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Feedback, failure and asking how you can improve

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Man happy against blue brick wall

In business, humility is a virtue. We cannot get everything right the first time, every time. 

And no matter how hard we try, this is no less true in the Gym and Fitness Club business.

Machines will be over-used or break, members will be stressed and won’t achieve their goals with the best will in the world, the coffee might be luke-warm on coffee Friday. 

It isn’t about the mistake or the short-coming, it is about how it is addressed. In this short blog we will be looking at quick and easy ways to ensure that the valuable feedback that your members have can be communicated, harnessed and actioned.

 

Feedback Boxes


This is a classic across many organisations and with good reason. By placing several Feedback boxes in prominent positions across your Gym or Fitness Club and making sure that they are regularly monitored, you’ll be helping to ensure that your Member’s feel like they have an omnipresent way to make their voice heard.

Don’t fall into the trap of putting feedback boxes only in the lobby area, foyer area or entrance/exit corridors. This will be the area where your Members will be focused on arriving or leaving.

It might seem intuitive that this will be the place where they have the most cumulative experience at your Gym or Fitness Club, while leaving. However that does not mean they will be particularly interested in breaking down the nuances of their good or bad experience. They will most likely want to get back home and eat, or get on with their working day.

I know after an hour and a half of working out, the last thing I want to do is fill out a form detailing everything that sucked.

As such, feedback boxes should be placed primarily on tables in the workout area itself. In addition, encourage and normalise staff to refer members to these boxes.

Furthermore, if the staff are willing and capable at doing so, ask them to listen to the concerns of the members and then write in the suggestions verbatim themselves.

This will allow all the feedback to be centralised even though it is coming ad hoc and at various members of staff. 

 

Ask Them

 

Not to sound like an agony aunt in the papers, telling someone to just talk openly with their spouse. But it really does work!

Set up a doctrine with your staff that will allow them to spend a certain amount of time just talking to willing (emphasis on Willing here!) members about their workouts and experiences with your Gym or Fitness Club.

This will enable your staff to harvest more feedback for the strategically positioned feedback boxes and more importantly, allow them to easily address issues on the spot.

In this culture of increasing impersonal gyms, there is a habit among a growing number of gym-goers of the 2020s to stick to themselves, do their workout and not question anything that may not be to their satisfaction.

This is disastrous as it means that dissatisfaction and resent towards an institution can grow without any indication from the member. It is important that we, as Gym Owners and Staff, attempt to combat this apathy and learned helplessness.

We have found that one key way of empowering members is to simply get the staff to ask them. Some members may take a little coaxing and you should never ask your staff to force their conversation upon someone who wants to be left alone.

But you’ll find if a member is comfortable in your Gym or Fitness Club (and this may not happen immediately), then they will be more than willing to tell you what hasn’t been to their satisfaction!

Specific Questions

Set posters near your Feedback Boxes, or get your staff to ask specific questions that will help coax out feedback from your members.

“Which equipment had a long wait time today?”

“Which equipment did you want to use but couldn’t because it was broken or being maintained?”

“Have you stopped coming at certain times because it is too busy”

“Do you like the music we play?”

Having these questions displayed in prominent positions, or having them on the lips of your probing staff will make all the difference in extracting the information you need to know to improve the experience at your Gym or Fitness Club. 

 

Collect and Collate your Feedback 

 

These last two stages are the hardest part unfortunately. However, they are also the part where the most reward can be reaped from this entire process.

All of your feedback has been flowing into your feedback boxes from various sources. Whether it is members, staff, or a combination of member testimony as written down by staff. You now have several bulky wads of paper.

But bulky wads of paper do not correct a mistake or flaw in your Gym or Fitness Club.

It is important you design a system to break down this feedback into usable data.

One easy way is by making the feedback form structured. Include certain sections that can be easily identified as yourself or a staff member are sorting through hundreds of feedback papers.

By having a format, this can greatly reduce the time taken on trying to parse each individual series of sentences.

Another way could be by eliminating hand-writing all together and having a series of tick-boxes. This has the advantage of not trying to dissect cursive, but also will limit the options that can be fed back on.

Finally, you can have exclusively blank pieces of paper that the customer can free-style write whatever they please on.

This will have advantages, you are more likely to get detailed feedback through this system. But it will also take longer to reduce this into manageable data.

This is a personal decision that must be made based on your staff, your Gym or Fitness Club and your personal preferences.

With that being said, our advice would be to structure your form with questions and then allow boxes for the member or staff to write out the answer. This is a good compromise between both systems. 

 

Act on your Feedback!



The final stage should be unsurprising if you’ve been paying attention. Enact that feedback! Now that your feedback data has been broken down into easily manageable and parsed data. Make the changes.

Have you learnt that the best machine in the gym, the Rear Delt Fly Machine is in constant use between 5pm and 9pm, Monday to Friday. Maybe it is time to consider getting another?

Has the Chest Press been busted by a Lou Ferrigno or Arnold Schwarzenegger wannabe several times in the last few months. Maybe it is time to have a talk with them, or get a more sturdy chest press!

Are an overwhelming amount of people saying the changing room is cold, or their favourite electrolyte drink isn’t being stocked? You know what you must do.

Some of this may sound petty or silly but it is the little changes that can really make a difference and the big changes that will transform your membership satisfaction.

If members see your Gym or Fitness Club shifting based on their advice, it will make an impression that won’t soon be forgotten and it will boost retention in a very satisfying way.

 

Grow with Us 

Now that you are thinking of professional growth and development, it is time to meet a business partner who can help you. 

There are many aspects of a Gym or fitness club that need to be worked on. Marketing, software systems, payment, collection, retention strategy. The list can seem daunting, especially when you’ve got to run a Gym or Fitness club, everyday, BAU. 

Ashbourne Membership Management might have the solution.

Get in touch for a full demo of our software, our principles on website design or to simply have a conversation about how we can help you and your gym achieve its full potential. 

Price Freezes, Pricing Structure and Competition While Exiting Lockdown For a Gym or Fitness Club

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2kg blue weights

No man is an island as John Donne said, and neither is any business. Your Gym or Fitness Club will naturally be affected by the competition that surrounds it, and this has never been more pertinent as Lockdown is being lifted after this most recent (and hopefully last) wave of the Covid-19 Pandemic. 

As such, the Fitness Club and Gym market finds itself in a unique position. How does our industry act moving forward? After over a year of either Pay Freezes, Price Freezes, mass cancellation and the rise of Home-Gymming. It is time to take a look at some of the basics as we move forward out of Lockdown.

So to bring it full circle from the beginning of our introduction, do not ask who the Dumbbell tolls for, it tolls for thee. 

 

Keep your area or each area in mind

This will be easier for a Gym or Fitness Club owner or manager who only deals with one building.

Knowing the area is vital. This isn’t as simple as knowing the competition. Understanding transport links, demographics and other external factors is vital.

Not only that, it is important, now more than ever, to not take this knowledge for granted. Just because you have operated in your area for five or ten years, doesn’t mean it looks the same post-Covid.

Demographics

Some estimates say the population of London dropped by nearly 700,000 people over Lockdown. If you operate in London, that is a lot of potential members gone. If you operate outside of London, that is a lot of potential members gained.

Cities, in general, saw a reduction in population outside of a few outliers such as Bristol and Edinburgh. Towns and Suburbia saw an increase as the British population wanted to enjoy gardens more, and cramped city flats less.

This means the demographics in your area could’ve changed dramatically.

 

Working from Home

Not only that, people have started working from home more, and this is not a trend that shows any sign of abating.

Over the entire lockdown, many traditionally office-based sectors such as the financial sector, software development and investment all moved to a work from home structure with significant infrastructure investments.

Costly offices have been shut down entirely during the last 15 months and working from home has never been so widespread or viable.

As a Gym or Fitness Club Owner or Manager, you need to be looking at how this affects your place in the market.

Was your Gym full of financial sector office workers because of its position in the city centre? Was it next to a suburban development that has just doubled in population size due to the urban flight?

One of these businesses is going to have significantly more members, and another might now have significantly less. You need to understand where your former members are now, and where your potential new members might be.

This represents a shift in demographics in this country not seen since the Second World War and your Gym or Fitness Club would be remiss and essentially flying blind if you did not renew your market research into the new landscape of your local area.

 

Monitor your competitors and their pricing levels

You should never be neglecting the pricing levels, structures and tactics of your competitors, and whenever we are exiting a Lockdown is absolutely no exception.

Keep a close eye on several aspects of your local competitors’ pricing structure. Is there a noticeable reduction in price across all your competitors in an attempt to win customers back after a period of hardship and separation from their member base? Conversely, has the price risen due to perceived increased demand in your area?

Your pricing decisions should be based on real market analysis, so keep an eye on what they’re charging for various membership types. As we covered in the last section, this could be based on research they have done that has revealed something you do not yet know.

