4 min
Workout apps have become a focal part of any fitness fanatics daily routine. They can bring a wealth of benefits, from tracking weight loss and nutritional intake to long-term goal planning and milestone measurement. For gym-goers, there’s never been a better time to hit the gym with a digital companion.
But what about you, a business owner?
Can technology, specifically an app, intertwine with your hard work to create a well-rounded fitness powerhouse capable of increasing member retention and delivering incredible value for money to your members?
In short: yes. Here’s why.
Track The Progress of Your Members
Tracking progress is all the rage. Wearables have made recording it even easier, and it’s not unusual to visit a gym and see a sweat-drenched runner frantically checking their smartwatch to catch a glance of the calories they’ve burned. And whilst it’s great to see people going the extra mile to embrace a healthy lifestyle, it’d be even better if you could share that data and get an insight into how your members are doing.
Introducing a mobile fitness app into your business not only delivers an added layer of value to your members but allows you to observe and monitor the progress of them too. With an app that includes progress tracking, staff members can play an active role in the fitness experience of each individual. From providing encouragement when it seems that progress is stuttering, to setting up goals and milestones for brand new members. Progress tracking is a multipurpose tool that unlocks new tiers of value, wherever your member finds themselves in the customer relationship lifecycle.
A fitness app allows you to visualize the data through easy to interpret graphs and timelines, and lets members share their progress through your very own community portal. Progress shouldn’t be a task undertaken alone. By allowing it to be monitored and shared with others, the chances of achieving goals and boosting member retention as a result, is increased significantly.
Increase Member Retention Through Engagement
Member retention is where a mobile app can really come into its own.
A fitness app is a proven way to drive member engagement levels in a gym environment, and engagement is a key player when it comes to increasing levels of retention. Whether it’s through push notifications to remind members of their daily workout or starting a discussion on the benefits of HIIT workouts in your online community . Sweat Equity, a bespoke fitness studio based in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, used a cloud-based solution to create an always-on digital environment for both them and their members to use. This platform is easy to maintain and highly-effective solution to driving engagement amongst members that may have been difficult to target previously.
Online communities also provide ample opportunity for members to share progress, discuss workout plans and motivate each other with a few taps of their smartphone. This team-building approach to member engagement assists with establishing brand loyalty and increasing member satisfaction, two key metrics for boosting retention higher than ever.
Streamline Time-Consuming Admin Tasks
Let’s face it, nobody likes paperwork. Especially when it involves manually filling in class timetables or piles of invoices for store purchases. Admin tasks are vital but can take up precious time in the working day, the time you could be investing in boosting member retention through engaging and building relationships.
Automation doesn’t just free up time either, but actively changes the gym experience for your members. App profiles can be linked with automated signup forms, while the apps themselves can handle class bookings and even purchases. All these processes add value to make the member experience more convenient. No more fooling around with pen-and-paper signup forms or remembering to bring a credit card; just a no-hassle experience.
A fitness app can handle these mundane tasks for you and free up the valuable time you need to focus on key business like reducing member churn. Retention-driving activities like member challenges and running promotions need planning and implementing, something that’s impossible to do when you’re buried under piles of spreadsheets.
Plus, by saving time on admin tasks you and your staff will have more precious hours to invest in interacting with and creating an overall better experience for the people that really matter: your members.
Conclusion
Ultimately, putting your trust in a fitness app and then embedding them it into your daily processes is a sure-fire way to discover a range of business-boosting benefits. Whether it’s reducing the hours you spend churning through stacks of paperwork or driving member retention rates by using new ways of engagement. Technology should always be embraced, especially when it has the potential to revolutionize every aspect of your business.
