PROMOTION
Is your software fit for COVID-19?
Hedgehog Concept Ltd has developed software that allows its clients to track usage and customer volume on a minute to minute basis.
It will remove the inevitable queueing that will accompany block booking of time slots at predictable intervals. It will allow staff to create an environment that supports the free flow of members with total compliance of safety requirements.
There will be other challenges. Newly constructed membership models that mix-and-match different exercise experiences. New requirements for tracking member movements across a range of locations. New CRM systems that engage members with different messaging and support.
"It came as a shock to many when the government ordered a total shutdown of leisure centres, fitness clubs and parks in early March," explains David Waugh, MD. "Shockwaves started to run through the fitness industry – many operators failed to communicate a solution to their members quickly and lost thousands to cancellation. Others acted on impulse and immediately froze memberships in the hope of being able to reactivate some or all of their monthly payments at a later time. Very few could contact their member base and offer them a choice, which is what we did at Hedgehog.
“We are a small company," explains David, "and unlike some of our global competitors, we engage very closely with our clients in helping them to manage their business, and on the day of the closure announcement we were already geared up to communicate with hundreds of thousands of members and invite them to sustain a full subscription in support of the club, to make a contribution or to freeze membership. As a result, tens of thousands of members chose to continue paying some or all of their monthly contributions throughout the lockdown. We were able to achieve this thorough effective targeted differentiated messaging and systematic communication with all the members.
"We believe that now is the time for decision-makers who are working from home to review their management software and its fitness for purpose. It may be time to ask whether the relationship with your supplier will deliver the flexible solutions that you will need to compete in a transformed market environment.
"Unlike some of the global operators, Hedgehog is working every single day with its clients. Operationally, we are working to minimise cancellations and engage the membership base. Strategically we are focussed on what is happening to society and consumer preference in this unprecedented Covid-19 period.
"We are seeing hundreds of thousands of fitness consumers accessing live workouts from home. Personal trainers are now operating outdoors in parks and green spaces all over the UK. They are discovering life with no overhead. Nine million gym-goers are finding new ways to keep fit. When the UK opens up for outdoor group exercise in advance of gym openings gym-goers will form new relationships with outdoor fitness operators.
"When gyms do reopen how safe will members feel in their old gym environments? Maybe the leisure centre and gym operators need to think differently about changing member preferences and mindset. Could a more confined exercise environment form just part of a wider offer to members in the months following Covid-19? Do operators need a “corporate social distancing software solution“ that will allow clubs to manage footfall, distancing and usage very differently? It's very important that even when the fitness industry does reopen the safety of the members has to be the top priority."
Paul Callus, IT Director of Active Nation and Phil Hall Operations Director of énergie Fitness Group are of one voice when they say: “Hedgehog is a genuine partner, not simply a supplier. Totally responsive to the crisis created by COVID-19. We are fortunate to have a partner who is working tirelessly with us to secure survival and prepare for a new future through rapidly developed innovations which meet some of the new challenges we all face."
David says: "We invite you to have a conversation with us about your current software and its fitness for purpose. We have lots of experience in transitioning organisations safely and efficiently from a current operator to the new solution. We can arrange a demo at any time for you and your team, at your convenience and in your homes and we look forward to hearing from you."
David can be contacted by email: [email protected]