A high tide may raise all boats, but you can still be in the best position to exploit and utilise that high tide. Look for patterns in your competitors’ movement that may indicate where your business needs to look or what it needs to do moving forward.

 

Cancelled Memberships: What happens next

Even if your Gym or Fitness Club froze all your memberships instantly in March or April of 2020 when the Covid-19 Pandemic’s effect became clear. It is likely you have lost some members.

Given everything we have detailed so far with the effect it has had on the country, it is hardly surprising that you may have lost some members. And without open facilities to attract new members, this means most Gyms and Fitness Clubs will be in full recruiting mode.

This will leave most regions and localities looking very different to how they have done in the past.

For once, it seems likely that every Gym or Fitness Club in a given area will be thinking ‘How do I attract New Members within the next month’. Rather than some being at capacity and some being happy just to coast.

This means there will be a lot of competition and one area worth focusing on is the reclamation and consolidation of any members that cancelled during the last 15 months between March 2020 and June 2021.

Utilising your market team to make it clear your Gym or Fitness Club is back open is the first, apparent step.

After that, it will become a matter of offers, nostalgic reminders and events that will have to get them dropping those 5kg dumbbells that live under their sofa and back onto your state of the art equipment. 

 

Frozen Memberships. What happens next

From time-to-time your members might have a genuine reason for not being able to attend the club but recently they’ve had a damn good reason not to attend. As such, many Fitness Clubs and Gyms took the decision at the beginning of the lockdown to freeze membership direct debits until the time it seemed possible to re-open safely, once lockdown had been fully lifted. 

Rather than letting them cancel this allowed for the mass freezing of memberships in a way that hadn’t been done before on a nationwide scale.

However, with freezing comes significant risks. There is a significant chance that even though the membership has been frozen for so long, now the world is opening up the member could turn around at the end of this freeze period, instantly stopping their direct debit now that the prospect of returning has arisen.

It has been proven that many gym-goers are reliant on momentum and habit and those are obviously factors that have been curtailed and shattered in the last 15 months.

Thus it is very important to try and work on a campaign of integration back into the club. This could range from events and clubs, to new equipment, free t-shirts and even discounts. 

If possible, get your staff to contact individual members during this period of unfreezing and lifting Lockdown to determine:

  1.  When the freeze started, confirm the terms of the freeze and then check the members contact details.
  2.  Ask them when they would like the freeze to end and try to encourage them back as soon as safe and possible..
  3.  Try to end the freeze on the phone to reduce repeat admin and increase revenue. But make sure your staff respect the member’s wish if they do not wish to unfreeze yet!

 

Conclusion

The path out of lockdown isn’t going to be easy, but it does represent an opportunity.

A lot has changed and not all of it is necessarily for the worse. We find ourselves in a new environment and that environment comes with its own challenges, trials, opportunities and successes.

As we move into the summer, hopefully, this guide we have laid out will help you appreciate some of the challenges that lie ahead and how to make them work for you! 

 

You needn’t do it alone 

Lockdown wasn’t just an unprecedented time for Gyms and Fitness Clubs, it was also unprecedented for us as a Fitness Payment Management Solutions company.

We rose to these challenges in a big way and as such are now more ready than ever to help your club or gym move into this new future.

If you are interested in how we can help your club enter the post-Lockdown market and really power up your operation, please contact us today for a free demonstration!

We hope to hear from you soon!

Become A Master of Facebook Ads For Your Gym

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Social media is a fundamental aspect of every day life.

Within the last decade, the impact of social media has gone from being an entertaining extra to a fully integrated part of nearly every aspect of daily life for many people.

It has insinuated itself into politics, the workplace, home life and just about every aspect of life you can imagine and continues to evolve at lightning speed. Although this make it difficult to predict which way it will morph next, one thing we can be sure of is that social media isn’t going anywhere so learning how to utilise it to your advantage is key.

Many new and upcoming businesses use platforms such as Facebook & Instagram in order to get their name out there and gym and fitness studios are no different.

Facebook has quickly become one of the most popular to use as an advertising platform as it is far less complicated than most other advertising platforms, such as Google Adwords. Combine that with the fact that your target audience spend a great deal of their day on Facebook and the ability to use precise profile targeting when setting up your ads – it’s a sure fire way to have confidence, knowing your ads are reaching the right people, at the right time.

With the flexibility of choosing a budget that’s right for you, there is no better place to start your online advertisements.

 

UNDERSTANDING YOUR CAMPAIGN

One of the most crucial elements of creating your Facebook ad campaign is your campaign structure – getting this right will be imperative to its success.
Facebook ads has three levels:

  • Campaign
  • Ad Set
  • Ad

First of all, lets dive in to look at the campaign. The campaign sits right at the top level of your Facebook advertising campaign. This is where you will set a goal or one single objective for the campaign in question. For example, your campaign goal may be to sell 15 memberships each month.

Setting a campaign objective ensures that you have a clear understanding of what you are trying to achieve before you start to create any Facebook ads. So think about what you want your goal behind your Facebook Ad campaign to be. Do you want to:
1. Drive targeted leads to your website?
2. Increase membership sales?
3. Promote a special, limited time offer?

 

SETTING YOUR OBJECTIVE

When creating your Facebook ad, Facebook will provide you with the following options to select as your objective.

In the example we have used above, of selling 15 memberships each month, the objective you would select is conversions as your campaign objective.

Once you have selected your objective, its time to look at your ad set. This is where you need to identify the audiences you wish to target through specific ad sets. Facebook explains ad sets as:
“A group of ads that share the same daily or lifetime budget, schedule, bid type, bid info and targeting data. Ad sets enable you to group ads according to your criteria.”

Each ad set that you create will target a specific audience, create by you. By creating multiple ad sets, you can ensure the ads you create will relate with the intended audience. For example, your gym or studio might target those those in the 18-30 age group, within a 10 mile radius of your facility.

However, that generic campaign audience can be broken down into much more targeted audiences: female students, aged 18-21; male students, aged 18-12; working mothers with a reduced radius of 5 miles.

The numbers of ad sets you create is dependant on the objectives of your campaign and the type of service your gym offers. Be aware that each of your audiences would be engaged by completely different offers so it is really important of creating targeted audiences for your ad sets.

 

GET TO KNOW YOUR AUDIENCE

When it comes to any kind of advertising, targeting to a specific audience is essential. No matter what advertising platform you choose to use, if you’re not targeting your offering to the right people then your ad will not achieve the results you desire.

The ideal place to start is to think about your dream customer, or perhaps even multiple dream customers. Write down all the common characteristics that make up this person, or multiple lists of characteristics for all of your customer profiles.

Each of the ad sets you create you should only target one audience at a time, otherwise you risk making your offer too generic in an attempt to try and engage all your audiences which is likely to affect the success of your ad.

When thinking about your audience, consider these key questions:

AGE

What is the age of your dream customer?

Every Facebook user is required to enter their birthday when they sign up, taking the guess work away if you want to target you ad to a specific age group.

GENDER

What is the gender of your dream customer?

Women and men have different ‘Facebook habits’, with women spending slightly more time on Facebook. Women and men will also be attracted to different types of ads.

LOCATION

Where is your gym or studio located?

Your reach will differ depending on where in the country you are based. If you own a gym in a big city, you will only need to target a smaller radius (1-2 miles) than you would in the countryside, due to density of population.

 

WHAT’S YOUR BUDGET?

Now it’s time to set the budget for your ad set.

When setting up your ads you will be required to set a daily budget and then Facebook will optimise the delivery of your ads in an attempt to meet the stated daily budget. It’s important to note, your daily budget is just an average, and if there is a particular day where there are more opportunities that another, Facebook will spend up to 25% over your budget. Similarly, on days where the opportunities are lower, Facebook may spend up to 25% below your budget.

Facebook tends to spend higher budgets much quicker, so start with a smaller budget and build up slowly – you can trust that Facebook will optimise the smaller amount and provide you with a good return if your ad is attractive to your target audience.

 

WHAT’S YOUR SCHEDULE?

Now it’s time to turn and consider when you would like your ads to run.

With Facebook ads you have the opportunity to tailor a schedule that is best suited for your audience. Would you like your ads to run continuously and turn them off manually? Or is your preference to select a specific start and end date?

You can also select specific days and time of days to display your ads if you know enough about your target audience to know exactly when you might catch them scrolling social media. The only downside to this is that scheduling is only available for lifetime budgets, as opposed to daily budgets.

 

TIME TO GET CREATIVE!

The next step to tackle in getting your ad set up is the individual ads for each of your ad sets! Now you need to start thinking about your ad, what is going to capture the attention of your target audience?

It’s a good idea to test multiple ads at the same time to give you the best chance of achieving your desired results. Remember you can always pause ads that aren’t performing how you’d like and keep high performing ads active.

Here are some of our top tips to get you started:

It’s all about the wording

Make sure you use attention grabbing, action-orientated wording. Think about your target audience, what would grab their attention?

People scrolling social media will have a short attention span and are often scrolling through whilst on the go, so you’ll need to get your message across in a couple of lines and encourage users to click for more details.

