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Software: Solution finders
Each health club has its own requirements and challenges, but the right software solution can make all the difference, as Steph Eaves discovers
Xn Leisure recently began working with Walsall Council’s sports and leisure arm, Walsall Leisure. Prior to our partnership, its key challenges were to become more commercial in operation and grow sales.
The team at Walsall were looking for reliable and easy-to-use ways to increase member retention, satisfaction and revenue. After putting out a tender, they teamed up with us.
We supported the installation of turnstiles, self-serve kiosks and on-site membership joining tablets, as well as an integrated online joining system, a swim lesson ‘home portal’ and electronic registers for instructors. Through Xn’s Leisure Hub, Walsall has moved to a unified solution that improves customer service and cuts administration costs and time.
Our technology solutions streamline the booking and membership process – taking away the frustrating barriers and lengthy paperwork increases member satisfaction. Members can also manage their membership virtually, which can boost retention and revenue. The introduction of turnstiles, self-service kiosks, and online booking and joining systems, has cut employees’ administrative tasks, leaving them free to help customers in other areas.
We recently worked with UFC Gym Nottingham to implement a new lead management system. When I first met with UFC Gym, the sales team had challenges cohesively managing appointments. When one team member booked an appointment, a second team member confirmed the appointment and a third carried it out.
This created a disconnect, often with tasks slipping through and impacted the lead journey, which made it difficult to track lead status, conversion and team member KPI performance. The entire lead journey was outdated, with no real structure to the system.
Once Gym Sales was live, the first step UFC Gym took was to create and design automated items for the member journey, which included emails, text messages and scheduled follow-up calls for the team.
Using a booking link embedded in their email and text messages, potential members were able to select an appointment slot that worked for their schedule and automatically receive appointment confirmations via email and text. The calendar in Gym Sales was a great resource, and managers quickly saw all team members using it, providing a view into the sales activity.
UFC Gym’s marketing team created a series of images, videos, links, and web pages that could be used to support the current sales campaign or referral promotion, in a fully customisable setup.
Gym Sales provided UFC Gym with the tools to add structure to an already busy sales environment, allowing their team members to collaborate better.
SLL and InspireAll teams were overrun with enquiries from parents who wanted their children to change courses or move to a different level.
This was beginning to frustrate both customers and staff, so they contacted Fitronics to discuss the implementation of Course Pro, its customer management software, into the sign-up process.
One of the benefits of Course Pro is its ability to trigger emails, which reduces customers’ admin time and means the parent or guardian can be contacted at the click of a button. Within hours of a child being assessed, an automated email notification can be sent via the built-in Course Pro interface.
On receiving the email, parents can log into their online Course Pro account to pick and choose the most suitable date and time available.
This functionality frees up both the reception staff and swim managers, as well as enabling parents to be more involved in their child’s progress, in their own time, and without having to queue at reception or wait on the phone lines.
According to SLL and InspireAll, Course Pro has greatly cut administration time, freeing up staff for other areas.
One Leisure’s Huntingdon team wanted to pursue a digital transformation by moving from an on-premise infrastructure to a cloud-based solution. They were seeking to remove internal barriers and build a more efficient working practice using central IT.
They decided to take a phased approach to the Gladstone Cloud, which involved migrating a multi-database signature environment to a dedicated area in the cloud. This effectively mirrors the on-premise environment, as well as providing all the benefits of a managed infrastructure in the cloud.
This move means One Leisure can now adopt new technology faster, reduce reliance on internal IT services, and work on projects where innovation is at the forefront. Overall, services are more efficient and the organisation can provide an elevated digital experience for customers.
Gladstone and the One Leisure team are committed to their journey to the cloud and its ability to remove operational challenges. The adoption of a phased approach has also enabled One Leisure to start the journey at its own pace.
