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1 December 2021

7 Lessons from the most successful gym operators

7 LESSONS FOR YOUR SGPT SUCCESS

The fitness industry is evolving... and it will continue to do so.

Having explored behind-the-scenes of the world’s most prestigious gyms & studios, this guide shares some of the secrets for succeeding in the modern fitness industry.
The fitness industry is changing

Your members are demanding more than the few hours they spend in-person at your facility each week. They are seeking the full, 360° wellness solution - as seamlessly delivered by the world’s top grossing facilities.

In this guide we will provide guidance for how you can successfully compete as an independent gym owner (regardless of size), not only providing the highest quality of service to your members, but growing your business to maximum profitability.

At Quoox, we provide small group training gyms with a comprehensive operational toolkit and systems, SGPT Infinity. Our purpose-built system, combined with our extensive resources, enables facilities to operate efficiently and profitably - all without excessive overheads and the associated stresses.

YOUR PATH TO SUCCESS

LESSON 1 : Attraction

ATTRACTION

As gym/studio owners, we all know that attracting leads is a never-ending task, and a critical part of the business.

The first lesson is the implementation of captivating marketing campaigns - backed by a simple, barrier-free sign-up process. At the core is an effective, tried & tested landing page structure. Whilst this may initially sound a little like rocket surgery, following a few simple rules will set you on the right path.

SALES/LANDING PAGE
If your sales/landing page doesn’t grab the attention of your prospective lead, then the steps you took to get them there and everything that follows is irrelevant.

The entire purpose of your sales page is to inform the viewer about your business, your services; why you’re perfect for them; and to entice them to take the next step. This might be simply booking or call; a trial sign-up; or even purchasing a membership.

So, what are they key ingredients to a good landing page?

Headline - Very often we choose whether to read a newspaper or magazine article based upon the headline. The same applies to your prospective lead and your sales page. A powerful headline is what will grab their attention, and encourage them to look further.

The deal - This is your offer, and the most important part of your page. This is what should get your prospects excited and wanting them to be a part of your gym/studio.

The deal should be written such that it appeals to your target audience. Whilst the traditional “normally £999, now only £9.99” offers can be very effective, they might not suit every audience.

The way you express your deal is crucial as the prospect will be using this to assess “are these my kind of people?”. One size doesn’t need to fit all. Multiple landing pages (each targeting a different audience) are a strong way to maximise your haul.

Eye grabbing media - Strong images and videos both enhance & strengthen your message. What the prospect may be reading may sound great, but is so much stronger if it also looks great. A video is a great way to show your personality; convey your integrity; and to quickly build a rapport with the person you are yet to meet.

Why should I believe you? - You are in a competitive market and everyone is making the same boasts. Substantiate your claims with evidence. One of the most effective ways to do this is with client testimonials & videos. This also harks back to the “they look like my kind of people” point, above.

Call to action - Don’t make your prospect think more than they have to! Your landing page should include multiple, obvious calls-to-action. CTA’s that convey urgency, such as “Get Started - Offer Ends Soon” often work well but, again, consider your audience. Being overly keen may wrongly convey that the lead is entering a pressured environment and, for many, that might not be what they want.

SIGN-UP PAGE
Some generic/multi-purpose products may call this your order page. It is the page where your prospect will provide their details and subscribe to the offer that you have made.

It is imperative that your sign-up form doesn’t introduce any unnecessary barriers. It should be clear, simple, and easy to complete.

Your sign-up page should capture the necessary information to follow-up with your prospect, should they not complete the sign-up process. Ideally this should be their name, email address & mobile phone number - plus any necessary legal consents.

CONSIDER YOUR APPROACH
Within the fitness industry 30-day; 4-week; 6-week; and 8-week trials are all commonplace.

Many facilities will offer “free trials”. These can be great at attracting leads, but do also tend to bring in the “tyre kickers”. A simple £5/$5 trial can have the same impact, but will often weed-out some of the time-wasters. Select the style & delivery that matches your target audience.