Include your location in your headline

Although Facebook has great location targeting capabilities, it can still go wrong. Start off by entering a realistic mile radius for your audience and be sure to include your location in the header of your ad to evoke the attention of local users.

Have a call-to-action

The use of a call to action allows you to reflect the offer you are trying to share with your audience. By being upfront and specific from the outset, users will be taking a more defined path of action and you’ll be more likely to achieve your objective.

 

ADDING A SENSE OF SCARCITY

Adding a sense of scarcity to your offer is a proven and timeless sales technique. The scarcity tactic targets the audiences fear of missing out and evokes and action that they may not do otherwise. This is a really great tactic to apply to your Facebook ads.

Look at the difference in the wording of these two ads:

OPTION 1: Join now and get £20 off with the code NOFEE.

OPTION 2: Join before October 31st and get £20 off with the code NOFEE.

By adding in an expiry date to your offers you are placing a limitation on the offer you are advertising. This will make encourage your audience to take immediate action to ensure they take advantage of the offer before time runs out.

This is a simple sales psychology. By creating a sense of urgency, you are encouraging your target audience to take a particular action in a particular time frame. You have the option to either limit the time that your offer is available, or limit the number available – that’s up to you and the service that you offer, you could even choose both if you wanted!

Giving something a sense of exclusivity makes it instantly more desirable, and the perceived notion that it is of a higher value.

 

USE RELATABLE VISUALS

Although the wording of your ad is a crucial part of ensuring it’s success, you also need to select an image to go alongside it. This image will be the first thing that your target audience will notice and ultimately will be the deciding factor as to whether they choose to stop and read your ad or not. So it could be said that this is the most important part of your ad.

Social media is incredibly visual, so when it comes to selecting images to use within your ads you have two options: pay for stock photos; take your own photos within your facility.

Although taking your own photos is desirable as it gives you the opportunity to showcase your facility and make the ad seem more personable, however getting a good quality photo to use is much easier said than done. Lighting is everything as well as ensuring you have a photo which can be optimised for all different devices.

You also need to consider what your target audience would want to see. For example, if your gym is tailored toward older men looking to maintain their fitness, a stock photo of a 20 year old flawless male would be inappropriate and unrelatable to your target audience. You’d be much better off finding a photo of someone older exercising either from a stock photo supplier or better yet, a photo taken in your own facility.

You might also consider using a video instead of an image if you know someone capable of video editing. This gives your target audience that opportunity to understand what your business is about and will bring your ad alive. However, as Facebook videos auto play in the newsfeed, it is key to make them eye catching and compelling. You also need to remember that it is up to the audience as to whether they have the sound on or not, so your video needs to work with sound as well as without.

WHERE TO SEND YOUR LEADS

When your audience is selected, schedule defined, ad written and visual chosen – it’s time to decide where exactly you’re going to send your leads who click on your ad. There are a few questions you should be asking yourself here:

  • Where will leads go when they click on my ad?
  • What happens when a lead submits a form following my ad?
  • What I’ll do with leads who do not complete the desired action?

Although you choose to send your leads to just your Facebook page or homepage of your website, you should ideally create a dedicated landing page. A landing page enables you to create a page which is an extension of your Facebook ad, continuing the offer that you originally grabbed their attention with.

Your landing page should give users the option to take advantage of the offer which they were shown on your Facebook ad, for example if you were advertising a discounted membership, they should be taken straight to a page where they can purchase the membership – with the discount code automatically entered if possible, or repeated on the page and users reminded they will need to enter it. This will make the decision making process much easier and users will more more likely to follow through on the call-to-action.

 

THE FACEBOOK PIXEL

When setting up your Facebook ad the last step you will come across is adding your Facebook pixel.

The Facebook pixel is code that you place on your website. It collects data that helps you track conversions from Facebook ads, optimise ads, build targeted audiences for future ads and remarket to people who have already taken some kind of action on your website.

The perfect place to add your Facebook pixel is on a customised thank you page. Not only do thank you pages add value to your customers by showing them how much you appreciate their interest or purchase, it also gives you the chance to provide your audience with more information. For example, try and upsell another product or service, educate leads on your gym with a brief explainer video or mention an additional limited time offer.

When more and more conversions happen on your website, Facebook will get better at delivering your ads to people who are more likely to take certain actions, this is known as conversion optimisation.

The top takeaways of the benefits of adding the Facebook pixel are as follows:

  1. Measure Cross-Device Conversions: Understand how your cross-device ads helps influence conversions.
  2. Optimise Delivery: Ensure that your ads are shown to the people most likely to take action.
  3. Create Customer Audiences: Dynamic ads help you automatically show your website visitors the products they’ve viewed on your website.
  4. Learn About Your Website Traffic: Get rich insights about how people use your website from your Facebook pixel dashboard.

 

WHAT YOU SHOULD DO NEXT

Now you’ve selected your audience, defined your schedule, written your ad and chosen your visuals – it’s time to consider what are your next steps?

If your ad is performing well, it might be time to consider increasing your budget to try and reach more people. The most effective way of doing this isn’t just to increase the spend on one single ad, so you are better off by duplicating the ad which is performing well and having multiple duplications of the same ad running at the same time, each with a small daily budget which Facebook will optimise to ensure its getting maximum exposure amongst your target audience. You will also have the option to tick ‘leave existing reactions’ each time you copy your ad which we would recommend doing so that all interactions on your ad are also copied across which new people coming across your ad for the first time will find encouraging.

Another option to consider is retargeting your Facebook ad. Unsurprisingly there will be a large number (roughly 75%) of your audience who will see your ad, click through to your landing page and for whatever reason, choose not to take you up on your offer.

There will be numerous reasons why they would have decided not to sign up, so trying to decipher this isn’t important. What’s most important is that due to the inclusion of the Facebook Pixel, you will be able to segment your audience in order to see those people who didn’t follow through with your offer and therefore show the ad to them again.

This time you make subtle changes to your ad in an attempt to try and engage these people a second time round.

To find out more about retargeting your Facebook ads and the process in which to do this, take a look at our ‘Run A Successful Facebook Ad Strategy For Just £1 A Day’ webinar for a more in depth guide.

What You Need To Make A Great Gym Website

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YOU HAVE 7 SECONDS TO MAKE AN IMPRESSION

In todays society having an online presence is incredibly important in order to attract new customers. It gives your audience an easy way to find out everything they need to know about you whilst also having the ability to compare what you offer with similar companies – without even needing to leave their own home.

There are countless tips available online on how to make a website that works and although a great deal of these are valuable which you might want to implement into your website, but we will be candid with you. There isn’t a perfect formula to a successful website.

What is important is that you should ensure that you have a clear picture in your mind of the type of client that you are trying to attract, and you should then design and structure your website in accordance with that.

You only have one chance to make a first impression, so it’s crucial that your website attracts and adds value to your customers and potential prospects.

A successful website can be broken down in to three key actions – planning, presentation and content and when done correctly will be your foundation to lead generation and the greatest piece of kit in your armour.

 

YOUR AUDIENCE & YOUR GOALS

Website creation or website updating is an exciting adventure to embark on and although you may feel like you want to get it up and running as soon as possible, you need to make sure you don’t let this excitement get ahead of you as it may damage the end outcome.

You need to make sure your website ticks the fundamental boxes of working as a lead generating machine. Does your website provide prospects with a strong, clear and compelling call to action? And does your website contain social proof in terms of customer testimonials of real members achieving results?

Making sure you can answer yes to both of these questions once your website has been built will show you are on the path to success.

Start by planning your website and identifying what your end goal is, and then most importantly think about your target audience and what they would be looking for in order to be attracted to your website.

Make a list of keywords that you think your target audience will be searching for on Google and start planning the design and visuals of your website to suit that of your target audience. For example, if you plan to target older women looking to stay active, you should use photographs that resonate with them as opposed to using images of young 20 year old females who are visibly very athletic.

 

MAKE YOUR FIRST IMPRESSION COUNT

Within the first seven seconds of meeting, people will form a solid impression of who you are and some research suggests a tenth of a second is all it takes to start determining traits like trustworthiness. You might think just applies to in person meetings, but you would be wrong. The same applies to your website.

When it applies to the online world, visitors spend roughly 7 seconds or less on 90% of the websites they visit so making an impact is crucial.

You need to capture your visitor’s attention instantly, so make your homepage crystal clear.
1. What do you do?
2. Who do you do it for?
3. Why is your service the best?

Have a headline which is short, snappy and gets your visitor straight to the point. If you’re not sure whether what you’ve written is clear enough then its time to test, test, test!

Testing your website is a great way of not only seeing if features work, but also the perfect way to determine whether your website gives the reader enough information within the first seven seconds. Ask your friends to visit your site and see whether they are able to understand what your business is and what your business does in a short amount of time. If they get it right first time, perfect! If not, you need to make changes in order to make your website clearer.

