This chart shows you the percentage (or option to see total number) of new clients that continue to either make a purchase or a visit to your studio. Each month the chart creates a cohort of your first visit clients and tracks those same client’s month to month and reports the percentage of people that either made a visit or a purchase in the following month.
Take for example the picture above. The top left of the chart has a 'Date' column that reads ''Dec 2021," next, the 'New Clients' column reads 84, and then the next three columns read "1", "2", and "3" (and so on until you reach month 24). In this example the columns calculate percentage of returned of "100%," "13%," and "14%," respectively. The 100% for column "1" shows that the first month all 84 clients had either a visit or a purchase in the December 2021. Month "2" (January 2022) 13% of the original 84 clients had a visit or purchase. Month "3" (February 2023) 14%* of the original 84 clients had a visit or purchase. Month-by-month your customers come and go, but the extended heatmap will help you identify a pattern.
*A customer reengagement will increase your results, seeing a boost in percentage or total number is a good sign!
Why is this important?
The retention heatmap shows exactly how many clients you are losing and when. You can click any part of the raw data and get the information on the clients from that cohort. The raw data view includes the column 'Retained,' this column can be used to see who had been retained from the original cohort, and most importantly who was not retained from the original cohort. The ability to understand who is not coming back creates an opportunity to follow-up with the clients that did not return.
As you review how long your clients are retained, you can identify important trends. If you lose 80% of your new clients year over year this can reinforce and provide a wonderful visual of how many new clients you need to bring into your business to have a consistent and growing client base. Knowing this information and sharing this with managers and instructors will help everyone learn more about the business so they can get on-board to make positive changes. You can use this information to create a tool for initiating client promos or increased client attention. It is important to build the client's habit of coming to your business and if you can see that clients are not staying long enough to build that habit then they need help and motivation to do so. If it seems the clients are building that habit but then dropping off later there may be room for improvement in building long term health plans with your client and providing extra attention at the right time. Sharing this information and creating a fact-based retention initiative (maybe a special deal or extra attention) coordinated with instructors could save the clients that may have typically slipped out.
Questions to ask about your business
Is there a specific time my clients drop off (e.g. after 3 month or 5 months)?
Is there something I can do to re-engage my clients during the time they drop off?
What does the year over year retention percentage look like on this graph?
Was retention high or low in a particular month? What was the reason for this?
Is there something I should do to take advantage of knowing this?
Learn more about the Customer Retention Heatmap here.