With the fantastic news that clubs can reopen on April 12th, there will undoubtedly be some concern and apprehension among club owners on exactly what lies ahead. The fitness industry as we know it has changed and so have member expectations. We’ve all got used to a world of highly accessible fitness with the benefit of immediacy, connectivity and personalisation, but what does this mean for your club? How can you adapt to meet these new expectations and get members back into your club when you reopen? In this blog, we focus on 5 strategies that will help your fitness business bounce back, and ensure you are prepared and set up for success.
1. Minimise The Perceived Health Risk Of Returning To Your Gym
The most important part of your reopening strategy will inevitably be getting your members back into your club. By doing so, your billing can resume which means your cashflow improves and business starts to bounce back. However, the challenge will be overcoming the public reluctance to mix and exercise with others. It is likely that a decent percentage of your members cannot wait to get back in the gym and won’t be deterred, but there will be some that will struggle to justify the risk and at this stage, it’s hard to predict how much of an impact that could have. To counteract this, you need to minimise the perceived health risk of returning to the gym. Here are a few ideas that will help you do this:
Reassure Your Members Through Effective Communication of Safety Protocols
This is really stating the obvious, however, the importance of this step cannot be underestimated. It is critical that your members are aware of the safety protocols and ramped up hygiene efforts that you have implemented, to allow your members to work out in a safe, socially distanced environment.
Provide Members with Club Capacity Insight
By providing your members with visibility of club capacity, you are empowering them to make an informed decision as to when they visit the club. The most effective way to provide this information is through a member app, as this gives them full insight at their fingertips.
Allow Members to Book Their Gym Visits in Advance
Mobile slot booking provides members with assurance that when they block out time to exercise, they will be able to gain instant access to the gym. Not only does this provide you with total control over the number of members in your club at any one time, helping ensure you adhere to social distancing guidelines and hygiene regulations, but also provides members with confidence that they will not be required to wait around when they arrive, can jump straight into their session and enjoy a safe environment in which to exercise.
Provide Contactless Check In
Providing members with a quick, contactless, self-check in solution is instrumental in keeping members safe and minimising the spread of germs at your facility. Members do not want to be hanging around at reception in queues or entering pin numbers into a keypad, which happen to be breeding grounds for germs. Instead, they want a fast, easy, hygienic solution that will not let them down. A perfect example of such a solution is Mobile QR Code Check In, which enables members to use their own personal mobile phones to gain access to the club by simply scanning the QR code upon entry.
The FitSense member app from ClubWise provides all the features discussed above. You can check it out here: www.fitsense.co
2. Provide Virtual Classes
As we are all aware, Gyms will not be permitted to put on group classes until later in the year, which means that a virtual class offering is probably going to be a wise move if you want to retain members. Although there is no substitute for the live ‘in person’ experience, providing a virtual offering to your members using instructors they are already familiar with for classes they already enjoy, will undoubtedly keep your members engaged with your club, on track and seeing results.
For an easy way to introduce virtual classes to your timetable, check out the ClubWise virtual class platform here: www.fitsense.co
3. Expand Your Outdoor Offering
Following on from the point above, there is a lot of mileage in offering an outdoor schedule. Timing wise, now is perfect as Spring has inspired a new motivation in people to get outside and get active. Also, recent studies show that 70% to 90% of those who contract COVID-19 have a marked Vitamin D deficiency. So, what better place to get a dose of the best natural Vitamin D than out in the sunlight? Be sure to include this nugget of information when promoting your outdoor offerings.
4. Win Out Over ‘At Home’ Fitness
It may seem like an impossible task given that it’s now easier than ever to pursue fitness at home, but it’s important to remember that it’s very difficult for the average consumer to recreate the gym experience at home. Firstly, home gyms are incredibly expensive if you are to match the quality and standard of equipment. Secondly, it’s hard to replicate the energy and motivation you get from a gym, in your garage. Thirdly and most importantly, is the absence of coaching. Clubs are uniquely positioned to provide coaching so better results are generated.
To win out over ‘at home’ fitness and drive members back into your club, you may want to consider implementing technology and services that allow you to provide more personalisation and tailored coaching. One of the most effective ways of doing this is through body composition analysis. Offering health assessments and personalised training programmes based around your members body measurements, with the ability to track this on a regular basis will be a real win for any health and fitness facility.
You can read more on how body composition can help clubs bounce back stronger in this blog post: How Body Composition Analysis can help you come back stronger. – www.clubwise.com
5. Your Power Strategy – Streamline, Save, Succeed
It’s now more important than ever to have the right technology in place at your club, technology that will streamline your operation, save you time and reduce administration so you have more time to focus on what matters most; your members.
Having all the tools you need in one platform provides a host of benefits, including a cohesive and seamless experience for both your club staff and your members, as well as cost savings, less downtime and critical issues resulting from multiple systems. Here are some other benefits to consider:
Integrated Billing
An ‘all in one’ club management system with integrated direct debit collection will free up a heap of time and reduce your overall costs, all whilst optimising your cash flow.
Automation
A good club management system will automate many manual processes, saving you precious time.
Ditch the paperwork and manage your members in one place
With an ‘all in one’ club management system, you can successfully manage all your members and prospects in one place.
One system to learn
Your team only needs to learn one system, which means new starters won’t feel overwhelmed by having to learn multiple systems. It also means they can get up and running much faster and onto the gym floor supporting your members, where they need to be.
One support team
One Support Team who has the product knowledge to help across all areas of your system will save you a lot of time and energy when it comes to fixing issues or managing a change.
ClubWise is an ‘all in one’ club management solution that provides all the tools your fitness business needs to bounce back stronger. It’s incredibly simple to use and is designed to save you a heap of time through automation of manual processes, from membership billing right through to marketing and communications. Not only that, ClubWise includes the fully integrated FitSense Member App – the highest rated member app on the app store, which works to enhance the member journey at every step.
For more information on how ClubWise can help your fitness business bounce back stronger, book a free no obligation demonstration below: