Good customer service is important for any business, but particularly for franchisors who rely on franchisees to act responsibly and always in the best interests of the brand.

 

In the fitness industry, success is underpinned by customer loyalty and retention, and businesses in this market are focused on how long their customers remain loyal for. 

 

In a Harvest Business Review survey on the impact of good and bad customer service, it found that any member who rates as having a poor experience has only a 45% chance of being a member a year later, and members who rate as having experienced a high level of customer service are likely to remain a member for as long as six years.

 

Franchisors when recruiting for new business owners look for people with the right traits and characteristics needed for franchising – one of which is good people skills.

 

Joel Libava – Franchise Ownership Advisor – says that personalities who do well in franchising are people who are averse to conflict and comfortable taking feedback. 

 

“Lovers do well in franchising, not fighters.

 

I surveyed over 1,000 people whose franchises had failed when I started consulting. I found that lots of people failed for reasons that had nothing to do with finances,” he says.

 

Jetts Fitness, one of Australia’s leading 24 hour fitness facilities, prides itself on delivering the best customer experiences. One of the ways they ensure this is by recruiting only the best franchisees to represent their brand, the kind who have customers front of mind and who understand that good service is the secret to success.

 

According to IbisWorld, gyms who will achieve success in franchising are those who pay attention to the maintenance of facilities, make customer access easy, control prices and costs, and who offer value-add services. 

 

All of which are strategies that Jetts fitness employ to help maintain and grow their membership base.

 

Jetts Fitness CEO Martin Oliver says that the future of the brand and model is focused on engagement, with its newly launched membership promoter score playing a major part in the business staying member centric.

 

The system ensures that the business is continually improving its processes from the ground up, by listening to what the customers have to say.

 

“We listen to the members, this is rich information. We launched it in May 2014 and have had over 30,000 comments. We’ve started to formulate a strategy about what the model looks like,” Oliver said.

 

And what do the franchisees have to say about life at Jetts? 

 

Well, Warren White and Jill Bingham, owners of two Jetts stores say that the most rewarding part of being a Jetts business owner is “getting it right” and seeing membership numbers grow as a result of happy customers.

 

“The club culture is a big one for us. If you can get the culture right…WOW! The feeling in the club is awesome,” they said.

 

To become a Jetts franchise owner, you don’t need to be an experienced trainer or fitness fanatic, but you do need to love working in a close knit community and share the Jetts penchant for great customer service. 

 

As a franchisee you get access to the Jetts brand and business model, as well as its proven franchise systems designed to help individual owners on their journey to entrepreneurship and leading the ultimate balanced lifestyle.

 

For more information on the Jetts franchise, and how you can become part of the team, click here.