How to create a client retention strategy for your nutrition business

The main focus of every nutrition professional, regardless of the area of expertise, should be the client. Right from the moment the client walks in is when the client retention strategy begins.

In the nutrition field, attracting new clients is essential for the profession's sake, but is a single appointment enough for our clients to achieve the expected results?

It certainly is not. When clients seek your guidance, they are looking for assistance and guidance in long-term changes and, most of all, having someone to always remind them how to be on track with their goals.

That is why creating an effective client retention strategy is the single most important thing to increase your revenue and success.

To make things easier for you, we created a list of regularly used strategies by professionals to increase the commitment of clients and make sure they are succeeding.

Customization

Customization is something that should always be on your mind. Still, it is also important that the client recognizes that during the consultation, and notices you are advertising it.

The first thing you can do is asking is if the client wants to have access to a permanent follow-up with you. If so, set them up with the Nutrium mobile app while you are chatting and creating their nutritional intervention.

As you work on it, the meal plan and recommendations will begin to show in the app. Just by doing this, you are creating a bond of trust and giving them a sense of commitment. As well as a WOW factor.

Innovation

Nutrition as a profession has been around for a few years now, and many of your clients have seen a nutrition expert at least once in their life. Therefore, it is up to you to make a difference when providing the service and have something that can set you apart.

For example, besides weight assessment, professionals may analyze body composition through bioimpedance or even skinfold measurements. You will find it hard to believe, but many clients have never been to an appointment where all these parameters were checked.

Moreover, by taking advantage of technological advancements, you can improve communication with clients. Not having to deal with the paperwork and offering a mobile app instead is certainly an advantage.

Attractive design

Ideally, the meal plan should be clean, organized, and pleasing to the eye.

You should keep in mind the client will spend a lot of time analyzing it, so special attention should be given when creating those dietary recommendations.

Thanks to the Nutrium app, you do not have to worry about this since the meal plan design is automatically generated and has an intuitive layout that your clients will love.

Recipes

It is not required that a nutrition professional be a chef. Still, they should know a little bit about cooking, especially to help the client make healthier exchanges and prepare their favorite meals without going overboard.

During nutrition consultations, try to give the client a new recipe that they are not used to cooking, or try to show them a different way of cooking food. This is particularly useful for cooking vegetables since many people only eat them in stews or salads. Having a blog of your own with healthy recipes is also very useful.

Once you build a relationship of trust with the client, it is the ideal time for them to recreate it and feel that the recipe is "safe" for them.

If you do not want to build a blog because you are not sure if it would be the best use of your time, Nutrium also has the possibility for you to create a personal page, for free and within minutes, where you can share your recipes with clients. Check here. You can also create blog posts with additional content to send to clients regularly.

Follow-up appointments

At the end of the first appointment, make sure to schedule the next one, but let the client choose when it is more suitable for them.

In the Nutrium app, this step is very intuitive as the calendar to book appointments is available and can be seen on the mobile app.

This is of the utmost importance since it will ensure that you and your clients are aware of your next commitment, which is the follow-up appointment. Therefore, it is essential for you to continue to keep track of their progress and be accountable.

Messages

Sending a message to clients reminding them of the date of the appointments is a good practice but takes time. The Nutrium mobile app reminds clients of their upcoming appointments automatically, so they never forget about it and reduce no-shows and also to save you some time.

But in addition to that, you can send clients check-up messages, between appointments. And for example, if the client's last appointment was about 2 or 3 months ago, send them a reminder to schedule a new one.

A great time of the year to resuscitate clients who have stopped coming for check-ups is in the new year. So January is a great month for a big round-up of messages.

It is crucial to keep in touch with them between appointments because that is what clients are looking for, they are paying you because they want someone to guide them and remind them of their goals. More often than not, your client retention strategy fails because clients are too lazy to change and lack someone to remind them to keep going.

Freebies

To offer a small gift at special times, such as Christmas, can make a difference and, once again, it can make your clients feel special. For example, at Christmas, one of our clients offered a customized bag of nuts and another with homemade granola to clients who attended appointments in December. All of them were truly surprised.

In addition to the ones mentioned here, there are other strategies that I do not usually follow but which may be useful to you:

• Appointment Packages: Subscription of 5 nutrition appointments upfront;
• Free appointments: After 10 appointments with your practice, offer the 11th;
• Bring a friend and pay half of your follow-up appointment: If you recommend a nutrition professional to a friend and they make an appointment, you get a 50% discount for the follow-up appointment;
• Calling or sending messages on birthdays: another strategy that shows you care for your clients. With Nutrium, I can do this with one click only, as it reminds you of all your clients' birthdays and suggests you send them a message, so much easier.

In short, you can find a client retention strategy to motivate your clients and prevent them from leaving after the first appointment.

It may be the case they are not willing or prepared for nutritional monitoring, but it is up to you to motivate them and work with them to achieve their goals and expected results.