 

TURN YOUR VISITORS INTO LEADS

Getting visitors to your website and making a good impression with a clear, concise and well designed home page is only half the battle. You then need to turn these visitors into leads. What can you do or offer to your visitors to encourage them to interact with you?

90% of visitors to your website aren’t ready to purchase straight away, which is something you should bare in mind when

building your website. So think about things you can offer to them such as free sessions or consultations, these low barrier offers are a way of nurturing your visitors into become a paying customers by promoting to them through their submitted details.

The way to do this through your website is by using a variety of CTAs. A CTA is a call-to-action and consists of a button or a line of text that prompts your visitors, leads and customer to take action.

A CTA can be quite literally anything and can be placed anywhere in your marketing, on your website, email, even in your blog posts. Maybe you’d like to encourage your visitor to sign up for a free consultation, book a class or watch a video, whatever it may be having a call-to-action is a must for a high converting website.

PRODUCE HIGH QUALITY CONTENT

So you’ve got your visitors to your website and grabbed their attention, so keeping them on your website is the next step. We’ve discussed having call-to-actions in order to engage your visitors and guide them down the path to conversion and something that makes up some of these CTAs is your content.

Without content it’s harder to tell your story, attract your target market or explain the problems you solve and how. So developing content that is clear, easy to read and of interest to your customers is incredibly important.

The content you produce should work together with your brand and website design to provide a seamless and compelling experience. And more importantly, it needs to have a good readability factor. Ensuring that visitors to your website find your content easy to read will allow your reader to move through your content quickly and with ease.

Adopt the use of bullet points, subheadings and short sentences in order to boost emotion as well as structure any of your ideas into a quality piece of content.

 

OPTIMISE YOUR WEBSITE

In this modern age people are accessing the internet from a variety of devices, whether that be on their desktop, laptop, tablet or smartphone. In the last couple of years smartphones have surpassed the desktop in internet browsing, so as technology continues to evolve it is safe to say your online business should be too.

The impact this has on your website is huge, this brings forward the consideration you need to have that your website needs to be, not just viewable, but optimised for all types of devices.

Responsive web design will ensure that no matter what device your audience view your site on, it will display the content in the most effective way. Depending on how your website is built, this optimisation might be done for you! Websites built within WordPress often have basic mobile optimisation, but for more complex website designs, some custom mobile design might be necessary.

Regardless, it is important to remember that having a website design which is mobile & tablet friendly may be the difference between a successful and non-successful website.

 

EXAMPLE WEBSITE STRUCTURE

Now you’ve got your visitor to your website, it’s time to make that 7 second impression count. You want your visitor to figure out exactly what it is you offer and who you are by your landing page alone, so here are your landing page essentials.

BRANDING

First and foremost your logo needs to be on the site. Usually placed at the top within your menu bar or in a prominent location. You don’t want your logo too large but make sure its large enough so people know who you are!

A CALL TO ACTION

Right at the top of your landing page, whether that be in the menu bar or placed somewhere at the top which is visible before the user has to do any scrolling – show your visitors what it is you want them to do. And make it easy for them to do it! The best websites are direct and uncluttered so don’t place scattered CTAs all over your page, you might confuse your audience.

SCROLL FOR SIMPLE SERVICES

Just below your fold, its time to present a little more detail about what you do. Keep it concise, yet with enough of a description that users don’t need to search for more information. So what are the top things you offer?

SHOWCASE MEDIA

Make sure to let pictures do some of the talking. Using bright, well lit and focused material provides you with the chance to showcase what you offer so your visitor can have an idea of what you do without having to delve deeper.

CREATE A SENSE OF FAMILIARITY 

You’re confident in what you have to offer, now is your chance to use the words of your clients to help bring in new customers. Display testimonials to begin building trust with your prospects and create a sense of familiarity.

 

WHAT PAGES SHOULD I INCLUDE?

Websites are designed to push clients towards actions, not to allow them to wander aimlessly, leading themselves to confusion. Although you hope to entice your visitor to click your call to action whilst just on your landing page, you will need to include other elements just in case your audience do want to explore and find out more information.

Similarly, including other content can also be beneficial to your current members and help with retention. So what pages should you include? Here are our top recommendations:

  • About Us/Company History
  • Meet Our Staff
  • Discover Our Facilities
  • Discover Our Classes
  • Pricing/Membership Options
  • FAQs
  • Contact Us
  • Blog

 

IT’S TIME TO UPGRADE YOUR GYM’S WEBSITE

With your website often being your member’s first impression when it comes to your club, this means it needs to be fast, look great and most importantly, get them signing up there and then.

At Ashbourne, we build amazing gym websites that will help you get discovered on Google and get your members signing up online.

And the best part is, we’ll handle all the hosting and keep your website completely up to date, so it’s one less thing for you to think about.

If you’d like to find out more about how we can help transform your existing website or get you set up with a great website from the beginning, do not hesitate to get in touch!

Evolve Your Gyms Marketing Strategy During COVID-19

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Man reviewing data

Lockdown comes to an end tomorrow! We can hear the sighs of relief and excitement across the country.

And although this now means the introduction of a stricter tier system, you can begin to relax a little knowing that no matter whereabouts in the country you may be – your facility is able to open it’s doors again, whilst following the guidelines appropriate to your location.

It’s important to remember that crisis similar to those of the COVID-19 pandemic leave a long-term psychological impact on people and therefore even now you have been able to open your gyms doors again and some type of normality begins to resume, it will take time for many people to adjust back to how things were before.

Digital experiences such as online classes which have replaced typical in-person gym experiences are likely to stick around long after the crisis and therefore adjusting your focus to meet the needs of your potential members ‘new normal’ will be crucial. You would be wrong to assume all customers will return to the buying place they were at prior to COVID-19, so start turning your attention to how you can amend your marketing strategy to suit the new needs of your audience to give your gym the greatest chance of attracting new members during this difficult time.

 

YOU CAN ALSO DOWNLOAD OUR COVID-19 MARKETING STRATEGY GUIDE

If you don’t have time to read the blog, then you can always download our COVID-19 marketing strategy guide right now, and discover ways in which you can market your gym during the ongoing pandemic to continue attracting new members.

 

ANTICIPATE YOUR MEMBERS’ NEEDS

Although you will be opening your gym’s doors again, many people will still be uncertain about returning. The lockdowns were only ever a temporary measure, however their introduction forced people into an unusual situation where their daily habits and routines came to a halt. This subsequently resulted in many people’s needs changing meaning that even once lockdown is in the rear view mirror, not everyone will feel comfortable returning to an environment like a gym, even with social distancing and increased hygiene measures in place. Underlying health conditions may also prevent some of your typical audience from returning and therefore it is crucial to identify individual consumer needs and take steps to address or prevent them before they impact your membership numbers.

Offering online fitness alternatives enables you to engage with members and continue providing health and fitness guidance to the community. So start thinking about what you can offer members on a purely virtual basis, so people who aren’t yet ready to dive back into in-person workouts and group classes can still utilise many other aspects of being a gym member whilst they slowly ease back into the notion of attending your facility.

 

CREATE HIGH QUALITY ONLINE CONTENT

Gyms and fitness studios across the country have quickly turned their attention to harnessing the skills of their instructors and person trainers to provide digital workouts and classes for their members.

You as a gym owner have the opportunity during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic to create an entirely new membership option to entice new customers, accessing your fitness guidance entirely online. Even if your current and potential members aren’t ready to return to your facility once you have reopened, it doesn’t mean they don’t want to engage with your fitness content at all. So allow people the opportunity to continue engaging with your gym on terms that they are comfortable with.

LIVE STREAM WORKOUTS

Facebook, Instagram, YouTube or through video conferencing apps like Zoom; live streaming is a great tool to reach out to your members! Trainers could run classes at the same time each day. Get your members involved and for those that aren’t members of your gym now, it’s a great way to capture their attention and convince them to join your club even if their not yet ready to attend in person. You can also record these live streams and turn them into on-demand video content for your members to continue utilising.

VIDEO WORKOUTS

Use pre-recorded workout videos to offer your members a form of exercise that they can do at any time. Those with children may not be able to join you during your live streams at specific times, so it’s a great way to engage those with time constraints. You can use video through an email campaign to reach only your members or reach out to non-members through social, similar to the live stream workouts.

RECIPES

Provide healthy recipes to keep your members engaged and to help them carry on their health transformation that they started at your club.

 

BE PRESENT ON SOCIAL MEDIA

With people spending more time at home than ever, the time they also spend on their mobile devices is increasing and the use of online platforms is on the rise.

Video-streaming platforms and social media allow people to connect with the outside world and stay informed so it’s the perfect time to build your gyms online presence with social media marketing.

The use of social media allows you to connect with current members as well as being used as a selling mechanism so be sure to show all sides of your business, as you don’t know who will be taking notice! Post regularly, with varied content and you’re sure to get engagement from current and potential members.

