How fitness centers can deliver value with psychology and technology

As the owner of a fitness business striving to take advantage of the post-pandemic rebound, you’re likely dealing with fierce competition. What can you do to set your gym or studio apart?

We’ll show you how to nurture member psychology, with assistance from today’s customer-focused technologies. We’ll cover three areas: guest motivation, gratification, and a desire for predictability.

Motivation: Stay focused on the client’s dream outcome

Fitness goals come in as many shapes and sizes as the people trying to achieve them. You have the expertise and experience with client transformation; reinforce for clients how they can realize their potential.

Help your clients close the gap between the current reality and their dreams. Deliver that dream back to them so they feel understood.
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Here are a few ways software can help you deliver on this inspiration and manage your member relationships efficiently:

1. Enhance the client experience. Make it easier for members to achieve goals by removing any administrative friction. Give clients the ability to buy the classes and memberships they want online, as well as keep track of packages and payments on their phone. Offer one-stop convenience with a webstore for items like gear and nutrition supplements. Help clients make fitness a habit by boosting convenience through features like booking reminders and autopay.

2. Add personalization. Track your members’ fitness milestones and send congratulatory emails or texts to keep them motivated. Have your software identify members who complete a package to send a virtual high-five – and a discount on a different package for them to try.

3. Encourage community. By allowing clients to invite a friend using a guest pass, you can boost their enjoyment and help them stay motivated, while also fostering accountability.

Gratification: Find ways to offer instant payoffs

Your clients are investing their time and patience in exchange for results. Ensure your technology platform offers a seamless user experience. Here are some ways to deliver instant payoffs.

1. Provide digital access. Today’s fitness seekers research their options online, register for classes on their smartphone, and even stream virtual workouts to complete at home. Any center that can’t deliver those conveniences can be seen as incomplete.
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   With an all-in-one software platform like Zenoti, your clients can take part in this self-service around the clock, on their time. They can choose and pay for classes or packages online or through a custom-branded mobile app.

2. Add hybrid fitness options. Eighty percent of gym members plan to keep using digital workouts post-pandemic, according to the Les Mills Global Fitness Report. To serve this audience, consider supplementing in-person sessions with livestreams and on-demand classes – CorePower Yoga offers all three.
   
   With Zoom integration built into the Zenoti platform, gyms and fitness centers can livestream workouts and classes, with less work setting up links.
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3. Enable social booking. When you include a link to online booking within your social media channels, you simplify the purchase process for your clients, without distraction, procrastination, or forgetfulness getting in the way. Drive appointment bookings by posting teaser videos from your rockstar instructors.

Desire for predictability: Offer some guarantees

Fitness clients pay for certainty and trust. It’s important to increase client conviction that your studio or gym is the right choice for them.

In addition to offering a clean, modern facility; friendly, well-trained staff; and innovative workouts, how can you provide pockets of certainty for your clients? 

1. Create roadmaps for time-bound goals. When a client wants to build muscle, burn fat, and feel strong, point them to a three-week pass and list of classes based on their specific interests and needs to get them started – they’ll have a clear idea of healthy and realistic steps to take. Make it easy for clients to help themselves to fitness offerings through package purchases and online classes they can take from the comfort of their own home.  

2. Reward clients for their loyalty and their referrals. Give them points to increase their engagement with the brand and keep them coming back for more. Thank clients for referring friends and family by giving them freebies or membership discounts.  
   
   The predictability comes from having expectations met in tangible ways. If a client does X, they get Y. A couple of examples: When I complete 10 classes, I get 100 loyalty points and a free class pass. If my referral joins the gym, my membership fees are waived for a month.
   
   The Zenoti platform recognizes the deep value of referrals, and makes it easy to automate the process – both sharing referrals and rewarding loyal clients.  
   

3. Automate reminders. Fitness is often just one of many regularly scheduled priorities for your clients. By automating email and text reminders and a calendar sync of upcoming classes, you can help members stick to their goals and regimens.
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Fitness businesses can use technology to help members stay focused on challenging goals. They can boost motivation with personalized communications like milestone messaging, offer instant gratification through digital access and on-demand workouts, and provide predictability in the form of class packages, reward programs, and automated reminders.

It also makes strong business sense to evaluate the technology underpinning a fitness operation. With a complete software platform, fitness businesses can improve guest satisfaction, meet client demand for digital interactions, and drive efficiency and additional bookings for the business.