There are an almost endless list of alternatives to the direct sale. Offering an e-Book is a great way to capture lead details; to provide them something that shows the calibre of your content & service delivery; and to capture their contact details that you can then gently nurture.

NURTURE YOUR LEADS
Every facility owner knows that it is essential to nurture your leads. Ideally this should be a combination of automated nurturing, combined with some manual reach-outs.

Your customers aren’t daft... They know that they’re in an automated nurturing sequence! However, if you then supplement that sequence with one or two hand-crafted messages or phone calls, that can make a huge difference to the way that the lead will perceive you.

Chances are that you sell your services based on the “personal touch”, so it is important to demonstrate this from your very first contact with your prospect. The most successful facility’s nurturing programs go well beyond simple texts & emails.

RECORD EVERYTHING
Unless you’re a sole trader (and can reliably store everything in your head), you should record all of your calls and interactions with your lead.

Should they come by to follow-up, it is important that your team have all of the information about interactions with that lead to hand. For example, if they tell you that they are looking to get fit as part of a cancer recovery program, this is absolutely critical information that your team must know.

This is, again, an example of your care and “attention to detail” - which is what you are selling and what the member will expect once they have joined & parted with their money.

LESSON 2 : Coaching

COACHING

It goes without saying that, if you are operating a gym or fitness studio, your coaches need to be excellent at their jobs.

Your coaches need to be demonstrably qualified; have a comprehensive understanding of your fitness genre; be well presented; and be visibly in “good shape” themselves. Many of your clients will aspire to be as fit as your training team.

That said, in this era of the modern gym, being a good coach is simply not enough...

The most successful facilities understand that training goes well beyond the few hours a week that the client spends at your facility. Full 360° wellness means providing a continual, consistent care package.

RESISTANCE & FEAR
For some who have been in the fitness industry for a long time, the evolution of the industry can be hard. People don’t like change!

Coaches are now expected to be dietary advisors; aware of and able to support their client’s mental well-being; plus a whole lot more. For some, this doesn’t always come naturally, as many of these are “softer” people skills.

To operate a successful training facility it is imperative that your client receive a consistently high experience, regardless of the coach with whom they are dealing.

As the industry and your business evolves, make sure that you bring your staff along with you. Make sure that all team members understand your goals; the ethos behind them; and that they are supported in their own personal & professional growth.

Don’t forget your part time & support staff... They interact with your clients too, and including them in regular staff meetings will make them feel “part of the team”.

CONTINUING PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT (CPD)
Fitness coaching has long since ceased to be a job that you learn when you’re 18-20, and are then “set for life”.

Ensure that your team have the resources to be able to grow. You should both encourage and support their desires to build their knowledge & qualifications.

Facility owners are often scared that they will train their staff and they will leave. Nurture your team as well as you do your clients. Teach them so that they can leave, treat them so that they want to stay!

LESSON 3 : The Member Experience

THE MEMBER EXPERIENCE

Typically, as facility owners, we know what it is that our members want and what we need to deliver to them - but in our efforts to meet those needs we can often find ourselves walking a complex path.

These days, and from what has historically been necessity, the average fitness facility operates a staggering smörgåsbord of 6-8 (or even more) software packages - just to deliver the basics expected by their clients.

Whilst this often leaves the facility owner and their team with a stack of expensive, disjointed software it is seldom that we step back and consider the “member experience” and what their journey is through this hodgepodge of different systems.

How many of these different genres of software do you use to operate your day-to-day business?