Having a strategy and plan in place with be much more effective than posting spontaneously, so get your team together and start brainstorming some ideas and mapping out a social media schedule.

Here are a few ideas to get you started:

  • Re-introduce your team and let them tell their stories of lockdown
  • Share how you looked after your staff and members during lockdown
  • Workouts targeted at easing back into the gym after an extended break
  • Motivational quotes
  • Members transformation stories
  • Member goals
  • Share how you’re staying COVID safe
  • Class instructor social media takeover to show behind the scenes

 

KEEP YOUR MEMBERS SAFE

When your gym or studio is ready to reopen, one of the biggest obstacles you may face is reassuring people that your facility is safe to return to or attend and that they should feel comfortable in doing so.

During your closure you should have paid particular attention to communicating your plans to keep your gym COVID safe utilising your social media channels, your website, emails and SMS. And it’s just as important to continue communicating your safety protocols once you have reopened to ensure your current members and potential new members feel safe in considering coming to your gym.

Clearly define the measure you are putting in place and go the extra mile above social distancing and 1 way systems. It’s time to focus on your customer experience more than ever and focus on instilling confidence in your members and provide them with the means to cope with the situation. Be empathetic to those people who are slightly more concerned and reserved than others and prioritise safety first and foremost. This might disrupt how your gym and any classes were previously run, but by taking the approach of putting your members above all else and providing them with the guidance and reassurance they need, your gym will stand out and you’ll be able to build a loyal customer base.

  • Use the provided hand sanitiser on entry to the gym and regularly throughout your workout
  • Clean all equipment using the provided cleaning stations before and after each workout set
  • Socially distance at all times and don’t gather in groups
  • Respect other members’ space during their time in the facility
  • Arrive dressed in your gym gear, ready for your workout
  • Limit your workout to one hour to allow as many people to use the facility as possible
  • Follow any signage that you see throughout the facility
  • If you have COVID symptoms or have been in contact with someone with COVID symptoms, then do not enter the gym for the following 14 days
  • If any time you see anyone not following the rules, then please inform a member of staff

 

TARGET YOUR CANCELLATIONS

Unfortunately due to the overwhelming unpredictability of COVID-19 and no realistic sense of what the future may hold, many people have opted to cancel their gym memberships for a range of reasons.

Although some businesses have been fortunate enough to reopen and employees return to work, there are still many who face uncertainty over their employment and may be place on the government furlough scheme resulting in a real fear of economic downturn. This has resulted in people trying to save where they can and as a result cancelling monthly subscriptions, such as gym memberships, as it is not deemed as an essential monthly outgoing.

Even if you gave your members the option to freeze their memberships during your temporary closures, you will have noticed that some of your members will have proceeded with cancelling their memberships anyway as a precautionary measure.

For the majority of these people, their financial positions will have hopefully become more certain than it was back in March and they might be ready to start back up their monthly subscriptions again. So now you are ready to reopen again, turn your attention to marketing to those people who cancelled their membership pre-COVID. Create a tailored (and discounted!) re-joining offer for them and send out targeted emails and SMS to try and entice them back to your facility.

 

BUILD YOUR LOCAL NETWORK

With so many businesses having been effected by COVID-19, it is important to try and lift one another up. Although this might not be everyone’s cup of tea, a marketing strategy you might like to introduce is partnering up with other businesses in your local area to see if you can leverage off each other’s customer bases.

Perhaps there is a café just around the corner from your gym, you could offer their customers a discounted reopening membership rate and in return they could offer one free coffee to all of your members. In times of hardship like 2020 has seen, these types of cross promotion can lead to an ideal win-win scenario where your gym not only benefits, but you can also help keep another local business afloat as well.

And you don’t have to just think about businesses within a certain mile radius if you’d rather spread your net a bit wider. Consider partnering with online companies as well. Small businesses need support now more than ever, and creating a mutually beneficial partnership agreement may be what you both need. This would work particularly well with a small fitness boutique or emerging protein supplement. Don’t be afraid to think big!

 

SHOW YOUR APPRECIATION

No one can predict what’s to come next in this global pandemic, or when it will come to an end. But one thing is for certain, everyone, including businesses (large and small), families and individuals have felt the effects of it and have had to face it’s challenges head on.

Something that is so easy to say and has a large impact is thank you. Don’t forget to thank your members for sticking by you. Many of your members will have returned to your gym when you were able to reopen following the first lockdown and will have continued to support you when the news of a secondary temporary closure was announced.

They have followed the rules and guidelines set out in your facility to ensure that everyone was in a safe environment. It is due to their commitment and vigilance that your gym was able to successfully reopen once and it will be down to them again when your gym reopens again in the next few days.

Many of your members will have also opted to continue paying their membership fees in order to take advantage of any online classes you offered during the lockdown. They are the lifeblood of your business and without them, you simply wouldn’t be here.

So show them your appreciation for their ongoing support, it may be something as simple as sending an email. But make sure if feels personal. Posting on your social media is all well and good, but it often lacks that personal touch. So be sure to get in touch with your members on what feels like a more 1-2-1 basis, you might want to offer them some freebies, but that isn’t always necessary. Sometimes all it takes is a simple email expressing your gratitude.

Do what’s best for you and your fitness business.

 

WE WISH YOU THE BEST OF LUCK

For the majority of gym owners, this will be your second time reopening following a lockdown this year. This is likely to make you feel much more confidence about your reopening, although it doesn’t mean the fitness industry is out of the woods just yet. Navigating your way through the rest of this pandemic will continue to present you with challenges, and ensuring that you maintain healthy memberships numbers will be your main focus.

We at Ashbourne Membership Management are here to help you every step of the way, so please do not hesitate to get in touch and see how we can partner together to take your gym to the next level.

And until then, we wish you the absolute best of luck in reopening your gym and keeping your members healthy and happy.

How To Maintain Engagement With Your Members Throughout COVID-19

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Although the end of the most recent lockdown is in sight, the introduction of the newly revised tier system still has a great impact on gyms and health clubs across the country with group classes still unable to go ahead. And many of your members may still be hesitant about returning to your facility whilst the COVID-19 pandemic is still ongoing.

During an incredibly uncertain time, the fitness sector continues to be confronted with the challenge of trying to keep their members active and engaged – outside of the gym!

Finding solutions to keep your members engaged during this time is crucial, providing them with resources and frequent contact, however this shouldn’t just be seen as a short-term fix. The more ways your members’ can engage with your club, the more enhanced their overall experience and satisfaction will be. So you need to have ideas that work as a long-term solution.

Although this may be a new challenge you are facing, remember that to your members, you are still the expert! Many of your members see you as their source of all information relating to their fitness and health. Use your knowledge to inform your members and give them recommendations as to what they should do when exercising at home. Many people will feel demotivated and want to give up, so do your best to make sure this isn’t your members!

 

YOU CAN ALSO DOWNLOAD OUR MAINTAINING ENGAGEMENT GUIDE

If you don’t have time to read the blog, then you can always download our maintaining engagement guide right now, and discover ways in which you can encourage interaction with your members amongst all the uncertainty.

 

FIND YOUR ONLINE VOICE

Whether your club will be remaining closed or getting ready to re-open it is crucially important to maintain clear and regular communication with your members. To not only keep them informed, but to also help them feel reassured.

But beforehand, you need to define your brand’s voice. Think about what you want to say and more importantly how you want to say it.

As a gym or fitness studio, you will have already identified what your goal is and what you hope to bring to the fitness industry which sets you apart from your competitors, but it’s time to think about taking that one step further.

What is your purpose? 

You need to communicate your value and deliver high-quality content to your members and remember how powerful social media and the internet can be! But only if used correctly.

Your members are ready and willing to hear from you, so utilise the communication channel which works best for your audience whether that be via email, SMS, social media or your website. By making the right choice of communication method you are more likely to build a rapport with your members.

 

CREATE HIGH QUALITY ONLINE CONTENT

Keeping your members informed is one thing, but that isn’t enough to keep them actively invested in your gym. You want to keep your members motivated and provide them with a dose of normality, so offering them regular content is vital to keep them moving and boost their engagement.

Gyms and fitness studios across the country are quickly turning their attention to harnessing the skills of their instructors and personal
trainers to provide digital workouts and classes for their members.

So don’t let physical distance stop you keeping your members in check. Create a timetable to release content to your members so they have something to look forward to and continue to look to your facility for their health and fitness information.

Live Stream Workouts

Facebook, Instagram, YouTube or through video conferencing APPS like Zoom; live streaming is a great tool to reach out to your members! Trainers could run daily classes at the same time every day. Get your members involved and for those who aren’t members of your gym now, it’s a great way to capture their attention and convince them to join. Live streams can then be saved and turned into video workouts…

Video Workouts

Use pre-recorded workout videos to offer your members a form of exercise they can do at any time. Those with children may not be able to join you for your live stream at specific times, so it’s a great way to engage those with time constraints. You can use video through an email campaign to reach only your members or reach out to non-members through social, similar to the live stream workouts.

