You’ve already done the hard work. With years in the fitness industry, you have learned what makes a fitness center successful. You’ve found the perfect location; surveyed your market; hired the right people; purchased the best equipment; built the killer facility; and dreamt up incredible marketing and advertising campaigns. How can you have made all the right moves and, not realize the returns you planned?
You know that if you build relationships and retain clients for an average of a month or two longer, you can raise your profits 10 to 20% and start achieving your financial goals. From Henry Ford’s assembly line to today’s web-based commerce, technology has always been vital to the evolution of business. We all know that technology can vastly increase productivity by providing relief from some time-consuming and mundane tasks in business. However, fitness centers require a much more personal/technological balance (remember, your clients are members rather than simply customers).
Now, with new technology, you can interact with your customers in a more personalized way. You can support relationships and extend your business far beyond its four walls. New highly tailored technologies that enhance and extend your relationships with your customers are a cost-effective way to go beyond the bricks and mortar and reach customers that have 24-hour needs. Many centers are increasing retention by providing new cost effective technology that allows members virtual access to trainers and their own personal exercise information at all times. People today have come to expect 24-hour access to their information and access from remote locations. This virtual extension of their membership allows you to bind your users to your organization and your unique culture.
Instead of paying for even more expensive advertisements to acquire more members, you may find that it is more cost effective to keep the members you already have with custom technology that provides each member with a personalized experience, keeping them engaged, fit and happy.
Michael Haggerty is the President and CEO of Fitsteps, LLC. He can be contacted at 508.839.1405, or by email at mhaggerty@fitsteps.net , or visit www.fitsteps.net .
