Ways to communicate important information this winter

The winter months can present all sorts of challenges for businesses. The weather can take a turn for the worst, and you need to be prepared for club closures, or changes to your timetable due to staff members not being able to travel. In this digital age, it’s possible for you to communicate with members ahead of time so they can stay up to date, in real-time and plan accordingly.

Things to plan for

In our experience, some of the things you might need to think about planning ahead for, are:

• Club closures due to weather – this could be because there are floods and your centre isn’t safe to attend, or maybe you are short staffed due to team members not being able to travel to work.

• Changes to timetable – you might have to make slight tweaks to timings or cancel a class, maybe it’s outdoors and the weather conditions aren’t safe, or your trainer isn’t able to make it into the centre on time.

• Festive opening hours – it’s important to communicate these ahead of time, to ensure members can have a plan in place for their training schedule – plus, if you inform customers early, it will stop the flurry of members asking your reception staff the question!

Here are some tips on communicating with your customers…

1. Be proactive about communicating this winter

Take a proactive approach to communicating with your members. By using a promo screen, anyone that opens your app can see your message. From club closures to a change in opening times – you design the screen and message, all on brand plus it’s quick and easy to do.

Here’s an example from one of our customers who informed their customers of a booking systems downtime:

2. Use push notifications

For instant communication with a much higher open rate than email (around 20% vs 2%), look no further than push notifications. Your message will go straight to your customers’ phone, and they can open and read all the information you need them to, in one click.

You can target the right audience, for example you can send a message to members booked on to a specific fitness class to let them know that their class has been cancelled, or send a message to anyone booked in to a tennis court that day, that the courts have been closed for safety.

3. Offer an alternative

If your members are unable to get into your centre, why not offer them an alternative, at home option? Digital fitness is an important extension of your membership, and in the winter months it becomes much more popular – not just in times of club closures but for customers to stay motivated and fit in their workouts around their busy, festive period, schedule.  

Here’s an example from a customer who needed to close their club due to flooding but gave members the ability to not miss a training day!

4. Plan where possible

Plan your communication ahead with scheduled messages. Maybe you’re looking to communicate festive events or offers with your members, you can use all the above methods to do this too.

You could even keep an eye on weather forecasts and start preparing messages, in case of closures. It’s best to be as prepared as possible so you can give your members notice of changes.

Winter is a busy time, with lots of adverse weather conditions and changes to your usual schedule due to the holiday seasons. The last thing you want to do is get caught off-guard when bad weather hits. Use your app to communicate important information so your members are always kept up to date.

Reduce gymtimidation with your App

A recent OnePoll survey on behalf of The Gym Group has found one in three Brits (33%) suffer from gymtimidation and fear feeling out of place in the gym.

We’ve got some ideas on how you can target your members who might have gymtimidation, and support them on their journey to becoming more confident in your gym or leisure centre.  

1. Share a gym tour

Why not introduce your members to your facilities with a gym walk around – this can be a quick video of a team member walking through the centre, to the gym and showing them where each piece of equipment is. You can host this on your App.

If members are familiar with the gym space when they walk in, they won’t feel overwhelmed or anxious about where go. This could also double up as marketing material on your website or social media.

2. Create ‘how to’ videos

The OnePoll survey of 3,000 UK non-gym-going adults aged 18-60 highlighted that nearly a quarter of respondents said not knowing where to start in the gym put them off, with over 29% saying not knowing how to use equipment had made them uncomfortable.

You can combat this issue by putting together a series of ‘how to’ videos for your members to use when they get into the gym and need to familiarise themselves with a piece of equipment or machinery.

Not only will your members be motivated by performing the exercise or movement correctly, they’ll also see results quicker this in turn will strengthen customer loyalty and longevity. You can use our myFitApp@home to host these videos on your App. 

3. Introduce a member hub

You can use our sub-navigation feature to create a homescreen on your App for first timers, or new gym members. Here is where you can keep all of your videos mentioned above, as well as hints and tips, FAQs, nutrition advice etc for new gym goers.

It’s really important you keep new members motivated, to ensure they can make the most of their membership and remain as customers. You could even link off to a Facebook group, or similar, for gym members, to really make them feel like part of a community. 

4. Meet the team campaign

Why not run a meet the team campaign where you can introduce staff members to your members. Familiar faces will help those with gymtimidation and give them the opportunity to learn who is there to help them when they are in the gym, or who their trainer will be when they’re trying out a new class.

7 reasons you need a digital fitness offering

If you don’t already offer an at home digital fitness option to your members, you should. The world of fitness is always changing, with more and more people opting for a combination of at home workouts and in-club training.

We’ve put together 7 reasons why it is so important:

1. Create flexibility for members

Members can get frustrated if they can’t come to classes at a time that suits them. They may have other commitments, such as school runs or late afternoon shifts. In addition, there may be occasions where they are’t able to make it into the gym due to travel issues or other commitments.

In those cases, it’s ideal if they can stream their favourite classes from anywhere at any time, on their phone, laptop, desktop or TV screen.

2. Increase member motivation

One of the main reasons people choose to workout online is because they can do their own thing at their own pace. Many people who don’t want to, or can’t always make it to the gym will use your app instead. It also gives them the opportunity to try new classes without feeling embarrassed about doing something different in front of new people.

3. Create a more premium membership

It gives members a reason to feel more important and increases the perceived value of their membership, which in turn gives them a reason to stay longer and utilise their membership more.

With a digital fitness offering you can give additional benefits that go beyond just giving your members access to the latest technology, you can also offer third party content from the world renowned trainers from the likes of Wexer or Les Mills. 

