Over the last few years, smart phones have become an essential feature of our daily lives. According to a report by Deloitte, more than two-thirds of adults in the UK – that’s 35 million people – now own one. About a third of smart phone owners look at their phone within five minutes of waking up, rising to almost half within 15 minutes, and one in six looks at it more than 50 times a day. Crucially, more than a third have made an online purchase on their phone.
Faced with figures like that, it’s clear why savvy leisure operators are investing in pioneering products such as Gladstone’s MobilePro to attract, engage and retain customers. A tiled app that enables users to book and pay for classes and activities on the go, MobilePro is compatible with iOS and Android smart phones and interacts with Gladstone’s Plus2 software in real time, ensuring that members receive all their usual pricing and booking benefits.
What’s more, operators can customise the app, adding an unlimited number of information pages to market their sites to prospects, while also keeping members up to date with news and promotions. Available to download from the Apple and Android stores, MobilePro also interfaces with social media sites, allowing customers to share information with their friends and giving operators even more exposure.
“The smart phone might just be the most powerful sales and service tool for today’s forward-thinking leisure manager,” says Tom Withers, sales and marketing director for Gladstone. “As well as a great communication tool, a member’s smart phone is both a social media portal and a mobile shopping basket. That’s why we created MobilePro to help operators stay connected to their customers and boost online transactions.
“The app has been hugely popular since we launched it last year, and while the earlier version focused on group exercise bookings, demand has been so great that our newest version incorporates an activity booking module, enabling customers to book and pay for a wide variety of leisure centre activities.”
