features
Software: Keeping connected
Staying in touch with lapsed members can reboot engagement and increase participation, but GDPR can make this challenging and operators have been fined millions for breaches. Steph Eaves ask how software can help
Our member management solutions have been GDPR-compliant since the introduction of the regulation in 2016.
It puts the member in control of their communication preferences and gives them the option to give explicit consent, so the operator can continue to communicate with them after their membership has ended.
Even with things such as lifetime membership contracts, operators must obtain explicit consent from members to continue communicating with them after their membership has ended.
A lifetime membership contract could potentially include a clause that explicitly states that the health club operator will continue to communicate with the member for marketing purposes, even after their membership has ended, however, this clause must comply with GDPR regulations and the member must have the right to easily opt-out.
Operators typically have a range of strategies in place to manage their sleepers. It’s up to the operator to determine their individual approach. Common practices include sending reminder emails and offering incentives to return.
Our system captures a variety of data-points to enable operators to determine behaviour- and usage-patterns. This can then be used to tailor marketing and retention efforts for these members.
We work with operators to identify targeted activities, as these can have a significant impact on membership retention rates and revenue.
Gladstone Software offers a number of functionalities to enable health club operators to keep in touch with members effectively and creatively.
For example, the Member Engagement Portal allows members to view their membership details, book classes, make payments and interact with the club, while automated emails and SMS messages enable operators to create and send automated communications to members that are triggered by specific events.
Reporting and analytics enable operators to track member engagement and behaviour, while also identifying trends and opportunities to improve member retention and satisfaction.
We supported South Dublin County Council in reimagining how to use data for its leisure centres, so the organisation could make more informed decisions that enhanced the customer journey and improved their operations.
A big part of this was transforming the reporting function, because the team found the collation of information challenging, repetitive and time-consuming, so it was done on an ad hoc basis and was offering very limited insight into operations.
Through our reporting and analytics suite, we helped the team create insightful reports by way of powerful visuals, to better harness untapped leisure data, and to better get to know their members.
Core software from Premier is GDPR-compliant and – as such – maintains member data for as long as needed.
This covers scenarios such as missed Direct Debits, where operators need to contact members to chase payment.
One method that helps keep a lapsed member in Core is by putting their membership on hold. This enables them to freeze their membership for a set period and providing members have opted-in to receive marketing, your team can then contact them via email, SMS, letter or phone call to ask if they would like to be put on hold, maintaining them in your system for further communication.
Memberships can then roll over to the next month or year until they’re actively cancelled.
As long as payments are still being received, they’re still a member in your system, however, should they ultimately leave and cancel their contract, it’s very possible they will simply become an ad hoc client of your facilities instead. That could mean they’re making occasional class bookings, for example.
Should that be the case, you can still maintain their data as a ‘client’, rather than a ‘member’ and Core stores these types of records separately from one another, enabling you to maintain contact without breaking GDPR.
ho haven’t visited for a while – are just one notification away from cancelling their Direct Debit and that’s why it’s crucial the next message they received is effective in encouraging them to return.
Core has a series of member-based reports, including member payments and membership retention and a combination of these can be used to provide a list of sleepers, enabling staff to communicate via email, SMS or by post using Core’s marketing filters. As there will be a range of reasons why they haven’t visited, it’s vital you outline alternative offerings in your communications.
Core helped English Lakes’ Low Wood Bay and Lancaster House (www.englishlakes.co.uk) manage their health club memberships, spa services and water sports centre activities while remaining in line with GDPR.
Michael Kay, group leisure manager, said that “On a day-to-day basis, our teams are heavily involved with Core and find it easy to manage indoor and outdoor activities, spa services and membership queries.”
Fines for data breaches can be onerous, so when it comes to GDPR, Xplor Gym software features straightforward opt-in fields for marketing communications, while opt-out links are included in all marketing messages.
If a contact is unsubscribed, the software will make sure they don’t receive marketing messages in the future.
When it comes to managing sleepers, Xplor’s attrition research shows that over 30 per cent of members haven’t used their membership in more than 30 days. To address this, the system automatically marks members as sleeping after 30 days without a recorded visit.
The research also found that most members will cancel within a few months of their last visit. By making it easy to identify sleepers, the software enables clubs to re-engage them, with automatic targeted email and SMS communications.
Acquiring a new member can be anywhere from five to 25 times more expensive than retaining an existing one, so our marketing automation capabilities help health club operators retain more members for longer.
Increasing retention rates by 5 per cent can increase profitability by 25-95 per cent.
As an all-in-one gym management solution, Xplor Gym also includes native marketing automation functionality, meaning member journeys for current members can be dynamically tailored by creating action-based triggers to send timely messages.
Using segmentation features clubs can create customised target audiences and combine this with personalisation to create powerful, relevant marketing campaigns.
tools enable operators to keep former members engaged, so they don’t lose the digital connection with them – this allows them to win back customers digitally using special offers.
unctionalities that enable operators to keep in close contact with their current members – such as the branded app – while the Member Care System supports onboarding and retention.
The loyalty programme keeps members engaged, while the digital training experience increases the member’s success.
On top of that, the MySports messages functionality offers a reconnection with members through direct push messages to their inbox.
When it comes to managing sleepers, operators can use our member care system to define milestones for them to reach, which keeps them engaged, while through the loyalty programme, they can encourage members to stay active and maintain a digital connection with their health club.
Perfect Gym’s consent management ensures operators comply with GDPR while staying in touch with lapsed members.
Operators can segment lapsed members by interests, behaviours or preferences for targeted and automated communication through the Automation Centre, ensuring they only contact members who’ve given explicit consent.
When a member gives permission for their personal information to be used for a particular reason, such as brand communication or marketing and doesn’t withdraw this consent, then data processing complies with data protection regulations.
However, once the client leaves the contract – even a lifetime contract – then the ‘reasonable retention period’ in GDPR would apply and the business would have to justify any extended retention and communication.
The most effective way to keep in touch with current members is to automate and personalise communication. With our Automation Centre, operators can keep members engaged and informed by segmented and send automated email, SMS, and push notifications – ultimately improving retention and reducing churn.
In addition to increasing member engagement, the Automation Center also saves time and increases staff productivity.
When it comes to managing sleepers, our access control system enables the tracking of members’ activity – including their latest visit – which is displayed on the Perfect Member dashboard. The Automation Center simplifies communication with sleepers by sending them messages automatically seven, 14 or 30 days’ after their last visit.
We worked with Oktopus Fitness Club, a customer-centred brand in Tbilisi, Georgia (www.oktopus.ge) that strongly emphasises communication as a fundamental element of its business model.
The company grew retention by almost 60 per cent using the Automation Centre email, SMS and push notifications, while automated and personalised touch helped its staff save time while keeping members motivated.
Using push notifications to inform about available slots in group fitness classes led to 267 per cent attendance growth.
Similarly, Harder Fit (www.harderfit.eu), a Polish chain of boutique fitness clubs, was able to increase average class attendance by 1.4 members and reduce the overall cost of running a business.
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