LIJFSTIJL Boost Retention to 88% with Virtuagym Implementation

The Story of LIJFSTIJL

LIJFSTIJL (pron. Life Style) is a leading franchise network in the Netherlands.

Their success is based on a combination of franchising (with regional protection) and central content management.

They support their franchises with marketing (including an extensive marketing material kit), sales, backend processes, membership management, client guidance programs, workout plans, educational groups filled with blogs, tips & tricks, nation-wide health challenges, progress tracking and measuring protocols, and a great number of tools provided by partnerships at sharp discounts.

All resources are created in the head office and distributed to the entire network, allowing for quality assurance across the country.

With over 125 franchisees across the Netherlands, LIJFSTIJL supports close to 25,000 clients in the high-end segment.

To run their business more efficiently and to improve their internal coach and client communication, they were in need of a software solution that suited their ambitions.

What Makes Their Concept Unique

The Lijfstijl concept blends personal training with mental coaching, offering a comprehensive, client-focused approach. Each partner location operates independently but follows the Lijfstijl methodology.

This structure allows for tailored coaching programs while still maintaining a unified brand and process across locations.

The model is designed to keep the coach-client relationship at the center, supported by efficient systems behind the scenes.

The Challenge

LIJFSTIJL was looking for a way to automate daily repeated tasks, and for a system that helped to better structure the coaching and backend process.

“When the focus is on one-on-one coaching, our coaching process is doable without a tool, but in the case of small group training, the management tasks proved to be too time-intensive – at the expense of personal attention,” says Rob Trousselot, founder and owner of LIJFSTIJL.

Another issue was the time limitations inherent to personal training.

“Typically, coaches only see their clients 1 to 2 times per week. That means that a lot of hours remain without coach contact, but it is exactly during those hours our clients have to make the choices taught to them by their coaches.,” says Trousselot.

LIJFSTIJL used a software solution that was limited to printing out training plans and test reports.

Since LIJFSTIJL wanted to make the switch from semi-automation to full automation for management processes, scheduling , and more, a more complete solution was required.

An extensive comparison was conducted of international fitness software providers.

During this search, the comparison wasn’t limited to the services, but also included the teams behind the software, the ambitions of the companies, and the willingness to work with practical feedback from clients.

Virtuagym proved to be exactly what LIJFSTIJL was searching for.

The Benefits

The use of Virtuagym has led to a huge boost in professionalism. The use of the software guides professionals towards optimal use of time, allowing LIJFSTIJL coaches to work more efficiently, and take a more personal approach.

The entire customer journey is aligned. A prospect can schedule a free introduction via the website widget and is entered into the system as a lead. During this session, the coach can already share a link to the webshop, allowing the lead to immediately become a client and make the first payment.

Subsequent payments are processed automatically via VG Pay. If any payments fail, the Dunning feature notifies clients and allows them to pay again through a link through the use of VG Pay. And if payments should fail in the future, the Dunning feature ensures that clients automatically receive a notification and can pay again via a link.

For instance, a client who follows 2 personal training sessions per week will automatically be billed for 2 personal training credits per week, which both the trainer and the client can use to book sessions based on the availability of coaches.

The booking process is completely automated. All the client has to do is book a session using the app, and automatic confirmations are sent out to both coach and client.

Similar customizable email notification s for class changes, waiting list status updates, and so on, have turned scheduling into an effortless task. And when the client goes on holiday, they only need to open the ‘My LIJFSTIJL’ tile in the app to pause their membership.

Backend pausing rules allow customers to make this request only once per year and for a limited number of weeks, ensuring it doesn’t disrupt your team after the initial setup.

Communication has seen massive improvements since the introduction of Virtuagym. Via the online management portal, the LIJFSTIJL main office can effectively distribute content either to the entire network or to segments via their club news streams, various educational groups, marketing banners and Virtuagym’s content distribution system for multi-unit businesses.

Task management and private messaging features have streamlined communication between staff, and more than delivered the tools to extend contact moments between coaches and clients.

A direct effect of their improved communications is the noticeably higher level of commitment from participants towards the coaching program – which are no longer limited to the actual sessions with a coach.

Clients are now triggered daily via the online portal and mobile app, which has had a remarkable and direct influence on their lifestyle. If they need to contact their coach (and vice versa) they can quickly send a private message or post in the communal groups .

“The experience of working with the Virtuagym team has been very positive,” says Trousselot.

The performance of all affiliated clubs is closely monitored through the Business Analytics module in the Central Management Solution. This includes tracking the number of added leads and new customers, checking whether revenue continues to grow steadily, and analysing the reasons for registrations and cancellations.

Based on these insights, the clubs are coached and adjusted where necessary.