He has worked closely with Technogym since 2009, helping clubs to get the most out of the mywellness system, and use data to motivate staff and members.
Many fitness facilities and health clubs are reviewing their member journeys at the moment. It is important to consider adapting your traditional in-club processes, as well as developing digital membership journeys.
Learn from Lockdown
We have learned a lot from lockdown, from clubs that have good digital member engagement, and from those that are developing new online tools and processes. There has been a plethora of online classes, workouts, and streamed content. Many clubs have thrown the digital kitchen sink at their members during lockdown. It is important to measure how your different digital solutions are engaging with your whole membership. Knowing classes are ‘full’ is no good if members are cancelling.It is not uncommon for sites to have lost 25% of members through cancellation already. Communication is key, as Woody and John from TA6 discussed in the last Technogym Talks webinar. Keep your members up to date with your latest offerings and plans. These plans may change, but it’s important to keep member engagement up, by email, sms, post, and with the same messaging used on your social media, website, and in any conversations you are having with your members.
Traditional ‘In-club’ Journeys
Guy talked about how the traditional journey will change post lockdown. We need to focus more on the ‘average’ member who needs additional motivation. The fitness industry tends to obsess over and try to appeal to enthusiasts, or people who are already highly motivated. Making the already active more active should not be our mission. We need to concentrate on activating the inactive, which needs more work, more technology, and more soft skills.Welcome sessions (aka Inductions) will change; you now have an opportunity to mandate an appointment as people return to the club, to explain health and safety protocols, booking rules. At the same time, you can build a strong connection with your returning members, talk about their goals and needs, and ensure they are digitally engaged (with your app), and aware of all the services you offer.
The inactive and cancelling member processes in your journeys can be enhanced with digital. You can collect more data from your members, enabling you to better recognize drop-out risk. You can also offer more digital support, with online coaching for example, either via the app, or over a virtual call.
New digital only membership journeys
Building a digital membership option will not only help with re-opening strategies, it will be necessary for some of your existing members, and a good option for ex-member and new member engagement. Again, this is a good opportunity to revisit the induction process, which could be a video, or a one-to-one call with an instructor, depending on your service levels and pricing.Digital engagement is likely to be harder to influence without in-club interactions. We will need to motivate members remotely, and their exercise and activity data will be key to this process. ‘Absentee’ messages and calls will still be key to member retention, and the leave process needs defining too… some digital members are already leaving your club during lockdown. How you recognize and deal with these digital cancellations will shape your future membership strategy.
While digital memberships seem novel, they will soon blend with the in-club experience, and some members may flip-flop from a club membership to a digital only membership seasonally. So, you need to price your digital membership accordingly. It must not be a loss leader to generate in-club prospects, but could be a way of saving in-club members from leaving.
Summary 5 points – Digital Fitness Opportunity
Guy’s 5 key points from the webinar are as follows:- Learn from Lockdown,
- Measure Engagement
- Do Inductions (Welcome appointments), focus on members in need
- Personalise messages, build communities
- Deliver Digital Value, and charge for it
You can watch the full session (40 minutes) plus Q&A at the end (20 mins) on the link below.
No comments:
Post a Comment