4 ways to increase student retention in your tennis coaching business

Tennis coaching businesses are local businesses meaning there is only a finite number of potential customers. That’s why we need to make sure that students stay with you for a long long time.

Students are the bread and butter of your business. 80% of your revenue will come from just 20% of your existing customers (Source: Gartner Group)!

This means, focusing on existing students will not only save you money in the long run but also generate more. Plus, happy students are more likely to recommend your tennis coaching and bring their friends along. And word-of-mouth is one of the most effective ways to advertise your business!

Let’s dive into the retention strategies:

1. Personalise experience

Make your students feel valued and appreciated - and little things can go a long way here. This can be as small as an automated birthday email with a discount voucher for their next session or a phone call to a parent when their child missed a lesson due to sickness.

It’s the things you did not have to do but still chose to do.

Find a way to incorporate a few personal touches and we’ll guarantee your students (and their parents) will appreciate it and it’s more likely they’ll stick around.

2. Reward loyalty

The main idea is to make your students happy they stayed with you. And, of course, reassuring them that they’ve made the right choice.

Rewarding loyalty can come in different ways. You can reward your students for achieving certain milestones within your coaching program, such as longevity or progress.

Or you can follow a referral scheme where you reward a student who refers other students to your program.

3. Listen to feedback

Listening to your customers is more important than ever. Thanks to social media, our thoughts and opinions can be shared in an instant, and especially negative feedback receives the most attention.

Conduct frequent customer surveys to foster engagement - and most importantly - to find out what you're doing well and what areas need improvement.

If you come across negative feedback you should contact that customer as soon as possible and get more details on why they're unhappy.

Positive feedback, on the other hand, can be used as a testimonial and for future marketing initiatives.

4. Measure progress

The most important reason why people are joining your coaching lessons is to make progress. If your students are not making progress, or at least feel like they aren't, they are more likely to lose motivation and eventually drop out. At the end of the day, they are paying you to learn and to get better.

Especially, when your students are younger and parents are involved, tracking and measuring progress is essential for retaining your students. Think about how you can give your students a sense of continuous progress and achievement and keep them engaged throughout the program.

Implementing some progression system is a good starting point to track progress and show parents that their kids are learning and improving.

Udio can help you retain your students effectively by allowing you to track students' performance and achievements in our customer portal, run reports to determine which customers meet your loyalty criteria, and send automated birthday emails. Speak to our friendly team to find out more!