  • A main member CRM (E.g. MindBody; GloFox; TeamUp etc.)
  • A lead management CRM (E.g. Infusionsoft; Keap; Active Campaign etc.)
  • A marketing solution (E.g. MailChimp etc.)
  • Email software (E.g. Outlook; Gmail etc.)
  • A text marketing product (E.g. Text Marketer)
  • Rota management software (E.g. RotaCloud)
  • Timesheet software (E.g. ClickTime)
  • Online training software (E.g. My PT Hub)
  • Live video training platform (E.g. Zoom)
  • Progress tracking software (E.g. Truecoach)
  • File storage software (E.g. Dropbox; Google Drive)
  • and who only knows how many random spreadsheets…!

Now, think... How many apps & websites are you requiring your members to use to simply access their core membership content?

Chances are that few of these systems “talk to each other” and that many have separate logins & passwords that your members have to remember.

It is easy to “lose heart” when only and handful of members access the awesome resources you have spent time & effort providing but, often, it is simply because it is too much hassle. In our aims to deliver more, all we have done is add more obstacles and complications!

EFFECTIVE CONTENT DELIVERY
Your members should be able to access all of their resources & core functions (E.g. booking) as easily as possible. Multiple platforms add unnecessary complexity.

The top facilities are aware of the demographic and diversity of their target audience. The “client experience” is always forefront in their minds.

Age
Whilst there are technology savvy seniors, it is generally the case the more mature generations still prefer to use a browser-based solution (often on a computer), rather than a mobile app.

Gen-Z and millennials will certainly be more “app savvy” and, in fact, will likely be expecting to access resources via a mobile app.

Location
Many of your members will be checking out stuff whilst at work! It is far easier (and more subtle) to do a quick gym booking via a web browser than to be playing with your phone whilst sat at your desk.

Conversely, those who “nip to the bathroom” to make their bookings will value the convenience of a mobile app.

Multiple & different devices
Modern mobile phone technology is incredible, but the restraints of physical screen size remain an important consideration.

Whilst it is extremely convenient to access content & book sessions on a phone, sometimes a bigger screen is called for. This is particularly the case with online sessions, or when reading certain documents or watching videos.

One size does not fit all, and different scenarios will yield different preferences.

The decision as to whether your members consume & access your content either through a mobile app or a web browser should not be exclusive, but both options should always be provided.

BENEFITS FOR ALL
Fewer platforms promote a more consistent delivery of your brand & values.

Focusing your members on one central platform provides them with a cohesive delivery experience which benefits them and can also bring substantial gains to your facility.

By removing the obstacles to consumption and access created by multiple platforms, your members will be more inclined to read & consume the resources that you provide. This will result in them better appreciating the service that you deliver, whilst also being better educated.

EVERYTHING IN CONTEXT
Whilst using multi-purpose/generic platforms has become prevalent, there are often trade-offs for your business, along with potential confusion for your members.

What does it mean to your client when they think they’re signing up for a trial, and your trial booking system is calling it an “order”? Why are they being called a “subscriber”? Whilst these may seem unimportant semantics, they are further psychological barriers that you are putting in the way of your leads/members.

The top performing facilities use systems that are either designed for the fitness market, or that can be sufficiently tailored to provide an appropriate context, ensuring clients feel more comfortable & confident in the steps that they are taking.

CREDIBILITY
Your choice of software package reflects on the integrity of your brand. As you tell your clients, “you get what you pay for!”

If you are using free software or are cobbling together systems that aren’t wholly designed for the job, you are compromising your credibility.

Recently there was a trend for facilities to appear as if they had their own software. That is gone! Members expect their gyms to be gyms, and every top-tier facility uses best-in-class software to ensure the smooth delivery of their defining service.

LESSON 4 : Training Delivery

TRAINING DELIVERY

There are two types of delivery: i) the client rocks-up; you train them for 45-60 minutes; and then they head off until the next session, or ii) you’re running a full 360° wellness program, where client expectations are in a whole different ballpark.