4. Attract new customers, creating a new revenue stream

You need a digital fitness offering to attract new customers. There’s a lot of people who will want a ‘digital only’ membership, and without this offering, you’re going to miss out on their custom.

Providing digital memberships also gives people the chance to try out your classes without commitment. Offering free trials will increase sales once customers know what they’re missing out on!

5. Marketing for your trainers and in-club classes

Promoting online classes is also a great way to promote your trainers. Members may get used to, or enjoy a certain trainer’s style, or a particular class, and want to train further with them in your centre.

6. Increase customer retention

Customers will be more likely to renew and keep their membership when it is more valuable to them. Having more to offer and adapting to your clients’ lifestyle, will help retain your clients longer.

7. Increase App usage

A digital fitness offering will drive increased app usage and retention by keeping your members engaged with their workout routines and improving member experience. It also gives you an opportunity to collect feedback from your members on how you can improve their experience further in future updates.

Higher app usage will improve your overall communication with members, through the app, and strengthen their customer loyalty which will lead to higher revenues over time.

These are just a few reasons why you should invest in a digital fitness offering. Not only will it increase your customer base, but it will also keep members engaged with your brand and coming back for more!

Easy ways to increase membership sales

If you’re looking for ways to increase your gym membership sales, then this article is for you. In it, we’ll cover everything from understanding your unique selling point (USP) to using our Lead Generation module to make the process as simple for you and your customers as possible.

If you’re looking for ways to increase your gym membership sales, then this article is for you. In it, we’ll cover everything from understanding your unique selling point (USP) to using our fitness Lead Generation module to make the process as simple for you and your customers as possible.

Understand your unique selling point (USP)

When you’re asked about your gym, you might say something like: “We have a great selection of classes and machines.” This is an okay answer, but it doesn’t really resonate with people. You want them to feel excited about your club and facilities.

Once you know what it is that makes you stand out from the competition, it gives your team the tools they need to give gym leads a reason to sign up!

Master your lead management process

• Make sure you and your team know the stages of your lead management process. There’s nothing worse than an enquiry getting lost in the system. You want all prospects to have the best start to their member journey as possible.

• myFitApp’s in-App Lead Generation module will do the managing for you! Find out more about how you can integrate your refer a friend gym promotion into your App, turning your members into brand ambassadors and an extension of your sales team here.

Use marketing automation

Once you’ve got your gym lead generation campaign set up – why not use marketing automation to advertise it?

Push notifications via your member App is a great place to start, with myFitApp’s Marketing Automation module you can send notifications to your members at anytime, anywhere. Find out more here.

Upsell to existing and lapsed members

A great way to keep your existing members happy is to upsell them. By offering an incentive — even if it’s just a free trial — you can ensure that they’ll come back and visit your gym or leisure centre again soon. Here are a few ideas:

• Offer them one class per week for free, or give them a free PT session (this might be the motivation they need to keep their membership for longer).
• Let them know about any upcoming events or competitions taking place at the gym so that they can sign up for those as well (and hopefully bring their friends!).
• Give them a guest pass to bring a friend or family member – a gift for them, and hopefully a future member for you!

Utilise your mailing list as a gym sales tool

If you have the data, use it! You can use email marketing to send out emails and newsletters to highlight new membership offers, refer a friend campaigns and events. This is a great way to make sure that your members and prospects have access to exclusive offers and content that they wouldn’t otherwise have received.

Plan the user journey first

Knowing your user journey and what is going to appear on which sub-level, is crucial before you start designing your app. Simply create a list of the app screens and what buttons you need. By breaking this down, you can better define how each section should function and how your user will move around the app, creating a seamless user experience.

Use your own brand guidelines

It’s important that your design is consistent and cohesive. Your app design should be consistent across all screens, so users know what to expect when they tap a button or open an attachment. When designing an app, there are several elements of your brand guidelines that can help you do this:

• Fonts and text size

• Button shapes and colours

• Image styles and colour palettes

• Logo usage

• Tone of voice

Consistency is key

Consistency is key to not only a good user experience, but to ensure your customers have a good brand experience. Using the same fonts, text size and buttons throughout your app will create an overall aesthetic that feels familiar and comfortable for your users. This doesn’t mean you have to use the same exact design elements on every screen – you can still be creative with colour palettes and layout choices – but try not to go overboard with those things either!

Imagery is important 

Images should be used to paint a picture of your club and help users understand the products and services you have to offer. Make sure they are relevant to the user journey, consistent with your brand guidelines, and work with your app button placement.

Keep it clean and simple

Consistent spacing between elements, buttons and icons in your app’s interface is important for the user experience; try to keep buttons in the same place on every screen so that users don’t have to learn where everything is every time they open the app or navigate between screens.

You can use the same button sizes and spacing throughout your app if they work well together. If your buttons are too big or small, or have different spacing between them, users will get confused quickly because they won’t know where they should click next while using your app – this can lead to frustration which can cause them to not want to continue using it.

Use it to advertise your offering

You can also use the app to promote your brand, website, social media and blog, as well as any in-club offers or services. Up-selling in your app can be made easy whilst you have the user’s attention.

Consider how you can best use the app to promote and integrate these aspects of your business into one cohesive experience for customers who have downloaded it.

All good things come to those who plan

Planning your app is essential, but it’s not just about the product. Good planning is about the user journey, and that starts before you even start designing your app (the fun part!).

You should have a clear understanding of any problems you are trying to solve, who you are trying to solve those problems for and how you will go about solving them. This isn’t something that can be achieved overnight—it takes time and effort from all parties involved: from stakeholders in the business to your designers and gym team. It’s all about communication at this stage; once everyone understands their role in creating an enjoyable experience for users, then they can begin working toward that goal together!