Digital ideas to pump up your fitness business
Digital transformation has become something of a buzzword in recent years.
How many business owners have heard sales pitches from tech companies promising to revolutionise the way they work?
That said, there are plenty of good reasons to consider modernising the way your gym or fitness business runs things.
Let’s look at the digital trends in the fitness industry and explore what innovations you could take forward for your business.
Whether it’s smart ways to save you time or new channels to reach potential customers, we’ve got it all covered below.
Offer fast online and in-app booking
Paper sign-up sheets should be a thing of the past for any modern gym. At the very least, members should be able to quickly find the classes or sessions they’re looking for on your website and book with ease.
You can improve the experience further if you have your own app. This will allow you to offer users these features alongside many others, like guides and rewards.
An app also gives you an opportunity to (ethically) collect data from your customers and use this to further improve your business.
Integrate with wearables
We live in a world of constant tracking and data, and fitness industry professionals would be foolish to ignore this.
Many users will come to their gym or classes with smart watches or other wearables, ready to record their workout so they can review exactly how hard you’ve pushed them.
And there are a growing number of ways gyms can access the fitness data of their members—with their consent, of course!
Allowing user to sync their wearables with the machines they’re using, or your app, can ensure they get a clear picture of their workout while also providing you with valuable data.
Track traffic in your gym
Footfall tracking is a great way to get an oversight of how your space is really used. You can see what machines are most popular, whether there are underused machines, and where you could eliminate bottlenecks.
All this will help you to improve the layout of your gym or class and deliver a superior service.
The last thing you want is for members to be put off because they can never access the machines they want. With 50% of people leaving a gym within 6 months of joining, retention is a key battlefield.
Use member data responsibly
With the data you gather from wearables and footfall traffic, you can dig deeper to truly understand your members’ habits. If most people are just using cardio machines, what else can you offer them to meet their goals?
This could be different machines, diet and nutrition products, or weight loss plans. Equally, if most people are coming to you to build muscle, what can you do to give them even more?
Be sure to be clear with your members on how their data will be used, get permission to do so, and comply by all the regulations around it, particularly GDPR.
Explore new social media channels
While we might be as confused as you are about TikTok, there is a whole generation who prefer to consume short-form video content rather than the more traditional social media channels you may be used to.
And this generation, when they’re not glued to their phones, are serious about fitness. 4 out of 5 millennials consider health as the most important thing in their lives.
We’re not saying you need to start a viral dance trend, but consider whether you can create content that’s suitable for multiple platforms, or repurpose existing content for these new avenues.
Gamify the gym experience for members
Motivational targets are a great way to encourage buy-in from members. And bought-in members are likely to visit more often, stay for longer, sign up for premium services, and renew their memberships month after month.
Gamifying their experience through offering rewards, leader boards, targets, streaks and more can encourage members to keep working hard and even share their progress more widely, giving you valuable free word-of-mouth marketing.
Smart employee scheduling
Finally, there are few things more embarrassing as a gym owner than having customers turn up for a scheduled class, only to find the trainer who is meant to be leading it nowhere to be seen!
Make sure your employee know where they need to be and when with a simple online rota from Findmyshift.
With a single, simple rota that everyone has access to, planning your schedule doesn’t have to be a workout. Save that for your members and good luck on your digital journey.