How HighLow Fitness Retains Clients with Virtual Fitness

High intensity, low impact, longer stamina

HighLow co-founder Mark Garrahy has been in the fitness industry for over 23 years and is no stranger to bumps in the road in business. Riding the boutique gym concept evolution at the same time as Les Mills, Mark wanted to create a space where all ages felt comfortable and supported.   

“We pride ourselves on innovation, not imitation,” Garrahy said. “Our programmes are uniquely designed to create a community of all ages and fitness levels.”  

Class at HighLow range from Teen TIP, which is designed for eight to fourteen-year-olds, and to 55s, special interval classes designed for older athletes. HighLow’s business strategy goes beyond classes—the brand offers a service-orientated programme focuses on client interaction to form healthy habits, and gym techniques to help members avoid injury and understand progression. 

When COVID-19 hit, Garrahy and his team faced the task of maintaining customer retention and helping members continue their progression whilst at home. 

Developing a long-term strategy

Like most businesses, HighLow Fitness turned to virtual workouts. But the brand knew that it needed more to retain its members. So the brand also deployed a sustainable long term business plan. The plan included developing an accompanying online retail store to provide members and newcomers with access to the right equipment for an at-home setup. 

As the months rolled on, and COVID-19 related business restricts lifted, HighLow kept its successful Home HIIT programme and developed a hybrid membership that allows customers to be a virtual and in-person member.  

But this launch didn’t happen overnight—it was the result of years of planning and recognising a change in the industry. In fact, Garrahy built out the business strategy and sought trademark approvals two years ago. 

Hyper-targeted customer communication

With a long-term plan for virtual fitness in hand, it was time to market Home HIIT and HighLow’s new hybrid membership to customers. For that, he optimised his Mindbody subscription with automated marketing through Marketing Suite. 

“When you’re focused on expanding your offering and the day to day functioning of the gyms, admin and customer marketing tends to slip to the back of the list,” Garrahy said. “However, with Mindbody’s Smart List solution, I’m able to easily create automated email campaigns, tailored for each revenue stream.”    

With Marketing Suite, the team streamlined their marketing whilst making sure they communicated personally with each type of customer from loyal Home HIIT-only clients to hybrid members. The improved communication efficiency allowed Highlow Fitness to stay engaged with its members when face-to-face interactions were not possible. 

Attracting and Retaining Customers

But Garrahy didn’t stop with outgoing marketing—he wanted incoming feedback, too. Realising this, Mark built out review campaigns within the Marketing Suite. Through email and SMS outreach, HighLow automatically followed up with gym-goers to request a review. Mark was able to receive constructive feedback on their new offerings as well as auto-publish positive testimonials on the HighLow website.  

The result of all of his efforts? As a result of its growing online reputation, Highlow Fitness has increased its email database 50% week-on-week, in addition to retaining the majority of its core member base during COVID-19.  

Thanks to having a well-planned future business strategy that was easily fast-tracked, HighLow Fitness enjoyed an increase in memberships that exceeded all expectations.