ASF Payment Solutions, a total gym management solution, is releasing the 2021 Fitness Industry Club Management System Preferences Survey, launched to get in-depth insight and understanding of club owners’ and fitness industry professionals’ feedback on club management software. Survey data will be presented for the first time on June 17 at 12 p.m. ET during Future of Fitness, a Club Industry virtual trade show.
ASF and Club OS worked with fitness technology educators and influencers Allison Flatley, Ted Vickey, and Bonnie Patrick-Mattalian to develop the survey and collect and share experiences with technology in order to make better purchasing decisions and drive change in technology that supports health and fitness.
More than 100 facilities representing 1,200-plus sites responded to the academic survey designed by Ted Vickey, PhD, the president and CEO of Fitwell, LLC. Focus groups of executives representing clubs of various sizes were held to gather additional input.
“As an industry, we have a common need to elevate our businesses to get more people back in the doors and engaged in clubs, studios and gyms,” said Flatley in a statement. “I’m excited to work with ASF on this project because of their intentions to share the results with the industry and push for excellence across the board. This is a collective effort from the beginning and I’m eager to see how it benefits us all.”
The fitness industry has lagged behind many other industries in fully embracing technology. The pandemic pushed operators to embrace technological solutions overnight. Operators must continually adapt technology solutions to meet consumer needs and strengthen their businesses.
“The fitness industry is on the precipice of becoming an essential service once again and technology vendors have a great opportunity to support that. Club owners are challenged to run their businesses as efficiently as possible so they can focus on driving membership and retention,” said Chris Hogan, the president of Fitness North America for EverCommerce, parent company of ASF and Club OS. “We’re committed to helping the industry rebuild so it was important for us to gain the insight from this survey but also share it extensively. If we’ve learned anything over the past year, we are stronger when we work together.”
As the fitness industry recovers post-pandemic, the survey report’s key findings include:
- An urgent need for real-time data tracking. Data analytics and custom comparisons will remain an important administrative function every day. Operators want to access dashboard information via a mobile app.
- Understanding member participation and predicting behaviors to proactively engage members through targeted communication.
- Capacity management was an emergent need at the beginning of the pandemic and will likely continue. Customers enjoy seeing real-time capacity percentages or counts via a mobile app.
- Insight into utilization, predictive behaviors, ancillary revenue, and new joiners remain vital in achieving operational efficiency.
Survey organizers partnered with Augie’s Quest to Cure ALS to provide an advance copy of the survey report, before public release, for a $5 donation to Augie’s Quest. Augie’s Quest raises funds and awareness for cutting-edge research, fast-track effective treatments, and finding a cure for ALS.
To donate to Augie’s Quest and download the report, visit give.augiesquest.org/ASF.
