• EDUCATE. EMPOWER. SUCCEED.
  • Subscribe
  • Newsletter
  • Media Kit
  • Contact
  • Login
Club Solutions Magazine
  • Topics
    • Leadership
    • Marketing & Sales
    • News
    • Operations
    • Programming
  • Magazine
    • Current Issue
    • Past Issues
    • Subscribe
    • Newsletter
    • Media Kit
    • Contact Us
  • On-Demand
  • Education
    • Club Solutions Leadership Summit
    • Club Solutions Leadership Retreat
    • Pickleball Innovators
    • The Leadership Accelerator Video Series
    • Club Solutions Book Club: High Road Leadership, John C Maxwell
    • Club Solutions Book Club: The Advantage
  • Supplier Insights
    • Brand Voice
    • Supplier Voice
    • Supplier News
  • Podcast
  • Webinars
    • Thought Leaders: A Virtual Roundtable Series
    • On-Demand Webinars
  • Buyer’s Guide
No Result
View All Result
  • Topics
    • Leadership
    • Marketing & Sales
    • News
    • Operations
    • Programming
  • Magazine
    • Current Issue
    • Past Issues
    • Subscribe
    • Newsletter
    • Media Kit
    • Contact Us
  • On-Demand
  • Education
    • Club Solutions Leadership Summit
    • Club Solutions Leadership Retreat
    • Pickleball Innovators
    • The Leadership Accelerator Video Series
    • Club Solutions Book Club: High Road Leadership, John C Maxwell
    • Club Solutions Book Club: The Advantage
  • Supplier Insights
    • Brand Voice
    • Supplier Voice
    • Supplier News
  • Podcast
  • Webinars
    • Thought Leaders: A Virtual Roundtable Series
    • On-Demand Webinars
  • Buyer’s Guide
No Result
View All Result
Club Solutions Magazine
No Result
View All Result
Home Column

The Ecosystem of Technology: What to Know

Bill McBride by Bill McBride
September 14, 2021
in Column, Operations
0
Ecosystem of Technology
Share on FacebookShare on LinkedIn

What to know about the ecosystem of technology.

Technology is critical and ever-present. Before the shutdown, technology was a part of gym owners’ strategy, but COVID pushed us to use technology more than we ever have in the past. As we reset and get ready to thrive in 2022, now provides a good opportunity to review your tech stack. What do you have, what do you need, what do you want? What is the return on investment?

I believe in a “high tech and high touch” model for health clubs. Our members come to us sometimes two to five times per week, if not every day, so we sometimes resist new technology adoption because we are not just changing a system or process for our internal staff, but also for the hundreds or thousands of individuals who interface with our brand regularly. This is the only industry I can think of, other than Starbucks, Peets Coffee, or other affinity-based coffee shops, that patrons frequent daily or times or more a week. Neighborhood bars may be the exception.

We are not in a transactional business arena but a service-based relationship arena. Even my coffee example is still transactional — get your coffee and off you go. Neighborhood bars may be the exception for those who go multiple times a week. However, consumers still don’t go to the same hotel, restaurant, movie theatre, cruise, or airline two to fives times a week. It simply doesn’t happen. This leads to an important aspect of data management and quality control that is unique to our industry. Seeing that we are a destination members interact with more frequently than most other businesses, it introduces an opportunity for more breakdowns in the member journey. Ensuring this data is consistent across all systems is one way to help mitigate errors and enhance the member experience.

Like most decisions and processes you implement, you always start with evaluating where the member journey begins. In 2021, the member journey begins online. If your website, social pages and review sites (Google, Yelp, etc.) are where members are beginning their journey, then it only makes sense to have a tech stack that’s conducive to having them complete their journey online. Questions you should be asking yourself are:

  • What does your member journey look like from finding you online to purchasing a membership?
  • Can the consumer buy online? 
  • Can the consumer enroll in a trial membership online?
  • What other barriers exist between your prospective member and purchasing a membership and how can you eliminate them?

