SCALING UP:
Why professional consultants are
essential for climbing
gym growth
The evolving indoor climbing gym industry is increasingly relying on commercial consultants to enhance business operations and growth. Key services are in demand and consultants are helping gyms transition into competitive, well-rounded commercial enterprises that can hold their own in the broader health and fitness market. One of the most powerful tools a consultant can offer is an independent perspective. Here is one insight from a consultant on how to refine your Customer Journey and what to consider.
The Casual user.
When it comes to casual users designing a robust customer journey for indoor climbing walls involves balancing customer satisfaction, safety, and operational efficiency to drive growth and minimise liabilities. It starts with strong pre-visit marketing and seamless online booking systems – ensuring the look and feel of the service is consistent and doesn’t create anxiety in users through mixed messaging.
Efficient on-site check-ins with clear safety protocols help users relax, as many first-time climbers are dealing with a perceived “risky” environment and an unfamiliar social setting – often a point overlooked by passion operators. All too common the customer journey up until now will have been dominated by a marketeer and a technical advisor, who focus on stimulating and controlling customers respectfully. Post-climb feedback mechanisms, regular mystery shopping, and staff training are all crucial to ongoing improvement. It’s essential to listen to both active and inactive users to ensure continuous engagement.
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Climbing gyms often fall into the trap of the “internal echo chamber” and “survivor bias’. The most frequent visitors, or “hardcore” climbers, are often the loudest group, steering decisions that may not align with broader business interests. These individuals typically account for less than 5% of the total income of a centre. By contrast, long term loyalty and customer retention significantly improve when regular, positive interactions with users is ingrained in the centre’s workforce.
Simple touchpoints and basic staff training can have a dramatic effect on the long term viability of your business. These interactions need to be nothing more than “Hello”, “Goodbye”, “How was your session today”, however magical things start to occur when you ask really insightful questions, turning casual visits into emotionally memorable experiences, and thus forging strong bonds with your brand.
The key takeaway from this is building brand loyalty and positive brand association. The best way to achieve this is by treating every customer as an individual - a core principle that also lends itself well to the positive EDIB (Equality, Diversity, Inclusivity, and a sense of Belonging) attributes that climbing has at its roots. With core systems in place, empowered staff, and a safe environment for all, there’s no reason why your customer base shouldn’t grow significantly.
Probability of visiting next month if spoken to THIS month (Paul Bedford, Retention Guru)
The coached user
A well-structured “Learn to Climb” program is a cornerstone for many successful climbing gyms, especially roped centres. With larger percentages of total revenue coming from coaching for roped centres. If your coaching program isn’t matching your casual income, then you are missing out. While bouldering centres tend to generate a lower share from coaching, this is slowly changing. Coaching programs serve as entry point for newcomers, fostering long-term loyalty and retention.
Key elements of a successful “Learn to Climb” program include a Beginner-Friendly Curriculum, Instructor Training and Certification and Customer Engagement and Retention orientations. However, we also see a key divergence from this point as we focus on juniors and adults.
Juniors
To draw lessons from the most globally successful award scheme for indoor climbers (NICAS. National Indoor Climbing Award Scheme – UK based), we see having a product which appeals to both the consumer (the parent) and the end user (the child) is key to understanding the part this pathway plays in creating loyal and capable long-term climbers. Providing aspiration and progression for some, structure and a pathway to others and a platform for social growth and confidence development for everyone else. Long term brand engagement and building a new generation of customer that every business is striving to create is built with this product.
Adults
While climbing’s popularity is growing, more than 90% of the population (of the UK) have never tried climbing. A seamless pathway for adult beginners is essential. The next method is one all too often neglected in the climbing world - the upsell. When you have someone in a beginner climbing course, they have taken the first step in showing intent towards participation. It is now down to us to guide them towards making a habit – we can incentivise this passed the enjoyment of the session with promotional offers like one month free or discounted annual memberships. The former proving the most effective in creating long term habits if it is utilised in conjunction with solid interaction mechanisms. The goal here is to achieve visits for 66 days in order to engage the consumer in meaningful habit creation (European Journal of Social Psychology, 2009). So (1) incentivise them coming back in after the course, then (2) generate interactions to ensure month attendance in month 2.
Customer Journey summary
By investing in a well-structured “Learn to Climb” scheme, and ongoing promotional and customer touch point systems climbing gyms can convert first-timers into long-term members with a higher success rate and therefore creating a stable revenue base with longer customer attrition and higher spends per visit.
Next phase, how to best utilise your sales team.
The Path Forward: Building a Professional Climbing Industry
As the indoor climbing industry continues to grow, the role of commercial consultants will become even more critical. These professionals bring valuable experience from related industries, equipping climbing gyms with the tools and strategies they need to thrive in an increasingly competitive market. Developing structured customer journeys that foster loyalty is just one of many ways an indoor climbing industry consultant can help businesses succeed.
With the help of consultants, climbing gyms are no longer just recreational spaces – they are dynamic, high-performing businesses catering to a wide range of customers. The ongoing professionalisation of the industry, coupled with climbing’s growing popularity due to the Olympics, films, documentaries, and media coverage, marks an exciting time for the indoor climbing market. Operators now have the chance to capitalise and inject a catalyst into their business growth trajectory.