Facilities in the highest echelon of the industry all fall into “category ii”, with a clear eye to the following 11 delivery sweet-spots:

EASE OF BOOKING
It sounds obvious, but how easy is it for your members to book their sessions with you? Your members should be able to readily access your session schedule (whether it be via your app or website), and should be able to book onto sessions with no more than a click or two.Additionally, and an area often overlooked, is “session promotion”. When you add a new type of session to your schedule, it should be promoted to your members and made enticing to them. How many members are going to book on to “Outdoor Session 3 (Hips)” without a better description as to what it is?!

The ability to configure recurring bookings for your VIP (or other) members is a great offering. It’s a great feeling to know that your member already has their next session booked, before they’ve even walked out the door.

BOOKING CALENDAR
Your members typically lead busy lives. Many will be juggling looking after their kids with a demanding job. They want to be able to see where they’re due & when as easily as possible.

Of course, your facility app/website should make this information readily available to them. Beyond that, the delivery of a feed of their booked sessions that they can link to their work and/or personal diaries is enormously beneficial. A member being able to see in their work diary when they’re booked into the gym will often save them inadvertently double-booking or, if they do, they know to cancel their session well in advance.

REMINDERS
It is standard practice to send your members confirmation of their session booking when it is made. This is the gym equivalent of a “receipt”.

Reminders are a key ingredient to achieving high attendance. Sending one or more reminders as the session approaches ensures that the member is aware of their forthcoming booking, but also encourages considerate cancellation if they know that they can no longer attend.

For bookings for which non-attendance might cause extra inconvenience (such as progress review chats), an SMS reminder message is a great way to supplement emails.

MAKE CANCELLING EASY
This may sound counter productive. We don’t want our members to cancel their sessions! But, back in the real world, things “crop up”. Maybe an overrunning work meeting; maybe a baby sitter didn’t turn up; etc.

The bottom line is that if a member cannot attend a session, making it hard for them to cancel isn’t going to make their issue suddenly ‘disappear’. By making cancellation easy, it encourages good social behaviour - resulting in early cancellations, and the opportunity to fill the space with another member. This is where operating an automated wait list is also a valuable asset.

It is perfectly reasonable to penalise late cancellations, either by not refunding the session if cancelled too late or by a bout of burpees upon their next attendance. However, if your booking system doesn’t permit easy late cancellations don’t be surprised when a member simply doesn’t turn up!

LOG ATTENDANCE
Knowing that your members are attending their sessions is critical for any fitness business. Member drop-off is a sure sign that there may be something wrong with the member, and that they may be about to cancel their membership.

At any point you should know a member’s attendance history, along with statistics for the attendance of your sessions. If you have sessions that are always booked early and are always at capacity, then you have scope for introducing extra sessions; providing a better service; and potentially earning extra revenue.

ENCOURAGE ATTENDANCE
By logging attendance you then give yourself extra scope for encouraging attendance. A “reliability score” is a great way to promote member attendance and “good behaviour”. Members are scored well for attending and cancelling well in advance, and are scored negatively for non-attendance or late cancellation.

Psychologically no member wants to be in the “red zone” for their reliability, so this is an extremely effective way to establish regular attendance and good social behaviour. Also, if it’s “system generated” nobody can take it personally!

KNOW EVERYTHING ABOUT EVERYONE
As a service provider, you have to know everything about all of your members. Their likes; their dislikes; their favourite exercises; their current & past injuries; the name of their wife/husband/child/dog; etc.

This is one of the skills of a good coach but, without the right tools, can be extremely hard to scale. Coach ‘A’ learns a fact about member ‘X’, but how do they make sure that all of your other coaches have that important information?

Every piece of important information about a member should be recorded in your system and accessible by your team. Ideally this should be presented to them quickly & easily before/during every session.

Your system should be configured such that you can flag information to your coaches upon which you need them to act. For example, if the member needs to provide an updated payment card; if they need they need to complete their membership waiver; or if they need to complete a PAR-Q.

FOLLOW-UP
Working out is an adrenaline rush. Your members leave their session buzzing and loving your facility.

