How to use Pokémon GO to improve your health club retention – Part 1

Are any of your members playing Pokémon GO?
{hint: the answer is Yes!}

Whether you think it’s a fad, a bandwagon, or the solution to the obesity epidemic, there’s no doubt that Pokémon GO is here. It’s grabbing headlines, and people are signing up much faster than for anything else.

We don’t like jumping on bandwagons at GGFit, but we do believe there are ways that Pokémon GO can help improve member retention at your health club...

In short, the game is another reason to interact with more members, to drive more people into your club, and to get them more active.

Education

For starters, you have an opportunity to educate people (members, prospects, staff) about Pokémon GO. If you’ve not played it yet, click here toread our 1 minute guide to the game.

Get out more

There’s lots of ways to get your members more active using Pokémon GO. First, you need to find out where your nearest PokéStops and PokéGyms are, or if your club is a PokéStop or PokéGym. Next, identify fitness instructors or staff who are or will be playing the game. Now you can start organising weekly or daily runs and walks to hatch eggs, collect Poke Balls and other items from PokéStops and visit local PokéGyms.

Increased brand awareness

To keep people in your club, and promote your brand across social media, you can tell members who catch a Pokémon in or around your club to share a photo of the Pokémon with your club logo in the background. Using a hashtag or location tag when sharing on the relevant social media channel enters the member into your weekly prize draw, or wins guest passes or other rewards.

Lures can increase footfall and bring in new members as well as existing members. Some simple posters will generate more interest and interaction with staff. And then social media is the place where the action will be… with the right strategy and monitoring systems, Pokémon GO can really drive your social media juice.

Fun (a by product of play)

Finally, have fun and be creative. Pokémon themed workouts and challenges will help to get even more of your members active, or just give you another excuse to talk to them.

Next week… Getting started with Pokémon GO for your club / fitness venture

Click here to download the full guide to Pokémon GO for the fitness industry.