It’s good to be different and in challenging times, gyms have to find creative ways to compete.
Members are seeking experiences beyond those they enjoyed pre-pandemic and these new types of engagement are driving member retention and acquisition.
Looking at the gym’s ecosystem is key to delivering a heightened experience, but where do you start?
“A gym experience is about more than just equipment – it involves the club’s concept and values; its people; the layout and the technology – it’s about bringing these elements together to create a holistic solution,” says Marvin Burton, Life Fitness international customer experience and training specialist.
At Life Fitness, this process starts with collaborative workshops; working with customers to understand how they view their brand and offering and where they want to take it.
Life Fitness Experience Hubs are one of the tools used for this. The Experience Hub Barcelona serves the European region to not only showcase what the organization does, but also how its solutions connect with customers’ stories.
Turning concept into reality
Establishing a brand’s ethos and values is the first step, but this needs to be well-executed. “There’s no right or wrong; our role is to help customers establish what’s best for their brand,” explains Burton.
“Staff from all departments and seniority levels should join in this process, as each one will engage with the facility and its members differently.”
Involving the team also encourages staff buy-in, “Many people are naturally resistant to change, so involving them generates positive engagement and helps establish USPs.”
Understanding external best practice is also important, and to assist with this, Life Fitness benchmarks within the fitness industry and also outside of it: “Our sector is relatively young, and we can learn a lot from other industries, such as hospitality and retail, where customer experience is a number one priority,” says Burton.
A network of experts
“We know we can’t do it all, so we co-create – not just with our customers, but with other suppliers to deliver a coherent, quality experience,” he explains.
From interior design to app development; audio visual to body scanning technologies; Life Fitness has partnerships with third party suppliers to help clubs create unique experiences. Through open APIs, Life Fitness digital solutions also link to third party technologies to improve UX functionality.
“Be proud of what makes you unique,” Burton concludes. “Our industry is very competitive, and it’s easy to look at what others are doing well and think you need to replicate it. Your club’s values should run through everything you do and that will strengthen customer buy-in.”
More: www.lifefitness.com