Keep the momentum going by sending your members follow-up messages telling them what a great session it was, and perhaps including a quick photo of the session. Without needing to send the “please share on social media” beg, you will find that members will often share these photos naturally & willingly.

ON-DEMAND, LIVE & IN-PERSON
Whilst there are peaks & troughs, members are increasingly seeking different ways in which they can workout with you. Facilities that rely solely on in-person sessions will, over time, likely find it harder to compete. These days gyms & studios are not only competing with each other, but also with the likes of Peloton; Apple Fitness+; and others.

For a small independent facility, resourcing the delivery of online and in-person content can be extremely challenging. Collaboration with other facilities is one method of resolving this, with each (non-competing) facility providing content to the others.

Very often gyms will find members asking to “suspend their membership” as they’re heading off on a long holiday. Without aggressively waving contracts, the counter to this can be tricky. However, with an arsenal of on-demand content & resources, you can not only retain payment during the absence period - but also provide a superb service to your members. The same applies when members go on business trips etc.

Your service delivery should extend far beyond your facility, and should touch your members wherever they are and whenever they want.

MOTIVATION
Every coach knows that motivation is the way for members to achieve results. You need to keep your members motivated towards achieving their fitness goals both in & out of the gym.

Effort tracking devices, such as Myzone®, are a brilliant way to build a sense of competition - and do so by operating an even playing field. Less fit members are able to compete with those who are at their peak, and everyone benefits.
To use systems such as Myzone to their greatest benefit, they should be linked to your member app & website. As well as the benefits this brings you as a facility owner in terms of time saved configuring & maintaining the system, members should be able to readily see their effort stats alongside their other training resources.

CHALLENGES & LEADER BOARDS
Myzone® provides an awesome way of engaging your members through challenges (competitions) and leader boards.

Whether it be the facility-wide MEPs (Myzone Effort Points) Leader Board or a specific individual challenge, a member will be naturally inclined to do their best to position well on the board. No one likes to look at a results board and see their name at the bottom!

Attendance Leader Boards are another great option, and encourage members to keep their bookings up - thus keeping them engaged & renewing their membership.

As with all content you deliver to your members, the challenge & other leader boards should be readily accessible to them.

LESSON 5 : Complete Care

COMPLETE CARE

As facility owners, we spend a lot of time worrying about where our next lead is coming from. It introduces uncertainty and stress into the business.

By making sure that we provide a superior service to our members, we can maximise retention; minimise attrition; and encourage referrals. Consequently, we need to find fewer new leads to fill spaces vacated by parting members - and those new leads we do seek grow the business.

NURTURING
No facility owner will question that nurturing a new member through their trial and the first part of their membership is vital. But the same equally applies to existing members.

Consider the new member who has had a great trial and then, when they come to pay their first regular membership fee everything stops! They are immediately left thinking “what happened to all of the love I was getting?”, and they feel slightly as if they have been scammed.

Modern member nurturing is a different beast to that of yesteryear, and stretches well beyond a few automated emails and text messages.

Yes, a large part of an automated nurture sequence remains messaging (typically via email; SMS; and also Push messaging). However, there are now additional elements that every effective nurturing campaign should include to maximise its effectiveness:

Documents - Delivery informative & useful content to your members, such as cookbooks; recipes; mindfulness support; etc. When drip-fed, the member will remain engaged and keen to see what they get next.

Videos - Messages are great, but these days it is so easy to record a quick piece-to-camera and include that in a nurturing campaign. It is so much more personal, and helps build the rapport with your facility.

Alongside documents, videos provide a scope limited only by your imagination.

Workout Session - Prove that your offering is more than just the time spent at the gym/studio. Include a home/on-demand workout in your nurture program, and have the member send you a photo of themselves celebrating completing it. Make sure you comment & commend their efforts.

Form/Questionnaire - Elicit feedback from your members using forms & questionnaires. If you are able, configure these to alert you immediately of any negative feedback the member may provide.

