In the competitive landscape of franchise businesses, customer acquisition often takes center stage. All hands are on deck to chase new leads relentlessly. But at The Swing Bays, they’ve discovered a different approach to sustainable growth—one that has resulted in the remarkable achievement of losing only 18 members since their doors opened in 2022.
The Costly Acquisition Treadmill
Most franchise operations find themselves stuck on what can be called the “acquisition treadmill”—running faster and faster to replace departing customers while trying to grow at the same time. It’s exhausting, expensive, and ultimately unsustainable.
As the kids say, the math isn’t “math-ing”. Acquiring a new customer typically costs 5-7 times more than retaining an existing one. For membership-based businesses like indoor golf simulator training facilities, this multiplier effect can devastate your bottom line if you’re not careful.
The Swing Bays Retention Revolution
When The Swing Bays launched in 2022, co-founders Dustin and Brenna Miller made a conscious decision to prioritize retention alongside acquisition. While other indoor golf concepts were racing to sign up as many members as possible, they focused on creating an experience that members wouldn’t want to leave and even better, would want to bring their friends in on the action.
The results speak for themselves: only 18 members have departed since their opening. In an industry where monthly churn rates of 5-8% are common, their performance stands out dramatically.
The Swing Bays Three-Pillar Approach to Keeping Members
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Service Excellence Beyond Expectations
At The Swing Bays, they’ve reimagined what service means in the indoor golf space. Every staff member—from the general manager to the club repair team member—understands that their primary mission is creating memorable experiences, not just processing transactions.
“We train our team to recognize members by name within their first three visits,” says Dustin Miller, Co-founder of The Swing Bays. “It sounds simple, but that personal recognition creates an immediate sense of belonging and we believe in community over transaction.”
The Swing Bays service philosophy extends to the smallest details: personal invitations to events by the team members, the team grabbing folks’ bags as they’re entering the facility, and helping members walk out to their car with golf equipment or apparel they’ve purchased.
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Programming That Creates Community
While most indoor golf facilities focus solely on simulator time, The Swing Bays developed comprehensive programming that transforms The Swing Bays from a service into a community.
Their leagues, event watch parties, club and apparel fitting nights, and member tournaments create regular touchpoints that members eagerly anticipate. These aren’t just activities—they’re community-building events that forge friendships and friendly rivalries that keep members coming back.
“You walk in and it’s kind of like my own cheers, where everyone knows my name.” said Swing Bays Member Ryan as he shared what keeps him coming back to the Swing Bays. “It is so much fun to come in and be greeted and everybody is so happy to see you.”
The data shows that members who participate in at least one organized program have a much higher renewal rate than those who don’t. That’s why The Swing Bays invested heavily in creating diverse programming that appeals to different segments of the membership.
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Top-Tier Technology and Facilities
While service and programming form the foundation of the retention strategy, they haven’t neglected the importance of delivering a superior physical experience. The Swing Bays investment in the latest Trackman simulator technology, comfortable hitting bays, and premium amenities ensures members have access to the latest data and tools to make their golf game better.
A proprietary app and more technology for members will be released within the next year to make scheduling bays and tracking fitness and golf progress even easier.
Measuring What Matters
Unlike many franchise operations that can quote their customer acquisition cost down to the penny but have only a vague notion of retention metrics, The Swing Bays tracks retention with scientific precision.
They monitor:
- Annual Personalized Goals for each member
- Participation rates in organized events
- Quarterly member surveys
- Renewal intention check ins 90 days before renewal date
This data-driven approach allows The Swing Bays to identify members who might be at risk of leaving before they even realize it themselves. A sudden drop in visit frequency triggers a personalized outreach from the team, often with an invitation to an upcoming event that might rekindle their engagement.
The Bottom-Line Impact
The financial benefits of our retention-focused approach have been substantial. While the industry standard for customer lifetime value in indoor golf hovers around 14 months, our average member stays with us for over 30 months and counting.
The customer lifetime value for a Swing Bays member keeps increasing and has helped drive our overall revenue. The gross revenues of our affiliate-owned facility in Parker, Colorado is $938,669*.
Lessons for Other Franchise Operators
The Swing Bays’ success offers valuable insights for other franchise businesses, regardless of industry:
- Make retention everyone’s responsibility: From the front desk to management, every team member should understand their role in keeping members happy.
- Create multiple reasons to stay: Members who engage with your business in multiple ways have more reasons not to leave. Make easy introductions to your entire service scope so they understand everything that you offer them. For The Swing Bays, this includes fitness and golf lessons, social programming, club repair, club fittings, and access to the latest golf equipment for discounted prices.
- Measure proactively, not reactively: Don’t wait until members leave to understand why they’re dissatisfied.
- Invest in community-building: Relationships keep members loyal even when newer or cheaper alternatives emerge.
- Celebrate retention wins: Make member anniversaries as important as new sign-ups.
The Path Forward
As The Swing Bays continues to expand its franchise footprint across the country, their focus on retention remains unwavering. New franchisees receive comprehensive training on the retention philosophy and systems, ensuring that this competitive advantage scales with their growth.
“We’ve proven that in the membership business, the real profit engine isn’t acquisition—it’s retention,” Swing Bays Co-founder, Dustin Miller. “Anyone can sign up new members with enough marketing dollars, but creating an experience that members can’t imagine leaving? That’s the true competitive advantage.”
For franchise investors exploring opportunities in the booming indoor golf market, The Swing Bays’ extraordinary retention metrics offer a compelling reason to take a closer look. After all, in a business built on recurring revenue, there’s nothing more valuable than members who stay.
If you’re interested in learning more about The Swing Bays franchise opportunity, visit our website or get in touch with our team today.
*These figures can be found in Item 19 of the 2024 FDD issued by The Swing Bays Franchise, LLC. “Gross Revenues” include all revenues generated from the affiliate-owned facility. Gross Revenues do not include applicable sales taxes, documented refunds, returns, discounts provided to customers, and tips collected by employees. This information is not intended as an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to buy a franchise. It is for informational purposes only. The offer of a franchise can be made only by a franchise disclosure document. Currently, the following states regulate the offer and sale of franchises: California, Hawaii, Illinois, Indiana, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, New York, North Dakota, Oregon, Rhode Island, South Dakota, Virginia, Washington, and Wisconsin. If you are a resident of or want to locate a franchise in one of these states, we will not offer you a franchise unless and until we have complied with applicable pre-sale registration and disclosure requirements in your state.