A common barrier I hear from clubs is having several systems that fail to “talk” to each other. For instance, if your website doesn’t speak to your customer relationship management (CRM) system, and your CRM doesn’t speak to your club management system (CMS), then you are inadvertently creating three data silos that you must either sync via API or update manually.

Ideally, once a member joins online, the data they provided is entered into your CMS in real-time. This ensures they have a seamless member journey. From the moment they sign up, they should be entered into a “welcome” cadence in the CRM system to provide complimentary workouts to get them started on their new fitness journey. This is just one member journey example that is enabled by having the right combination of technology, or your member journey “ecosystem.”

When it comes to your return on investment, we need to consider lowering our total cost of ownership. This is achieved by consolidating technology vendors and choosing the right, best-in-class technologies that “talk” to each other optimally to achieve a seamless member journey.

Customer relationship management, member management (billing and collections), member experience, fitness engagement, organizational data/dashboard – all are critical to successful operations. 

I’m a big fan of ABC Fitness Solutions, GymSales, Trainerize, Fitness BI, and MXMetrics to handle these critical areas for success. 

Stay ahead in the fitness industry with exclusive updates!

Bill McBride
Bill McBride

Bill McBride is the president/owner of BMC3 Consulting and CEO of Active Wellness.

Tags: Active Wellnessclub solutionsfeaturedfitness industryhealth clubleadershipoperationtechnology
Previous Post

Episode 34: Creating the Best Onboarding Experience with Kory Angelin

Next Post

Webinar: Embracing Optionality: How to Capitalize on the Changing Face of Consumer Fitness and Why You Need to Do it Now

Bill McBride

Bill McBride

Bill McBride is the president/owner of BMC3 Consulting and CEO of Active Wellness.

Related Posts

click to cancel
Supplier Voice

Preparing for Click to Cancel

June 16, 2025
Hiring for the Right Reasons
Column

Hiring for the Right Reasons: Rethinking Recruiting for High-Performing Teams

June 11, 2025
2024 BFS State of the Industry Report
Operations

Inside the 2024 BFS State of the Industry Report

June 3, 2025
Padel
Column

Padel Is the Glue — And the Business Case for Why Racquet Sports Belong in Every Health Club

May 28, 2025
big rocks
Column

3 Big Rocks from The HFA Show That Could Reshape Your Gym

May 22, 2025
uncertain times
Supplier Voice

Leading During Uncertain Times

May 20, 2025
Next Post
Trainerize

Webinar: Embracing Optionality: How to Capitalize on the Changing Face of Consumer Fitness and Why You Need to Do it Now

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

GET UPDATES IN YOUR INBOX

Facebook Twitter Instagram LinkedIn

The Current Issue

May/June Issue 2025

May/June Issue 2025



Browse

  • Home
  • Subscribe
  • Newsletter
  • Media Kit
  • The Magazine
  • Club Solutions On-Demand
  • Buyer’s Guide
  • Contact Us

© 2025 Club Solutions Magazine. Published by Peake Media.

Welcome Back!

Login to your account below

Forgotten Password?

Retrieve your password

Please enter your username or email address to reset your password.

Log In
No Result
View All Result
  • Topics
    • Leadership
    • Marketing & Sales
    • News
    • Operations
    • Programming
  • Magazine
    • Current Issue
    • Past Issues
    • Subscribe
    • Newsletter
    • Media Kit
    • Contact Us
  • On-Demand
  • Education
    • Club Solutions Leadership Summit
    • Club Solutions Leadership Retreat
    • Pickleball Innovators
    • The Leadership Accelerator Video Series
    • Club Solutions Book Club: High Road Leadership, John C Maxwell
    • Club Solutions Book Club: The Advantage
  • Supplier Insights
    • Brand Voice
    • Supplier Voice
    • Supplier News
  • Podcast
  • Webinars
    • Thought Leaders: A Virtual Roundtable Series
    • On-Demand Webinars
  • Buyer’s Guide

© 2025 Club Solutions Magazine. Published by Peake Media.