Up-sell - If, for example, your member is on a small group program, drop them a free credit for a taster 1-on-1 session. Not only will this be appreciated, but it helps further build rapport and may lead to an up-sell.

The personal touch - At key points in a nurture sequence, arrange for one of your coaches to reach out personally to the member - ideally by phone. This contact, whilst at home, re-affirms to the member that you do care about them beyond the time they are physically in the same room as you.

Ensure that all communications are logged, so that every coach knows what was said - and you avoid the awkwardness of a second coach making the same call because they didn’t know it had been done!

COMMUNICATIONS
It needs to be easy for your members to communicate with you and vice-versa. Most importantly, all coaches should be able to see what communications have taken place - and you, as facility owner, need to be able to see that messages have been responded to.

Incoming & outgoing emails should be recorded against a member’s record. SMS messages are also a great way to communicate, and should be similarly recorded. Whilst Push notifications have their place, they are a one-way communications tool and not as effective as a text/SMS message. Also, as many as 80% of your members may have push notifications turned off, as they are likely sick of receiving a dozen or more a day from the numerous apps they have installed.

BE AWARE
As mentioned earlier, you and your team should record all critical information about a member, such that it is readily available for other coaches to access. Sharing & communication amongst team members is one of the biggest challenges in operating a growing fitness facility, but is easily remedied by using the right tools.

There is nothing worse than, for example, a member suffering a bereavement and then a few days later a coach asking “how is X”. Whilst distressing for the member and embarrassing for the coach, it also demonstrates a lack of care.

It is important that you are aware (as soon as possible) if a member starts to drop-off attending & booking sessions. This can be something that can be difficult to track in a multi-coach environment, but is data that should be available to you through bookings & attendance system.

In the event that a member is starting to drop-off, reach out to them. Have a pre-written “recovery nurture campaign” at hand to trigger and to coax them back in to the fold.

INCIDENTS
As well as a legal obligation, you should record any incidents that occur with a member or at the facility so that the whole team is aware.

For example, if a member sprains their wrist whilst lifting, this should be recorded and readily accessible to the coach taking their next session. Armed with such knowledge, not only can the coach ensure they don’t aggravate the injury but, furthermore, they can ask the member “how they’re feeling”, and if they have recovered. To the member this shows not only strong inter-team communication but also, once again, demonstrates that you do genuinely care about their well being.

A COMPLETE WELLNESS SOLUTION
Most modern training facilities offer merchandise; supplements; and other products (such as energy drinks) to supplement i) the service they provide their members, and ii) the income into the business.

If your members love your facility and the service you provide, they will be happy to wear your T-shirts & sweatshirts, and to promote your brand. Make it easy for them by enabling them to buy your apparel & products through an online store - ideally in the same place they access their other membership resources.

Repeatedly buying water or shakes every visit is a hassle for members. It is also financially inefficient to transact small payments on cards. For your VIPs or regular members, consider extending them a credit line. Clearly this should be carefully recorded and transacted every few weeks, but a member being able to say “stick it on my tab/slate” feels trusted & fully embraced by their chosen fitness community.

LAYERING
If a member is signed-up for a 12-session per month membership, why limit them to that? Make it easy for members to buy extra sessions, if they wish. This brings extra revenue to the business and may, in time, enable you to up-sell them a larger recurring membership package.

Where possible, structure your memberships such that they are layered. Not only does this make it easier for you & your team to administer, but it also makes it simple for a member to add additional services to their package.

LESSON 6 : Curated Content

CURATED CONTENT

You’ve told your new member that “you care” about them. Your fitness offering is special because it’s “tailored to them”.

The very next thing that you do is direct them to your generic WordPress or Wix members site, where there is a stack of stuff for them to wade through - much of which might not be relevant to them.

A strong members site is another ‘must’ for every fitness facility. It is through this (and/or an app) that the member should be able to readily access all of the resources that come with their membership. It is also a fantastic vehicle for you to promote new offerings and to up-sell to your members.

