“I enjoy working in the fitness industry because it is super dynamic. You have to stay on par to fulfill the clients' needs, but always keep budget in mind.”
Says Harm Cremer, PG client and Head Manager of the il fiore health centers chain in the Netherlands.
Having run fitness facilities for 6 years and grown the brand to include 6 clubs (7th on the way), the 40-year-old fitness club manager wasn’t looking to slow down his expansion anytime soon. Business was going well, however, the intricacies of fitness club operations paired with accelerating growth was making club management increasingly difficult.
The Problem
“Since the fitness industry is dynamic, you also need a software provider that can keep up with all your ideas AND be available for questions during you’re opening hours. Both points we’ve had an issue with in the past and they now have been solved by PerfectGym.”
Running his club with the same tried and tested system for 6 years, Harm had no problem with his old club management platform. But he also knew the future growth of il fiore brand depended on upgrading his software provider.
Purchasing the full suite of PerfectGym software, il fiore health center implemented the PG mobile app, Client portal, Point of Sale and PG back office manager to help control and expand his business.
Adjusting to Process Evolution
Switching from a legacy system to a multi-functional and modern platform required more than simply learning how to use the new interface, it was an issue of mindset. He recalled, “The implementation process was in some ways difficult. I needed to become aware of the fact that most of these challenges occurred because we wanted PerfectGym to run like the old software did, so a change of mindset was necessary there.”
Despite the initial adjustment to using new management software, Harm was able to lessen the operational squeeze on his team by harnessing the software’s tools to make the gym’s day-pass function and online sign up fully automated.
Harm elaborated, “There’s a lot of automation possible, these make sure that processes work faster than it could be possibly be done manually.”
Achieving Higher Sign-Up Conversion Rates
Using the online membership sign-up process made his club’s offer more convenient for potential customers to buy. Such accessibility meant the club owner did not have to rely mainly on walk-ins any more and they could instead ramp up their digital marketing. Harm explained:
“The Client Portal makes it very easy for people to add add-ons to their contract so that helps to sell. Also, the fact that it is possible, for example, to buy a training pack and plan training with the trainer right away in their agenda’s is something that really helps in the selling process.”
As PG grants their clients full property rights over the client portal, il fiore health centers were able to use their own analytics services with it, allowing them to track drop-offs and optimize their sign-up funnel.
“This lets us streamline the registration process for special promotions and guest passes by using link jumps that have the specific club and product pre-selected so users can jump straight to the registration form. This helps us avoid drop-offs during the registration process and improve our conversion rates.”
Evolving their Digital Marketing
Having a better understanding of the club’s main clientele thanks to the reporting function, the il fiore health center brand made more data-driven choices in regard to their own online marketing method.
“We’re able to measure the conversion rates of our guests becoming full-time members with the reports available in the system. This helps us better understand our promotional offers at a high-level.”
According to Harm, reporting proved particularly useful when building custom look-a-like audiences on Facebook. By isolating the members with the best attendance stats and looking at their member profiles, the club could target people who were similar to the members who valued their club the most, leading to higher conversion rates and a lower cost-per-click.
Key Takeaway
By using a client portal and gym management software from one provider, il fiore health center was able to handle expansion more smoothly. It also gave them the tools and data they needed to improve their sign-up rates and make their Facebook advertising more effective.
“I feel that PerfectGym will always stay up to date to implement the newest technologies and I think that this is very important in the fitness industry. Administration is something we don’t like to do, so we better use software that helps to make it easy and fun.”
Fitness club expansion runs the risk of a break down in facility operation. Holistic club management services like PerfectGym Solutions allows gyms to run and grow better.
Now consumer interest in fitness is growing it is vital to take advantage of the attention and prepare your facility to become the not just the club of choice, but the brand of choice for members.