Recipes

Provide healthy recipes to keep your members engaged and to help them carry on their health transformation that they started at your club!

 

MAKE YOUR CONTENT RELIABLE

Online Fitness Classes For GymsVirtual classes and online training and support has come out as king during a year of virtual services.

While these have proven to be very successful at keeping members paying to some degree, and cementing your gym in your customer’s mind even whilst you’re closed, this is still unchartered territory for so many clubs and gyms.

But whilst hosting an online class might sound easy, there is certainly a great deal to consider in order to make sure you are providing your
members with a valuable, quality experience. And although your customer experience is at the forefront of your mind, you as a business owner, must also ensure you consider your business needs and choose a streaming platform that is not only reliable, but also cost effective.

To discover more about the cost-friendly platforms available, read our blog about the best platforms available to host your online gym classes.

 

SHARE YOUR EXPERIENCE

During isolation, times of lockdown and when members are not ready to return to your gym, it is easy for your members to feel isolated and alone. Many people turn to exercise to increase their mood and the motivation they get from others – whether it be your trainers or fellow members can be really encouraging.

This is your chance to bring your members together and create an online community. Encouraging your users to interact with the content you produce and make available is a great way to foster two-way conversations between your club and your members. On your social media pages your trainers can set challenges to your members or feature “workouts of the day” and ask your members to comment with their videos or pictures using specific hashtags to bring your online community together.

Social media channels, such as Instagram, also feature interaction tools such as polls, questions and sliders via Instagram stories, making it easier than ever to ask your audience a question and get real-time responses. For example, you could host a weekly “Let your members decide workout” and ask your online community what type of workout (i.e. strength or cardio) they would prefer that day. Give them a 60-90 minute window to answer and then host a workout based on the most popular response.

This not only allows your members to feel valued but also gives them the opportunity to receive what they would feel as tailored training from your club.

 

MAINTAIN YOUR MEMBERS ACCOUNTABILITY

Staying motivated to visit your gym or complete your workout is hard enough, even when gyms are open! So imagine how much more difficult this is when you are required to stay at home, with no fitness trainer in sight to provide you with encouragement. It’ll come as no surprise that to encourage your members to keep training, it is going to require a little extra effort, not only from them but from you and your team.

Many people rely on their routine to maintain their motivation, so offering a class schedule which almost mirrors your typical gym
schedule will be beneficial to your members. It will feel familiar to them and therefore will be much easier to maintain, as you’re not expecting them to show up at times which may otherwise be out of the ordinary.

You also have a prime opportunity here to utilise your coaches and personal trainers. The likelihood of your team being less busy than usual is high when your gym is closed or you are unable to host group classes, so try to utilise their skillset elsewhere. Give them the task of becoming ‘Accountability Coaches’ to those individual members or groups that might need extra support and encouragement to stay active and continue maintaining or reaching their fitness goal.

 

YOUR FUTURE IS POSITIVE

It’s easy to see the negative side of the ongoing disruption to the fitness industry and the uncertainty this brings to gym owners and gym goers, but it is important to focus on the positive outcomes this time can in fact provide.

With your clubs doors having been closed, you’ve been able to spend time looking at any repairs or upgrades to your equipment which you might have been delaying as it would typically cause disruption to your members. But now has been the perfect time.

With the help of schemes such as the government business interruption loan scheme, it might also be possible for you to invest in your facility and have something for your members to look forward to when they individually decide it’s the right time for them to come back.

And of course, make sure to keep your members updated on every club development that happens during your closures and even once you have reopened again. This will help you build up a buzz between your current and potential members as they patiently wait to get back inside of your newly improved facility.

This doesn’t need to be expensive either, even giving your club a little facelift with some redecorating is often enough to build excitement amongst your members.

 

ASHBOURNE CAN HELP WITH EVERY ASPECT OF YOUR CLUB

Unlike most club management services which just give you some basic software and collect your direct debits, the team at Ashbourne knows that there’s a lot more to managing a successful club than simply collecting payments.

From debt collection, to web design, marketing ideas and more – the entire team at Ashbourne Membership Management is at your disposal to help you succeed and master every single element of being a successful gym.

If you want to chat about what we offer, or simply run through how we can help your particular health club, then get in touch with us and our sales manager Grant will be back in touch to talk through everything.

Strategies To Improve Membership Retention During COVID-19

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Membership retention at gyms is something that has always been a challenge, long before the COVID-19 pandemic. With many people choosing to embark on their fitness journey, it is no surprise that around half of people who start an exercise program will drop out within the first six months.

And with the onset of this pandemic, gyms are facing an entirely different set of challenges in order to to retain their members. Due to the overwhelming uncertainty that came with COVID-19, many people opted to cancel their gym memberships for a range of reasons.

Many people faced uncertainty over their employment. With many people placed on the government furlough scheme and although some businesses have been fortunate enough to reopen and employees return to work, this hasn’t been the case for everyone and therefore there was and still is a fear of economic downturn. This has resulted in people trying to save where they could.

Even if you opted to freeze your memberships throughout lockdown periods, you will have noticed that some of your members will have proceeded with cancelling their memberships anyway as a precautionary measure.

But you rely on your members for the long-term survival of your gym, so try and get ahead of members cancellations by making sure you provide enough value to make them stick around.

 

YOU CAN ALSO DOWNLOAD OUR MEMBERSHIP RETENTION GUIDE

If you don’t have time to read the blog, then you can always download our membership retention guide right now, and discover the steps you need to consider in order to improve your membership retention percentage.

REGAIN CONFIDENCE, BUILD TRUST

Understandably, many of your members may be reluctant to return to your facility once it is able to open again. People may be unable to due to an underlying health condition, or they might be hesitant due to the many concerns that surround returning to a public place.

People have become used to spending increased time at home and at the same time are fearful of the virus. Your members need your help and support in order to navigate through this time and they will gradually feel safe enough to return. Although, you must anticipate that not all members will return to feeling the same way they did prior to COVID-19 and some members may cancel their membership for good.

To begin rebuilding the confidence in your members you must have consistent, open and honest communication with your members. Let them know about your new safety protocols and sanitation guidelines. Do this via email, SMS and through your social media channels to ensure that as many of your members as being exposed to your new measures. Your members need to know that you are doing everything possible to keep them safe and although this won’t be enough for everyone, don’t let that discourage you as your members would need to know this information anyone to ensure they follow your new guidelines.

It may also be beneficial to share research and information from other sources to try and help fight negatives feelings caused by the overwhelming amount of COVID-19 updates. Early research conducted by the Norwegian Research Council found that there is no evidence to suggest that gyms pose any additional risk to spreading COVID-19 when following appropriate social distancing and hygiene protocols. This type of research sharing will reassure your members and will encourage them to trust that you are doing your best to stay informed and act accordingly.

 

IMPLEMENT NEW SAFETY PROTOCOLS

Man in the gym, exercising his legs doing cardio training on bicycle wearing a mask - coronavirus conceptWhen your gym or studio is ready and allowed to reopen, one of the biggest obstacles you may face is encouraging your members that your facility is safe to return to and they should feel comfortable in doing so.

So during your closure, pay particular attention to communicating your plans to keep your gym COVID-safe across as many communication channels as possible. You want to reach your current members and well as potential new customers, so utilise your social media channels, your website, emails and SMS.

Clearly define the measures you are putting in place and go the extra mile above social distancing & 1 way systems. It’s time to focus on your customer experience more than ever and focus on instilling confidence in your members and provide them with the means to cope with the situation. Be empathetic to those people who are slightly more concerned and reserved than others and prioritise safety first and foremost. This might disrupt how your gym and any classes were previously run, but by taking the approach of putting your members above all else and providing them with the guidance and reassurance they need, your gym will stand out and you’ll be able to build a loyal customer base.

 

CREATE DISCOUNTED REJOINING OFFERS

How many times have you looked online with the intent of buying something and then for one reason or another decided not to bother? But then perhaps you’ve been tempted to go and purchase whatever item you were interested in when the company email you with a discount code to try and tempt you to reconsider.

This is a very common sales tactic and has a pretty high success rate. I mean, who wouldn’t feel encouraged to buy a product they were already interested in when someone offers them money off!

This same tactic could be used on your memberships with a small tweak here and there. Perhaps you have members who are getting in touch to cancel or you’ve members on a 6 or 12 month membership who don’t opt to renew and their membership lapses. These are your ideal candidates to test out an offer to encourage them to think twice about cancelling or to encourage them to reinstate their membership.

You don’t always have to go straight down the route of offer them a discounted membership either if you don’t feel comfortable with that, but here are some offers you could consider:

  • 1 month free membership (when purchasing 6 months or more)
  • Discount on month of membership (for those with rolling contracts)
  • Free personal training session
  • Free access to additional resources (if available)
  • Free nutrition guide

 

NURTURE YOUR NEW MEMBERS

When a new member signs up to your gym, it’s down to you to give them a great experience from the outset to ensure they don’t immediately feel dissatisfied with their choice to join.