Whilst better than nothing, generic, flat members sites do not reflect the image that you have conveyed to your members. Technology or budget limitations should not be harming your business!

Members seek and deserve curated content from their fitness service provider.

When curating content for your members, it is important to consider their individual needs, but also deliver it in such a way that it doesn’t become onerous or excessively time-consuming. Configuring resources for a new member should be practically effortless, and a matter of a click or two.

Having sold your “unique offering” try to steer away from delivering the likes of the same, multiple years-old recipe pack that so many facilities buy off the web for a few dollars and throw at their members to “tick a box”.

Ideally you don’t want your members seeing the same resources being offered elsewhere, as it calls into question the uniqueness of your offering along with your integrity. This certainly doesn’t mean that you need to create everything from scratch, but consider where you source your resources and tailor them to match your brand.

VIDEOS
Videos are a fantastic way to deliver content to your members. They are engaging and almost limitless in scope. Short pieces to camera (such as personal birthday messages) will buy enormous goodwill with your members, and mean so much more than a templated birthday email (which their spouse also received weeks prior).Rather than direct your members off to YouTube® (where they will likely be presented with adverts for your competitors and other ‘shiny things’), deliver your video content through your member site. As with all of your content, ensure that you curate it - only providing videos to members for whom they are relevant.

DOCUMENTS
Similar to videos, documents are almost limitless in their scope - whether they be PDFs; images; or spreadsheets.

Both videos and documents should be available for your members to consume on different platforms. For example, whilst a phone may be perfect for some content, a larger browser screen on a computer may be better for more complex or intricate resources.

WORKOUTS
Your member site and offering should be such that when your member goes on holiday or a work trip, you go along with them! Either a curated or series of on-demand workouts will help ensure that they keep paying during their absence, even if they only pretend that they did the session!

PERSONAL BESTS
Unless you operate solely 1-on-1 or small group training, it may be impractical to monitor and record every member achievement. However, being able to demonstrate member progression is an important aspect to member retention.

Make it a periodic goal to look out for and record a new achievement for a member. Ideally, they should be able to see a list of their achievements, and it should be something that you and your coaching team praise.

WEIGH-INS
If you record weigh-ins or body fat (E.g. using InBody® scales), you should record the results somewhere secure that both the member and your coaching team can access.

How many times do you find yourself being asked “what was it I weighed?”; “how much did I lose?”; or “I’ve lost the bit of paper, can you send me a copy?” Not only does recording these streamline the process for both your team and the member, but it will likely also save you time too.

PHYSICAL PROGRESSION
In addition to achievements, it can be beneficial for a member to be able to record a series of progression body shots.

We all know that body mass is a poor measure of progress. A member will typically firstly drop mass due to losing fat, but will then put on mass due to gaining muscle.

Whilst this is also addressed through body fat measurements, physical photos of a member’s progression of physical appearance can be a great motivational tool. “Yes, you may have put on 2kg since March, but look how much more toned and muscular you are compared to back then”.

FRIENDS & COMMUNITY
Community is at the heart of many independent training facilities. It is the camaraderie & friendship that makes these gyms/studios even more special.

Without compromising privacy boundaries, a great way to encourage attendance is a “gym buddy” system. If you know when your gym buddies are training (without having to ask them), it should be easy to book onto the same session. Statistics show that clients who train together will likely remain paying members longer.

LESSON 7 : Closing the Loop

CLOSING THE LOOP

A genuine, effective 360° Wellness offering requires an effective “feedback loop”.

A feedback loop is essentially two-way communications with your members. No member should go too long without receiving some sort of personal reach out. Whilst this can be time-consuming to implement, there are a number of ways that it can be done, and using the right tools will help streamline the process.

CALLS & ASSIGNMENTS
As we all know, time can fly past - and, before you know it, months have passed since you last made a personal call to a member.

