Since reopening in July, gyms and leisure facilities in England have seen more than 22 million visits but just 78 confirmed cases of COVID-19 among customers, according to figures published by ukactive. It has been proven through reliable evidence that gyms are safe. Not only that, regular exercise has been shown to improve a person’s ability to regulate the immune system, which is essential for avoiding the severe symptoms of COVID-19. So, with more and more people being aware of the impact a healthy and active lifestyle has on warding off illness, along with the knowledge that gyms provide a safe environment in which to exercise, it’s likely that the industry will see a very good 2021, presenting a great opportunity to bounce back even stronger.
To make sure you’re fully prepared to optimise this opportunity, now is a great time to review your current systems so you can be confident that you have the best possible set up in place. By starting the process now, you will be set up and ready to go in plenty of time for January! When reviewing club management solutions, we recommend prioritising the following for success:
1. Reduce Admin and Save Time with an ‘All in One’ Solution
Saving valuable time by reducing administration and automating manual processes will allow you to provide a better member experience, which in turn will help you retain new and current members longer. Aside from the retention benefits, there are a host of operational benefits too. Let’s take a look:
a. Integrated Billing
A 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. Integrated billing also provides real time reporting on your key performance KPIs and revenue generation, allowing you to focus your efforts in the right areas.
b. Automation
A good club management system will automate many manual processes, saving you precious time. For example, automated CRM (Customer Relationship Management) will save you hours every week as communications are sent automatically to your members based on certain triggers.
c. Ditch the paperwork and manage your members in one place
With an ‘all in one’ club management system, each member record contains a comprehensive picture of every connection your member has with your club. From the day they became a prospect through to the current moment, you can see every session attended, every communication sent, every topic of discussion, every club check-in, referrals made and all aspects of financial information too.
d. One Supplier
With an ‘all in one’ solution you only deal with one supplier, which brings a host of benefits including cost savings, less downtime and critical issues resulting from multiple systems.
e. 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.
f. 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.
2. Optimise Member Acquisition with Digital Sign Up
Another great way to optimise this opportunity and ensure you get a large chunk of the ‘new member’ pie, is to provide prospects with a seamless low touch digital joining solution, a solution that does not require them to come into the club to sign up, a solution that requires zero interaction and allows them to get started straight away.
A great example of this is in-app joining, which allows prospects to sign up to your club by simply downloading your member app. Check out the FitSense Member App joining solution, which provides prospects with a seamless journey from signing up to your club straight into your clubs community, where they can instantly immerse themselves in everything your club has to offer, from booking classes, scheduling visits, earning points for rewards and familiarising themselves with your clubs culture. New members can sign their membership agreement electronically and pay any upfront or pro rata fees directly in the app, making it a seamless and frictionless experience.
3. Keep Members Engaged with a Member App
Winning new members is one thing, but as you know, retaining them is the real battle you need to win to ensure a record breaking 2021. The figures show if a member attends your club less than once a month, they are at real risk of cancelling their membership. The first three months really can be ‘make or break’. Therefore, it’s crucial to have the right technology in place, technology that works to automate engagement and allow you to really focus on providing a great experience.
A member app is a perfect example of such technology. By having a member app on their phone, keeping your members engaged both in and out of the club becomes much easier. A member app allows your members to book sessions, access the club, set goals and keep up to date with other members along with the latest news and events at the club.
On top of this, a member app really helps to improve communication between your club and your members with the ability to send members mobile push notifications and feed items. This is a great way to reach your members as they always have their phones with them, so are far more likely to read the messages. You can use this communication channel in many ways, from promoting new classes, setting member challenges and providing general club updates. Checking out the FitSense Member App is a great place to start.
4. Drive Engagement Through Incentives
A member loyalty programme is an effective and proven way of enhancing your members experience, increasing member engagement, and keeping your members coming back visit after visit, so now is a great time to look at implementing one for your members.
ClubWise has developed a unique, scalable and cost-effective solution that is simple to implement and manage; FitSense Rewards. FitSense Rewards is a fully integrated in-app member loyalty programme, which incentivises member activity with rewards. By driving member activity through a rewards programme, your member is more likely to remain engaged.
5. Drive Engagement Through Body Composition Analysis
It’s a great idea to incorporate fitness technology that is proven to have a positive impact on member engagement. By this, we mean technology that provides members with insights into their performance and progress, insights which motivate and challenge them and keep them on track.
A good example of this technology is Body Composition Analysis. Offering Body Composition Analysis to your members can improve the member experience, as it allows you to provide your members with a more personalised service with tailored fitness plans from your trainers, based on regular accurate body composition results. Training programmes are more targeted which delivers better results for your members. Your members are able to track their progress over time, which motivates them and helps them feel in control of their fitness journey.
At ClubWise, we have developed FitSense My Body, a fully integrated body composition analysis tool, allowing your members to measure, record and track their body composition through their FitSense Member App, using the highly accurate Tanita scale. The professional accuracy and reliability of the Tanita scale will encourage members to visit your club regularly to check and monitor their progress, resulting in more active and engaged members.
6. Empower Your Members
Member empowerment has always been an important motivational factor for members to achieve their goals, however member empowerment is now more important than ever. As COVID causes the need for dynamic and agile changes to memberships, empowerment is something that can be woven into your day to day operations, in order to serve your members as best as possible, so your club can be as healthy as your members. With a member app like FitSense, your members can manage key areas of their membership themselves, from making arrears payments to reactivating their membership, right through to requesting a membership freeze and submitting a cancellation request – all in the app.
In summary, it’s important to have a solution in place that not only helps you to capitalise on the fantastic opportunity that 2021 presents, but a solution that will help you successfully manage your membership base and retain both your new and current members for a long time after.
The features highlighted in this blog are just a few of the ways in which the ‘all in one’ ClubWise solution can help you achieve success in 2021. To find out more, why not request a demonstration today!
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