Learn how Nick Cross and the MotionVibe team are creating the best all-around digital member experience for health clubs.
Seven years ago, Nick Cross saw a void in the market for an effective group fitness management and booking solution. He saw the immense value of having members book classes, and realized fitness clubs weren’t doing a great job of actually knowing what their members were doing within their four walls.
Thus, MotionVibe was born. Over the years, the company has morphed from becoming a fantastic group fitness management and booking system to a full-on member engagement platform.
“Now, we build digital solutions that create meaningful touchpoints between a member and a club’s services and staff — all in a way that drives retention and revenue,” explained Cross, the CEO of MotionVibe.
MotionVibe continues to adapt and transition in order to best serve its partners. When 2,000 clients had to close their doors due to the COVID-19 pandemic, right away they adjusted their platform to accommodate for virtual class offerings. And from there, they designed and built their own live streaming and on-demand platform native within MotionVibe to extend their capability of being a true engagement system.
“This allowed us to have a touchpoint with members and interact with members on behalf of the clubs — anywhere, anytime,” explained Cross. “So, we transitioned from just an in-club, online booking engagement system, to something that members could then interact with and access classes on the go. It allowed them to connect with instructors and receive even more communication anywhere, anytime.”
In addition, Cross said they saw a massive adoption within the market of the mobile app and the communication tools MotionVibe offers. The pivot started to take place in the industry, where operators began to realize class bookings were a necessity. So, they not only were able to service their clients and offer them more, but their usage also grew to over 4,000 clubs.
MotionVibe works with many of the top leading, forward-thinking clubs in the industry, including Merritt Clubs, who was their very first client.
Chip Kafka, the city clubs group fitness director for Merritt Clubs, said MotionVibe has allowed them to actually get to know the people who are taking their group fitness classes. “As a result, we have been able to connect with members, use names in class for encouragement, and paired this info up with our rewards system,” he said. “We can also see the members’ patterns and have been able to get members to try other programs.”
Not only has MotionVibe helped Merritt Clubs connect with more of their members, but it has also made group fitness operations much easier — specifically through their sub request feature.
Before MotionVibe, if an instructor at Merritt Clubs needed a sub, they had to send an email to over 100 instructors. “We would get so many answers like, ‘I can’t help but I hope you find someone’ and ‘I am out of town, good luck,’” explained Kafka. “Sometimes people would even respond days later. It completely clogged everyone’s email. Sometimes instructors would also reach out individually to certain instructors and us directors would have no idea who would be teaching the class.”
Now instructors have their classes on the schedule — through MotionVibe — and can send a request to an individual person they may have already asked, or to a group. Once an instructor accepts the class, the schedule changes immediately and the members following that class get a message. If it’s over 24 hours in advance, the instructor receives a reminder email at 4 p.m. that they accepted the substitution, and the payroll report adjusts automatically.
“I wear many hats for Merritt Clubs,” said Kafka. “I am not just a group fitness director; I am on the interview team; I teach four programs; and I usually am in seven out of the nine locations a week. I do that, but so do my counterparts because we have a system that works correctly. I wouldn’t be able to run four clubs, regularly track member reports, or communicate with instructors and members without the MotionVibe technology system.”
However, MotionVibe is more than simply technology. They build a digital solution and strategy that aligns with the member engagement strategy of each brand they work with.
“I believe we are the only comprehensive, singular, true member engagement platform out there,” said Cross. “It is our DNA. We don’t transact. We integrate those systems, giving clients the ability to pick and choose what point of sale system is best for their business, while having the best member engagement platform that is tailored to their unique needs, and engages their members based on what priorities there are of that company. There is immense value that MotionVibe provides, while also giving the clients a choice to decide what payment processor and other things they want for their business.”
Allowing members to choose what is best for their business helps them to connect with their community, create the best digital member experience and share their vibe.
“Everything is designed to be centered all around digital member experience,” said Cross. “There’s not really anyone quite like us.”