Hopefully your sign up process was nice and straight forward for them, so you are able to get off on the right foot. Being able to sign up online via direct debit is preferable for many people as it means they can make their decision on whether to join in the comfort of their home and can complete their subscription in their own time. So making sure this is easy to do is crucial to giving your members a premium experience from the start.

Once their membership is confirmed, you should have an automated welcome email sent straight to them. This is your opportunity to give a warm and friendly welcome to your new member, whilst providing them with information about the services and resources they can access as well as pointing them in the right direction for when they may have questions. This will help your member feel confident that they have made the right choice to join your gym.

This message should be personalised as much as possible, to make your gym personable and make your member feel as though you are approachable. You should also invite your member to get in touch with you to arrange their induction at your facility. You want every person who enters your gym to feel confident and comfortable with the equipment they are using. Some people may already be confident with the gym equipment you have on site as they are moving from another facility, but you should make this offer to everyone, to show that you are focused on providing a quality and fair experience to all of your members.

 

MAKE CURRENT MEMBERS HAPPIER

COVID-19 has brought uncertainty to many people so taking additional time to go above and beyond to ensure your members are happy is an important step to take to ensure they don’t consider cancelling their membership.

With many gyms temporarily closed, connecting with your members is becoming more difficult than ever. Some people may have opted to freeze their memberships whereas others may have chosen to continue if you are able to provide online classes for them to take advantage of. No
matter which route your members have decided to take, you should make the effort to engage with them all the same.

You should encourage a thriving and engaging community to bring your members together, they are likeminded individuals with one certain thing in common, they attend your gym or fitness studio! Create dedicated online networking areas for your members (frozen & current), for
example a Facebook group. Here you can share updates about your gym and the COVID-19 protocols you will be adopting to keep everyone up to date, as well as also encouraging your trainers to share fitness tips or daily exercise challenges. This will encourage your members to not only interact with you, but also with one another. Whilst also providing them with a forum to share things themselves. This will keep them engaged with your gym and is also likely to decrease any sense of loneliness they may be feeling.

For your members who choose to continue paying you can create closed Facebook groups for them to have exclusive access to the online classes you will be offering. This will make them feel like part of an elite club and give them direct access to your trainers. What you share here also isn’t limited just to the classes you run, you could also think about sharing other fitness resources, such as recipes or nutrition guidance.

Ask yourself: why did your members join in the first place? What value were they looking for? Once you know the answer to this it makes it much easier to begin curating content you can share with them and activities you can do to ensure they receive the value you perceive they signed up for.

 

WHY DID YOUR MEMBERS LEAVE?

It’s inevitable that no matter how hard you try, some members will still choose to leave. This can be for any number of reasons, but there is no point in presuming or trying to guess these for yourself. You must ask your members what prompted their decision to leave.

Being able to collate this kind of information will provide you with insight into your club and how your members perceive it and will highlight any issues that you may need to address moving forward in order to prevent more members leaving.

So when your member contacts you to request cancellation of their membership, ask them if they’d like to share why they have chosen to leave. Of course they do not have to answer this if they would rather not, but by providing them with the forum to give feedback you are much more likely to find out why.

Keep a report of the reasons members are choosing to leave and if you begin to notice any trends in this information, it’s your chance to address this and see if you can turn things round. By making these changes you may also be able to attract old members back by addressing the specific thing which caused them to leave in the first place.

But remember, during these current uncertain times the information you may gather at the moment will be limited. Many of your members will be choosing to leave for financial reasons and although this doesn’t provide you with information on how to improve your club, it does provide you with the opportunity to consider offering discounted membership rates if your retention percentage falls too low.

 

CONSIDER MEMBERSHIP TIER LEVELS

Whilst your facility remains temporarily closed and members are restricted to only accessing content online if they wish to, or even once your gym reopens there will be some members uncomfortable with returning. This is your opportunity to consider introducing tiered membership levels.

Some of your members may opt to cancel their membership because they don’t feel like they are getting the value for the money they are paying. And the easiest way to address this and keep your members active is by creating a new membership level which lessens the cost they are liable for paying which makes it easier for your member to justify paying, whilst still giving them access to some of the core resources of your gym.

For example, for members who don’t feel comfortable returning to your gym when it reopens or for those who are unhappy to pay their full membership cost for online class replacements during your temporary closure, introduce a reduced membership cost which gives them access to your online classes only.

This would enable your members to stay engaged with your gym without having to attend if they are unhappy to. And similarly during your closure addresses those members who feel they are loosing significant value by continuing to pay their full membership cost when they are unable to access your facility.

You could take your online classes membership one step further by introducing further elements at increased cost, such as access to exclusive recipes or personal online sessions with one of your trainers.

You want to make sure your gym is able to offer something for everyone and during a time where many people will be evaluating aspects of their life prior to COVID-19 and deciding whether or not there are changes they might wish to make following the pandemic, you are at least giving your very best effort to ensure you offer enough value to entice people in varying personal situations.

But be careful not to make your reduced membership tiers too attractive, otherwise you risk loosing some of your other paying members who are attracted by this downgrade option.

 

LET MEMBERS FREEZE THEIR MEMBERSHIPS

You will have noticed how we mention frozen memberships throughout this post, however it’s important enough that it really needs its own explanation!

COVID-19 has brought overwhelming uncertainty across the globe, in a way which the majority of people have never seen before. And it’s more likely than ever that for those of your members who are asking to cancel their membership it is for one simple reason, they just simply aren’t in the current financial position to continue paying for your membership.

But instead of just proceeding with their cancellation, why not give them the option to pause their membership?

By utilising this option, they can continue to receive updates and remain a part of your community and then when they are in a financial position to start their membership again, they will be more motivated to do so.

All of their membership details will still exist, so they won’t have to go through the process of starting their membership from scratch. Not only will you have less admin work to do, but your member will also find it really straight forward to start their membership again as all they will need to do is get in touch.

 

BUILD YOUR ONLINE REVIEWS

With your members spending an increased amount of time at home, many of their usual habits will be impacted also. With more spare time, this is your opportunity to ask your members who are delighted with the experience they receive at your gym to leave a positive review for you. Whether that be through google reviews or through your social media, use whichever resource you think is likely to resonate with your members more.

Unfortunately this is also an opportunity for you to hear from any disgruntled members as well. But at least by encouraging this opinion sharing you will be able to address any negative reviews you are faced with.

Ultimately, new members or current members questioning whether to continue their membership are likely to look to other peoples opinions within the community to help reinforce their decision, so by curating reviews you are building a strong brand image.

This won’t only be helpful during COVID-19 either and will stand the test of time as it serves as your book of testimonials for your gym or fitness studio for its entire lifespan. Be sure to thank your members for leaving their reviews as well, or offer them something in return for leaving one. This will build your rapport with them and make them feel like a valued member of your community. Their opinion is important to you and it’s nice to hear if you are doing something well, so take the time to read all of your reviews and feel assured that you are doing right by your community.

 

ASHBOURNE CAN HELP YOU WITH EVERY ASPECT OF YOUR CLUB

Unlike most club management services which just give you some basic software and collect your direct debits, the team at Ashbourne knows that there’s a lot more to managing a successful club than simply collecting payments.

From debt collection, to web design, marketing ideas and more – the entire team at Ashbourne Membership Management is at your disposal to help you succeed and master every single element of being a successful gym.

If you want to chat about what we offer, or simply run through how we can help your particular health club, then get in touch with us and our sales manager Grant will be back in touch to talk through everything.

The Equipment You Need For High Quality Online Class Live Streams

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2020 has certainly been a testing year for many industries and the fitness industry is no outlier to this.

The ongoing Covid-19 pandemic has affected millions of people across the globe, with country lockdowns and self isolation, it’s safe to presume that the majority of the worlds population have been spending the majority of their time at home. This alone has presented new challenges for individual households and businesses alike, forcing everyone to embrace a new way of living.

Your members will still be looking for their studio experience when your gym is temporarily closed, so being quick to improvise, adapt and deliver live stream workouts will help keep your members on board. By livestreaming your classes, it gives your members something to look forward to as well as providing them with some structure normality and motivation.

But it’s important to make sure you get your livestream right and of a high quality to provide your members with a valuable experience.

 

YOU CAN ALSO DOWNLOAD OUR EQUIPMENT GUIDE

If you don’t have time to read the blog, then you can always download our equipment guide right now, and discover the equipment you need in your own time.

 

IT’S BEST TO KEEP THINGS SIMPLE

It’s easy to get carried away when thinking about almost anything and everything you could potentially need in order to conduct your class livestream, but it’s important to keep level headed. Simple, is nearly always better.

When introducing additional equipment, which may be unnecessary, you also increase your setups complexity. And if any of these pieces of equipment fail, the quality and strength of your livestream are at risk, so you are better off keeping your setup simple in order to lower the odds of any technical problems.

Besides, who would say no to making their life a bit easier?

