Member journey in fitness clubs: Making the journey as good as the destination
When we examine the success behind any health and fitness club, it’s never about their fashionable branding, the number of classes they run, or the amount of state-of-the-art equipment that they offer in their gym.
It almost always relates to the quality of the customer journey, and how that experience looks and feels to the customer in a real-life setting. The customer journey is what builds reputations, keeps members happy, and results in high retention rates.
Today’s clubs usually fall into one of four general categories. They are:
Let’s look at each of these types of fitness facilities in turn, and see how automated systems can play a key part in the member journey, depending upon the types of customers being served.
The full-service club
These tend to be premium clubs, often with a family offering, that charge a membership fee at the higher end and have a wide range of facilities, such as a large pool, spa area, kids club, and tennis courts.
Premium-paying members expect ease of access to every area of the club, a high level of security for their family and possessions, as well as plenty of staff members on hand to provide exceptional service.
Recommended technology for such clubs could include automated receptions check-ins and car park access with a smart credential (smart card, key fob, or phone), designated access to different zones with the same credential, secure keyless locker systems, and the convenience of paying cashless in the club restaurants, cafes, and vending machine areas.
Building in a high degree of automated technology results in reception and gym staff being freed up to talk, help and interact more with members, while the everyday automated customer journey runs seamlessly and effectively in the background – almost without the customer noticing.
The budget to mid-range club
Technology should play a more prominent role in these types of clubs, as staffing levels are usually lower than in a premium club.
People who choose a budget club are often there for a quick and efficient workout, without any frills, and therefore need an efficient and high-functioning customer journey, and don’t expect to spend too much time talking to staff.
Effective signage, a sufficient number of digital information terminals and a tamper-proof smart membership card that works everywhere and never fails are essential in these types of clubs.
Installing lockers that don’t need physical keys or coins (either centrally-powered or battery-operated) is also highly recommended, as they greatly cut down on maintenance and staff management time. Budget club changing rooms usually see a lot of footfall, so it’s important to have lockers that don’t get easily jammed and enable the member to have a quick transition in and out of the club.
These types of clubs often don’t have a serviced cafe or restaurant, and so a smart member card that can also be pre-loaded for cashless payments is a useful addition to a club vending machine area or self-service drinks station, as well as for secondary spending options such as sunbeds and health and beauty services. Consumer upsells and special offers can also be programmed into these smart cards to further drive secondary spending and improve club revenues well beyond the lower monthly membership fees.
There may be fewer staff around at these clubs, but an advanced access and membership technology system will take the place of staff, and customers will feel well-served.
The boutique/specialist studio
The boutique studio often has a specialist focus on one type of fitness activity, such as cycling, circuits, or boxing. This type of club often attracts a loyal and passionate community of people who are highly tech-savvy, yet at the same time expect a high degree of personal interaction with staff and other members.
Branded merchandise and regular special offers can be effective at driving up a boutique’s revenues, so offering members a cashless payment card that also acts as the member card is a must. There is often a well-attended juice bar or healthy cafe where members will congregate and happily spend money.
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Changing rooms and locker areas are usually high-end and also require a high level of security both for the lockers themselves and for access to the changing area. Being able to remotely designate lockers from a central system also opens up opportunities for extra revenue, as the most frequent visitors could purchase an ongoing locker rental.
Boutiques will often operate on a pay-per-go basis alongside a monthly membership, so issuing a membership card that is tamper-proof, easily blocked by admin if it’s lost, and easily reprogrammed for access to different areas and membership levels is essential.
As these clubs often charge a premium price but may not tie people into monthly membership, it’s important that no revenue is lost to casual member-card sharing. Visitors can be automatically identified at a reception terminal, which has the dual benefit of enabling staff to greet boutique members by name.
The boutique member journey is all about personalization and creating a sense of community while serving members who pay a premium price and know exactly what they’re doing and what they want within the club walls.
The staffless or hybrid club
These clubs are starting to grow in popularity and expand to different cities around the world. They are especially popular among the younger generation who are at ease with any degree of technology and are also confident about what they’re doing in the gym.
The move by many gyms to digital fitness during the pandemic also means that an even wider segment of the population is now more at ease with fitness delivered remotely and not in person. This means the segment for the type of people who would use these gyms is becoming wider reaching.
Advanced technology is clearly required for a staffless gym to support an enjoyable customer journey. This might include facial recognition at reception, smart card locker access and identification, and cashless payment cards for vending areas.
As the customer journey starts from the moment a customer takes out a?membership – a process that often happens online – being able to offer customers the option of picking up their new membership card at an in-club dispenser is also an essential service for a largely staffless gym.
A hybrid model is often where a club is open for 24 hours and members might work out in a staffless environment only overnight, with at least a few staff members available during the day. These gyms are often highly suited to people with flexible work schedules or changing shift patterns, as well as self-employed homeworkers who need to vary when they work out according to their particular schedule.
From an operator’s point of view, an automated access and membership system should track every single stage of the customer journey, from the moment new members sign up online, to when they are in the gym working out or using other gym services. The right technology system should help a club design fitness services and offers that perfectly match the needs and desires of the customer – especially in the absence of face-to-face interactions and conversations.
Data collected remotely can be used to create highly-targeted services and promotions, as well as special promotions that might be displayed with one click on connected digital terminals within the club.
Initial investment costs to create this type of fully-automated, technology-loaded gym will be higher, but with almost no staff, the day-to-day running costs will be greatly reduced while a high volume of members can still be accommodated. This means that ROI can be faster than in a conventional gym setup.
Planning your customer journey
As we can see from the above examples, there’s no right or wrong level of technology for an individual club. It depends on the club’s type, location, customer profile, and revenue expectations.
When planning to build an automated customer journey, some key questions to ask are:
As a specialist in the design and installation of membership access control systems and automated customer journeys for health and fitness, GANTNER can help you understand the technology needs of your club operations and the technology needs of your particular customers. Get these two in perfect balance, and the customer journey will always be a success!
As a market-leading specialist in creating smart system solutions for fitness clubs, with decades of experience serving businesses worldwide, GANTNER can help you understand the unique technology needs of your club operations, and the technology needs of your customers too.
Get these two in perfect balance, and the customer journey will always be a success!