This article will take you through;
- What is ‘Gift First Period Free’?
- How to set up ‘Gift First Period Free’
- Next steps and additional support
What is ‘Gift First Period Free’?
Our new 'Gift First Period Free' enhancement is designed for Boost and Elite customers that want to streamline the process of gifting free time to their clients on the first month of a recurring membership.
Once you have enabled the option to ‘Gift first period free’ for a specific membership plan, your customer’s first membership cycle will then be free i.e. if they sign up for a monthly subscription then their first month will be free and their first payment will begin once that first month ends.
This new enhancement will offer your existing customers greater membership flexibility, help you reengage with past members, and provide you with new opportunities to attract and convert more leads.
Unlike workarounds previously used to offer free time, 'Gift First Period Free' doesn’t involve manual work and clients won't be at risk of churning before the payment cycle kicks in. Plus, you can drive more clients to specific memberships to boost your customer lifetime value. e.g. a free month for a yearly commitment to a high-cost membership.
Please note;
- At present, this enhancement is only available for Boost and Elite customers using unlimited memberships. "Gift first period free" is not available for restricted memberships.
-
When your client begins the purchase of a membership that has Gift Free Time enabled from the app or website integration, it will appear in their cart for checkout like a normal membership, including the monthly membership price. However, they will not be charged for the first cycle once they complete this purchase. Their first payment will begin only when their first cycle is complete. We are working to make this clearer for your clients with a future update to address it.
If you complete a purchase of a membership that has Gift Free Time enabled for a member from the Glofox Dashboard, the price in the cart will correctly be displayed as 0.
How to set up 'Gift First Period Free'
You can enable the option to ‘Gift first period free’ for your customers at any time by editing the settings of a specific membership plan under your 'Memberships'.
Once the option to ‘Gift first period free’ is enabled for a specific plan, you can then sell that plan to your customers and the first payment cycle will begin when their free period ends.
Below are the required steps to enable a free first period for a specific membership plan.
- From the Glofox dashboard, click ‘Manage’ icon on the left of the page
- Then, click the ‘Memberships’ tab
- Select ‘Edit’ beside the membership you wish to enable a free first period for
- Click ‘Plans'
- Scroll down until you see the option to toggle ‘Gift first period free’
- Click the button beside ‘Gift first period free’ to toggle it on (turns blue when enabled)
- Click ‘Save’ to update this membership to include a free first period for the customer
For pro-rated memberships, you can follow the below steps to enable a free first period for a specific membership plan.
- From the Glofox dashboard, click ‘Manage’ icon on the left of the screen
- Then, click the ‘Memberships’ tab
- Select ‘Edit’ beside the membership you wish to enable a free first period for
- Click ‘Plans’
- Scroll down until you see the option to toggle ‘Gift pro-rate period free’
- Click the button beside ‘Gift pro-rate period free’ to toggle it on (turns blue when enabled)
- Click ‘Save’ to update this membership to include a free first period for the customer
Please note;
If you enable this option for pro-rated memberships, any free time enabled for a customer will also be pro-rated.
Next steps and additional support
Once you have enabled the option to ‘Gift first period free’ for a specific membership plan, you can then assign that plan to a specific customer in order for them to avail of the free period. You can check out our guide on How to Assign a Membership to a Client from the Dashboard if you’d like to learn more about assigning memberships.
Gifting first periods of membership free is a great way to incentivize new members to try out your services as it increases the likelihood of longer-term retention. We’ve found that promoting a free membership period is even more effective for conversion when combined with SMS or our lead capture form. We’ve included some helpful material below to help you get the most out of both.
If you’re interested in learning how to most effectively combine SMS or lead capture with free period incentives to help you grow your business, reach out to customersuccess@glofox.com.
For additional support on gifting free periods for your customers reach out to support@glofox.com and we will be happy to assist you.