The metrics that Actually F***ing Matter Pt 1: Here’s the tea *Coffee*

Anyone that’s met me will know I am obsessed with my Whoop, mainly the core recovery metric, which is great and a really simple way to quantify the success of my training vs sleep. ‘Yes I’m in the green’ is often the thought that starts my day, but what about all the other results and insights I am being shown and not digested. This type of consumer tech behaviour is not uncommon, if we look at how we use our smartphones or laptops, how many of us use every single feature? Or even these devices up to 70% of their potential? So you can only imagine how much of the physiological Wearable data we aren’t even touching on. With more and more of our members embracing wearables, this knowledge gap is something, we as operators can easily fill. Now I am not saying that our trainers should become an expert on every single Wearable, fitness report metric, or glucose monitoring?! Like how we utilise the InBody scanner, we only highlight to our clients, the metrics that matter and where they can see a tangible improvement. In this piece, I am going to give you a simple breakdown of some of the most common wearable metrics that your members don’t understand but you easily can.?

Why it’s important?

Firstly let me explain why I think Wearables are a key tool in the future of our industry and the services we provide. If you have read any of my previous articles, you will know I am a firm believer in the power of Wearables when they are put in the right hands, and I don’t mean on the arms of the user! In fact, I mean in the open palms of your trainers! There are endless benefits of accessing this data, but they all very much tied into the concept of ‘personalization. Of course, all PT training (I bloody hope!) has a level of personalization, with our trainers creating bespoke plans for their clients that are revolved around the client’s unique needs and goals. But that’s not enough. Not when you look at the level of personalization your client receives every single day, for frankly a fraction of the price across other services.?

I can give endless SAAS examples, such as Netflix recommending you films, or Spotify curating custom playlists. But let’s take another service, which may be as essential as the services our operators deliver- a very basic example- a morning cup of coffee.

I Olivia go into Chain coffee brand under my building, I get my name written on a cup, nice.

?I Olivia go to my local coffee shop, I am warmly welcomed, I make small talk with the Barrister about how my Yoga class was the previous morning, they know my order, so my wait time is less. They know my preferred payment method, so the card reader is pre-set whilst we are chatting about said yoga class, and then I am handed my cup of coffee with a smile- lovely right? The dream for someone like me whose morning coffee ritual is sacred.

Now, let’s say my local coffee shop wasn’t having a great day- maybe there is a new Barrister, who has no idea about my order and adds Oat Milk instead of Soy? Or what if the lady that takes the orders is in a crappy mood today and doesn’t give two shits about my Yoga class? Or perhaps the card machine is down and I don’t have cash, or the line is really long and it’s raining. There is a lot of room for human error here right? And whilst it’s still a heck of a lot better than Starbucks, (even on its worst day), it’s not giving me the miracle morning, worth walking 15 minutes to vibe, I am after. These kinds of experiences can be luck of the draw and affected by many uncontrollable factors, that often make that dream morning coffee experience I mentioned, hard to repeat or very tough to perform at scale.?

But there is a third solution. The Nespresso Expert. Not heard of it? Well, you are in for a caffeinated treat. This Machine is a mindblower, not only does it enable you to create any kind of coffee you could ever desire- without leaving your bed (one click on their Bluetooth app), the Expert automatically creates you that dreamy flat white every morning on cue to your wake up time, so the only role you play is drinking it from your warm mug. The milk can be set at the right temperature so it can make Latte art (yes I’m serious) and you will get an InApp notification to your phone when your pods are running low, with a link to the coffee the Expert knows you love. It even self cleans?! Whilst a hefty upfront investment, small ongoing pod costs, which is paid for on subscription so the payment is only set up once and no need to ever wait in line in the rain ever again. Oh and Nespresso even has its own community so you can share your latte art and chat about your favourite Pods. It’s a no brainer right?

Now let’s apply this to our industry-?

The Chain Site- You get the type of gyms that delivers cheap, consistently sub-par fitness at scale. Think one of every corner, serving bang average coffee, with your name spelt wrong on the side.?

The Local Coffee Shop- Now this is the type of site maybe you are, you have the team, the equipment, the location, people come from far and wide for your unique product and the experience it has the potential to deliver. But it’s hard to scale up personalization and the love and attention you want to give all of your customers is hard to achieve.

The Nespresso Expert- This is the expensive but slick, machine in your house that delivers world-class products at the touch of a button. Every interaction is tracked, recorded and deeper levels of personalization are able to be delivered without human interaction, (you’re getting where I’m going with this one)- the likes of Peleton/Tonal/Mirror etc.?

As you can see, you are no longer competing with the gyms next door, but with also these digital disruptors. It’s not all doom and gloom and in fact, I see these disruptors as the driver for change and improvement in member experience across our industry. (Not to mention the person that buys a peloton or a Tonal, probably didn’t swap out your gym membership for an at-home device, they are an entirely different segment of the market that likely didn’t ever invest in Bricks and Mortar offering. Instead, their adoption of this product may introduce them to being health-aware and eventually lead them into our doors).?

However, with all consumers now being aware of the potential of the service these digital disruptors present, it’s time for us (the local coffee shop) to step up our game! And how do we do this? By providing a new level of hyper-personalization, that our members are getting from other services every day. Because when we take all the strengths of the Nespresso Expert (ease of use/personalization/recommendations) and sew that into the customer experience at the local coffee shop- once again you are delivering that dream coffee experience. Unlike the Nespresso Expert, YOU have the added bonus of setting and human connection and community, which will never be replaced by a digital-only experience, and can only be bettered by using these insights into your customers! And the best news is your customers already are using the tools you need to unlock these insights. It’s really really simple, you just need to look at the metrics that matter.?

In PT2 we will cover just that! We will look at the metrics on your client’s wearables that actually f***ing matter, why they matter and then the devices that are tracking them! If you have got this far, thank you for reading and as always if you have any questions or thoughts, hit me up.

L