The essential equipment you should look to invest in to get started with your livestreams will include a camera, microphone and perhaps lighting – depending on your circumstances. And the first hurdle you will need to overcome is selecting the equipment option which is best suited to your class needs.

 

FIND THE BEST CAMERA

Selecting which camera to record your live workouts with is the most important decision you need to make in order to get started. With so many options on the market, all competing for your attention, it is easy to get overwhelmed. The two most common types that you will come across are DLSR and an action-specific camera.

DLSR cameras are incredibly versatile, they can take beautiful photos as well as being used for filming. These are great for filming a wide variety of different sports and activities, with interchangeable lenses available so you can achieve different options in terms of image variation.

Action cameras on the other hand are perfect if you’re looking to record something from your point of view. They are small in size and offer incredible performance while filming point-of view videos for various sports.

See below for some of our top picks:

  • GoPro Hero 8 Black Action Camera
    • 4 different lenses (SuperView, Wide Angle, Linear & Arrow)
    • Full HD with horizon levelling
    • 3 mics & reduced wind noise
    • Dedicated app
    • 14 voice commands
  • Olympus Tough TG-6 Waterproof Camera
    • Waterproof, dustproof, shockproof, freezeproof & crushproof
    • Ultra HD 4K shooting
    • Action track sensors
    • Integrated Wi-Fi
  • Nikon COOLPIX W300 Waterproof Camera
    • 5x optical zoom NIKKOR lens
    • 4K Ultra HD or 1080p full HD videos
    • 16MP low-light sensor
    • Features Nikons Hybrid Vibration Reduction image stabilisation
  • Canon VIXIA HF R700
    • 57x advanced zoom
    • SuperRange optical image stabilisation
    • Zoom framing assist
    • 1080/60p recording in MP4
    • Five Cinema-Look filter

 

UPGRADE YOUR WEBCAM

Of course splashing the cash on a camera can work out to be quite expensive, particularly if you are only looking to utilise it whilst your gym or fitness studio remain temporarily closed. So it might be more appropriate to look at upgrading your webcam – if your laptop is a bit worse for wear!

You want to make sure that even on a budget, you are providing the highest visual quality so its definitely worth the smaller investment!

When it comes to basic yet quality webcams, you are really spoilt for choice. With many containing built-in microphones it also means you might be able to tick two of your equipment must haves off in one.

Some of the best value webcams we have discovered are:

  • LOGITUBO Webcam 1080P Live Streaming Camera (with Microphone)
  • Razer Kiyo HD Desktop Streaming Webcam (with built-in ring light)
  • Logitech C920 Webcam 15MP (built-in microphone)
  • Logitech C922 Pro Stream Webcam (Two built-in microphones)

 

FIND THE BEST MICROPHONE

Although microphones are often a great feature included in many cameras and your laptop, the audio quality is often overlooked when it comes to livestreaming and many of the included microphones might only just suffice.

Clear, crisp audio is vital to your livestream, after all how can your members enjoy your workout if they are struggling to hear your instructions?

So it might be time to invest in a microphone.

There are plenty of mics available on the market which plug directly into your computer via USB, these are often your best bet. Although you have the alternate option of wearing a lapel microphone, be cautious. These often pick up sounds of the room and may rub on your clothing or hair, disrupting the experience for your members.

Some plug & play mics to consider which won’t break the bank are:

  • Fifine USB Microphone
  • Blue Microphones Snowball ICE
  • Blue Yeti USB Mic
  • HyperX Quadcast Condenser Microphone
  • Logitech Blue Microphones Yeti USB Microphone

 

YES, YOU NEED LIGHTING

Good lighting is so often overlooked when it comes to the livestreaming of fitness classes, but let us tell you – it is a key element!

Your members need to be able to see you clearly, of course this doesn’t always mean you need to invest in additional equipment.

Consider your location for the livestream and also the time of day. Based on these individual elements you might be able to avoid the need to purchase lighting altogether. Of course classes taking place during the middle of the day (providing it is a clear and bright day) in a room with plenty of natural light might lead you into a false sense of security. Bear in mind, the sun can easily slip behind a cloud during the middle of your stream and you could be left in darkness.

Strategically place lamps and other lighting throughout your workout area to ensure you are as well lit as possible, making sure there is no overpowering light behind you as this will quickly turn you in to a dark silhouette.

If you wish to purchase additional lighting to feel confident that your livestream set up is the best it can be there are a few points to bare in mind:

  • LED lights are preferable as they don’t get as hot as conventional halogen bulbs
  • Make sure your light is easily manoeuvrable
  • Adjustable brightness
  • Mains powered
  • Provide good coverage (i.e. ring lights would be unsuitable for a class workout as they tend to be better suited when the live stream subject is closer to the screen.)

 

CHOOSE RELIABLE SOFTWARE

Hosting an online class might sound easy, but there is certainly a great deal to consider in order to make sure you are providing your members with a valuable, quality experience. And although your customer experience is at the forefront of your mind, you as a business owner, must also ensure you consider your business needs and choose a streaming platform that is not only reliable, but also cost effective.

There are plenty of streaming services available, each with their own individual benefits so it is important that you choose the one which
compliments your livestream needs the best.

Our top picks are:

  • YouTube
  • Zoom
  • Facebook Live
  • Twitch

For an in depth review on each of these streaming platforms in order to help you make a decision for business needs, please read our
‘The Best Platforms To Host Your Online Gym Class On A Budget’ blog post.

 

THE FINISHING TOUCHES!

Now you’ve got your essential equipment and have taken it for a test drive, it’s time to consider all the other smaller elements that may have an impact on the success of your online classes.

You want to make your members feel the same consistency of an in-studio experience and bring them together, so there are a few other planning points you will want to consider.

 

TEST YOUR INTERNET CONNECTION

This might sound obvious, but be sure you don’t fall at the first hurdle. Test your network speed to make sure your bandwidth upload is
consistent. You don’t want any glitches or delays when your members are trying to follow your class in real time.

CURATE A PLAYLIST

Great music selection can take your workout to a whole new level, but in the world of livestreaming, it can be a legal battle waiting to happen! Facebook are known to remove audio from a video if it thinks that the sound breaches copyright laws, so plan ahead!

Create a public playlist using a platform like Spotify that you can share with your members and they can then listen to it at home whilst
partaking in your exercise class. This allows you choose specific music with the right beat which will add great pace to the session and means that all your attendees with be listening to the same songs.

DO THE PREP WORK

Getting ready for a livestream requires more prep time than you might assume. Not only do you have to plan the class itself, you then have to take a step back from ‘trainer mode’ in order prepare your filming set up and check your internet connection is up to speed.

By allowing yourself adequate time to get your preparation work done, you will feel more confident by the time your class rolls around and your livestream will not only look professional, but you’ll be ready to deliver a high-energy, motivating workout.

 

AND FINALLY… REMEMBER TO RECORD!

Now you are fully prepared to start hosting your online fitness classes! All the careful preparation is in place and it’s time to start engaging with your members online.

Livestreaming is a great way to keep your community together, drive retention rates up and appeal to a broader audience than ever before.

But we need you to remember one more thing before you go.

Record your livestreams.

Your recorded online classes are the perfect free marketing collateral for your gym or fitness studio. We hope this is the last of the lockdowns we will have to face as a nation, but even so, you may still decide to continue offering online classes long after your gym has reopened as it allowed your gym to be accessible to an audience it may not have attracted before.

So get in to the habit of recording all your classes from the get-go, the content from these live workouts will be perfect to promote your future online classes and provide your members (current & new) the opportunity to see your online classes first hand.

 

ASHBOURNE CAN HELP YOU WITH EVERY ASPECT OF YOUR CLUB

Unlike most club management services which just give you some basic software and collect your direct debits, the team at Ashbourne knows that there’s a lot more to managing a successful club than simply collecting payments.

From debt collection, to web design, marketing ideas and more – the entire team at Ashbourne Membership Management is at your disposal to help you succeed and master every single element of being a successful gym.

If you want to chat about what we offer, or simply run through how we can help your particular health club, then get in touch with us and our sales manager Grant will be back in touch to talk through everything.

Member of a gym? Simply text "HELP" to 60777 and we'll help you.

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BUSINESS

ABOUT
CONTACT
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RESOURCES

MEMBERS

CONTACT
MAKE A PAYMENT
PRIVACY POLICY
TERMS & CONDITIONS
Facebook Instagram Linkedin

Read our Privacy Policy

COPYRIGHT © 2025 ASHBOURNE

Member of a gym? Simply text "HELP" to 60777 and we'll help you.

BUSINESS

ABOUT
CONTACT
FAQ
PRODUCTS & SERVICES
RESOURCES

MEMBERS

CONTACT
MAKE A PAYMENT
PRIVACY POLICY
TERMS & CONDITIONS
Facebook Instagram Linkedin

Read Our Privacy Policy

COPYRIGHT © 2025 ASHBOURNE

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