Make sure that every call to every member is logged, and that key information is available to your coaching team.

Set a call schedule for your members, and allocate them across your team members. Keep a track of the assignments to ensure that they have been completed, and that relevant notes have been logged.

FEEDBACK & CHECK-INS
Weekly & monthly check-in questionnaires have become extremely popular in the fitness industry. They are a strong method for reaching out to members and getting a response.

The reality is that, often, these forms only get a cursory glance - often days after they have been returned. Wading through a massive spreadsheet of badly formatted responses is a task that many quickly give up on, and thus render the process pointless.

Implement a system whereby ‘exceptions’ to the questions (I.e. negative responses) are flagged for immediate follow-up. If a member is brave enough to tell you their mental health is suffering, it shouldn’t be two weeks before they receive a response (or worse never!)

POSITIVITY THROUGH INTERACTION
Never underestimate the power of having your members provide something, and you deliver a positive (or at least constructive) response to it.

Having your members send in their post-home workout photos, or photos of a delicious healthy dinner they have made, and then responding positively to it can do wonders for strengthening your community and member relationships.

ALCHEMY : How we can help

JOIN THE SGPT INFINITY COMMUNITY

The demands on the modern training gym/studio are enormous. Typically these days a facility will find itself not only competing with other local facilities, but with online and on-demand offerings also. Members are seeking a full 360° wellness solution that fits their lifestyle and their pocket.

For too long, the fitness industry was largely devoid of software management options, and facility owners would typically find themselves having to use multiple, expensive, disjointed software solutions. Not only would this be a headache for gym managers, but it would typically deliver a poor experience to members who have to juggle multiple logins to multiple systems, just to access their core membership benefits.

Many of the chain gyms are starting to offer a boutique style of product, backed by impressive $$$ budgets. SGPT Infinity from Quoox helps level the playing field for independent gyms.

SGPT Infinity is designed to save you time and money, and help you stay in control of your business - whilst delivering a best-in-class level service to your members.

From day one of using our cohesive, all-in-one platform you will immediately benefit from a smoother, richer, more efficient business work flow - enabling you to provide a superior experience to your members with less effort.

Having been created by gym owners for gym owners, the ethos of providing a solution that actually works for the modern training facility is at the very core of SGPT Infinity and all of our Alchemy products.

CHECKLIST

Whilst not wholly exhaustive, this booklet has outlined some of the most important elements in the delivery of a superior member service for gyms & fitness studios.

Use the checklist below to count up how many your facility currently provides.

Attraction
Customisable landing pages
Targeted landing pages
Barrier-free sign-up
Lead nurturing
Comprehensive recording
Coaching
Technically skilled coaches
Qualified coaches
Strong people skills
Supportive of continued learning
Member Experience
A mobile app
A member website
A unified delivery platform
Contextually appropriate delivery
Delivery reflects your brand values
Training Delivery
Easy schedule viewing & booking
Booking calendar feeds
Automated session reminders
Painless cancellation process
Attendance logging
Encourage attendance
Effective member data sharing
Productive post-session follow-ups
In-person sessions
On-demand sessions
Live, online sessions
Motivational tools
Challenges & competitions
Complete Care
Effective member nurturing
Tracked communications
Critical information sharing
Incident logging & sharing
Product sales & merchandising
Layered memberships
Curated Content
Videos
Documents
On-demand workouts
Personal best record
Weigh-in logging
Physical progression tracking
Friends & community tools
Closing the Loop
Call scheduling
Assignment tracking
Tracked feedback & check-ins
Positive interaction triggers
Automated workflows

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Learn more about SGPT Infinity and the Alchemy products available from Quoox...
Written by Chris Windram.

QUOOX

We provide services to an exclusive group of wellness facilities to help them achieve operational superiority and provide ongoing support to their profitable, scalable, expertly operated, premium well-being businesses.
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