Over the last few years, body composition technologies like 3D body scanning have become mainstays in clubs across the U.S. With this evolution comes a responsibility to educate your members on its added value.
Ashley Ziegler, the general manager of Crunch Fitness Summerville, said it all starts with understanding “why” people are joining your club or what results they want to achieve. She explained once you know that, it’s easy to tie in the value of technologies like Styku — the 3D body scanning technology the club offers.
“I’ve found it helpful to pull up a sample profile and show members or prospects what to expect once the scan is complete,” said Ziegler. “A visual really drives it home.”
Russell Watts, the owner of Bulldog Gym, said his entire staff are sold on the value of scanning for their personal well-being, so they help spread the word to members.
“As a matter of fact, we provide at least one free scan to all of our staff members so they can truly appreciate the value for themselves,” added Watts. “We also keep a sample Dexascan report on hand and take members through it one-on-one.”
Getting started
Body composition analyzers provide added insight into a member’s fitness journey. Exercisers no longer need to just go off numbers on a scale, but can learn about the differences between muscle growth versus fat loss, and much more.
“Someone may not see a lot of difference on the weight scale if they are gaining muscle while losing fat, but their 3D image will show the results, since fat has a much higher volume than muscle,” said Noah Hastay, the operations manager of Gainesville Health and Fitness.
Gainesville Health and Fitness offers Fit3D’s body scanner as part of a package for premium members, which has increased the value of its premium membership.
Crunch Fitness Summerville, on the other hand, offers the service on its own and as a complement to personal training. “This is the perfect tool for trainers to show their clients the results they’re getting by working with a trainer,” she said. “Being able to track such valuable and tangible data for a trainer is key. It also adds a consistency factor.”
Challenges
Like most services, there can be challenges to implementation. At Bulldog Gym, this has involved fighting member apathy, and at times, lack of interest in the service. To overcome this they’ve doubled-down on promoting the product, which is offered in partnership with Dexa Body.
According to Watts, outsourcing the service to Dexa Body has made offering body scans much more cost-effective. “We simply handle the cost of the scans as a pass-through cost to our members,” he said. “The Dexa Body team brings a mobile unit to our gym, which allows us to provide this service.”
For Gainesville Health and Fitness, the biggest challenge is the learning curve of usability. “The products are becoming more simple to overcome this, but from a club operator standpoint, finding a streamlined system to implement the process is key to eliminate any confusion,” explained Hastay. “We have a coach set up each member for their scan each time, and since it only takes three to four minutes, it is a minimal investment, factored into the overall financial plan.”
Crunch Fitness Summerville has also run into challenges on where to locate the service. Because members need to remove their clothing, the scanner needs to be in a private room. “Not being able to showcase it out in the open to gain more interest is a challenge,” said Ziegler. “More marketing about it around the club and the social media highlights helps with this challenge.”
Once these challenges are overcome, the benefits of body composition analyzers can be well worth the investment.
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Taylor Gabhart is the editor of Club Solutions Magazine. She can be reached at taylor@peakemedia.com.
