How it is used in a coaching business
Founders ask what a good retention rate for a coaching business is. The honest answer is that it depends on the model and the term, and that most published figures are for memberships, not high-ticket programs. What every business can do is measure retention by cohort at fixed points, three, six and twelve months, and compare cohorts against each other as the back end improves.
| Months since joining | Clients still active |
|---|---|
| 3 months | 82 percent |
| 6 months | 65 percent |
| 12 months | 45 percent |
Those figures come from Coachway's analysis of 5,666 online fitness coaching clients, where the steepest drop came between months three and six. They are a reference point, not a target.
2 to 3 years
average client retention at one program after a client success and resell system was builtSource: Video Business Academy, a client of Scale With Fulfillment. Not typical of every program.
- Measure at fixed intervals per cohort, not as one blended number.
- Count renewals as retention for fixed-term programs, and track them separately from cancellations.
- Watch months three to six. That is where a results-tracking system earns its keep.
