack Bauer.
Interestingly enough, according to many experts, each of these markets – books, movies and television – struggles to keep its audience. New technologies and channels of distribution have created competition that is changing every industry. Yet when a product engages the audience, it can sell hundreds of millions of dollars. Look no further than the success of the Harry Potter books, the Lord of the Rings films and 24.
What can we learn from the above? If you aren’t able to engage your members, it doesn’t matter if you get everything else right. Without engagement, your facility will remain a “centre” and not a place these individuals have to visit. Not a place they look forward to visiting. The result will be a continued erosion of your client base and participation levels.
How do you get your members engaged in what your centre has to offer? Make your offerings so compelling that they’ll want to get involved. Encourage your staff to find out what really interests them and then create a program that builds in these elements. Make each experience in your facility unique and engaging.
Just like a skilled teacher who engages students by involving them in the learning experience, your staff can involve members in experiences at your centre. Invite these older adults to an orientation session where they create outlines of their ideal programs. (Think about college students picking the courses they want to attend.)
By creating experiences that engage your clients you will likely find that people will support your programs and organizations and that your retention and participation levels will increase.
The Engagement Equation
| engaged = active | disengaged = inactive |
| active = results | inactivity = poor results |
| results = retention & increased participation | poor results = lower retention & participation rates |
| retention & increased participation = revenue | lower retention & participation = less revenue |
Colin Milner is chief executive officer of the International Council on Active Aging. An award-winning writer, Milner has authored more than 100 articles on aging-related issues. He can be reached at colinmilner@icaa.cc.
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