5 Ways to Use Technology to Make Your Members Happier
May 2, 2022
As a savvy fitness studio or boutique business owner, having the right technology can help you do a lot of things. It can allow your members to book training sessions and classes, do away with the need for paperwork and keep things organized, allow for quick and convenient purchases and payment—not to mention, it can cut down on busy work and streamline your operations from tip to tail.
Of course, not to be missed on the long list of tech perks is the way you can use it to make your members happy. With the right solutions, you can delight your members at every step of their journey and throughout their training or member experience—and it’s easier than you might think. Here’s how to do it.
1. Help new and existing studio members find what they’re looking for
When you’re looking for an answer to a question, a solution to a problem, or a product or service to fill a need, where do you go first? Online? Yeah, we thought so.
Tech has brought nearly everything within reach of just a few mouse clicks, and that includes fitness products and services.
Leverage technology that includes e-commerce and marketing features to make your ideal members’ search for their perfect fitness fix both quick and easy and to get yourself and your business in front of your target market and showcase what you have to offer.
You can start by creating pages on your website that showcase your services, pricing, and staff. If you can, integrate “buy now” options so once they see something they like, they can sign up ASAP. Having your services listed online and allowing members to book and buy by themselves can be a huge driver of sales without needing your team’s support or having to handle these over the phone or at the front desk.
For members who might need a bit of help before checking out, you’ll want to offer them as many ways to reach you as possible. Build contact options into your website or leverage your social media channels to allow members to inquire about the packages and services you offer and start conversations.
2. Let them train their way
If you haven’t already noticed, we’re in a new era of fitness. As consumers become more savvy when it comes to fitness, and new providers enter the market, embracing optionality is going to become key to a successful business strategy.
With healthy living transforming from something that used to happen in the gym into a 24/7 pursuit, consumers are looking for fun, flexible options that meet their needs and enjoy doing. So, give them what they want!
Make sure you’re offering packages and services that serve up more than just exercise routines. From fitness, nutrition, and lifestyle coaching, there are so many different pieces to a members’ health and wellness, and as their club or studio of choice, you are uniquely positioned to support all of them.
If you haven’t already, you'll also want to update your service offerings to include online training and on-demand digital services—if you’ve already done this to help get through gym shutdowns, don’t get rid of them! Make them a permanent piece of your business strategy and leverage them for your future growth and your members’ enjoyment.
You’ll also want to make sure to include some hybrid training options. This gives your members real flexibility in how, where, and when they train and offers a perfectly balanced experience of both in-person support and independent, but still guided, activities.
3. Don’t make them wait
Taking the leap and making a fitness-focused purchase takes both energy and motivation, and nothing zaps both of those faster than having to wait to access your product or service after check out.
Skip the member purgatory and take them from ready to buy to ready to train in seconds. To do this, you’ll want to make sure the tech you’re using allows for online purchases and options to help you quickly deliver your products and services.
With both of these things, you can automate your sales process and avoid maxing out your team or keeping your members waiting. Plus, these features can help you scale out your business, expand your services, and support more members, all without needing heavy lifting or new headcounts on your staff.
4. Fit seamlessly into their lives
Want to know one of the secrets of selling? Don’t make accessing your services harder than it needs to be.
Instead, find ways to interlace your members’ training into their daily routines. Build a small but diverse set of services, ranging in:
Key area of focus (E.g., fitness, nutrition, habits, mindset, etc.)
How customised they are (from one size fits all to 100% tailored to an individual client)
How much hands-on guidance is included in each
By playing with just these three variables, you should be able to create services that work for your target niche and market, while giving them enough flexibility and choice to feel in control of the experience and still get what they need.
On top of your services and the content that comes with them, give them easy ways to track their activities (like a mobile app or wearable that automatically track for them), gentle reminders when they’re getting forgetful, or simple to-do lists that help them stay organized and break down bigger goals.
5. Keep the motivation and community vibes high
We all get by with a little help from our friends. Give your members their own personal cheer squads and turn the power of social motivation into real results by using technology to connect your members.
Build digital groups and use them to share wins, start discussions, and let your members cheer each other on. (You might even find they spark some healthy competition and add to your members’ motivation!)
Now that you know all the ways technology can help make your members and members happy, you’re probably thinking that you’re going to need a whole bunch of apps, platforms, and devices to make it happen. But good news: you don’t.
With just one or two powerful apps, you can pretty much do it all. For example, with just Mindbody and Trainerize powering your business, you can do all five of the happy member solutions above, and more!
