For nearly two decades, fitness entrepreneur, best-selling author, and business coach, Funk Roberts has been studying what makes membership-based businesses truly last. Now, he’s sharing his lessons and insights with his latest podcast, Tribe Membership Show, dedicated to cracking the code of customer retention. Following the success of 27 Tribe Secrets, this new venture takes business owners beyond sign-ups and into the heart of what keeps members engaged long-term.
What is The Tribe Membership Show About?
The Tribe Membership Show is a deep dive into one of the biggest challenges in the membership and subscription world: keeping customers loyal to the brand. It dissects the psychology, strategies, and structures that keeps people committed to a company’s membership long after they’ve joined, even after they have completed the initial benefits that drew them in. Each episode unpacks the mechanics of retention, engagement, and revenue growth in the membership world. Funk shares his own lessons from the trenches — of both failures and successes — from his journey of building multi-million dollar businesses, as well as other real-world case studies and expert interviews. His 27 Tribe Secrets, developed over years of testingand refining engagement strategies, serve as a foundation for discussions on the podcast on what makes people stay, why they leave, and how to create a culture of belonging which, according to Funk, is at the core of member retention.
The Road to the Tribe Membership Show
Funk Roberts knows well the terrible struggles of building a business from the ground up. Before having one of the most popular online fitness communities for men over 40, the former professional athlete turned fitness entrepreneur had already launched — and lost — a membership site. However, it wasn’t for lack of quality content or benefits offered. The problem was that even the customers that were happy with the services weren’t staying. Yet, he refused to let that setback break him. Instead, he went down a path of discovery that would change his entire approach to online businesses. He found out that membership sites don’t thrive on content alone; they thrive on connection. They thrive when members feel like they belong to something bigger than themselves.
“When you join a strong community, you don’t just consume content,” Funk explains in an early episode. “You become part of something. You see yourself in others. You don’t want to leave because leaving feels like losing a piece of yourself.”
Eventually, he teamed up with community-psychology experts Rick and Mike Tillman and developed the book and later coaching program, 27 Tribe Secrets, a framework designed to transform one-time customers into lifelong members.
The Tribe Membership Show is a direct extension of this journey. With each episode, Funk is bringing listeners deep into the mechanics of successful membership programs, offering data- backed methods tested in multiple industries, along with expert perspectives and actionable guidance that go beyond the surface-level advice.
"I’ve seen so many membership site owners struggle the way I did — working too hard to attract members, only to watch them leave. I started this podcast to help those stuck in that cycle figure out what’s really going wrong and fix it", he says.
Who Is This Podcast For?
If you run a membership/subscription-based business, or any brand that relies on customer loyalty, this podcast should be at the top of your list. It’s for the business owners exhausted from constantly chasing new customers, for the fitness professionals trying to turn one-time buyers into long-term clients, and for the creators who want to build a real movement instead of a transactional audience.
What’s Next for the Tribe Membership Show?
Funk isn’t just stopping at podcast episodes. He has plans to turn the Tribe Membership Show into an entire learning ecosystem. Future episodes will feature in-depth interviews with industry leaders, more detailed case studies on thriving membership sites, and behind-the-scenes breakdowns of what’s working (and not working) in the membership world. He also plans for live Q&A with listeners and other membership growth experts, and even an exclusive masterclass where entrepreneurs can get personalized retention strategies for their businesses.
The Big Picture
The world is shifting. The days of high-burn, churn-heavy businesses are fading. Investors are no longer impressed by rapid growth if it comes with unsustainable customer loss. Instead, businesses with strong retention, engaged communities, and predictable recurring revenue are becoming the real success stories.
That’s exactly what Funk Roberts is bringing to light with Tribe Membership Show. This podcast isn’t just about building a membership; it’s about understanding the psychology of why people stay, how to create belonging, and why retention is the single most powerful growth strategy that entrepreneurs are overlooking.
If you’re ready to shift your focus from customer acquisition to long-term retention, start listening. The first few episodes are already live on the major platforms like Spotify, Apple podcast, iHeartRadio, Overcast, Pocket, Cast, Cast box, and are soon to be available on YouTube; with new content dropping every Thursday. For those serious about turning memberships into successful enterprises, this is the podcast to watch in 2025.
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