For those of you who were using our older Package Plans, you were basically going in and filling out all the necessary information: from the number of sessions to the dates and time, pricing, etc. All information basically needed to be filled out at the time of sale.
The updated Package Plans feature changes that process. Our Redesigned Package Plans will allow you to preset your usual package details prior to selling, so when it does come time for the sale—it’s ready and done—in just a few steps.
How is the new Package Plans feature?
It’s a great improvement compared to what you’ve been used to. The benefits of the new Package Plans eliminates a lot of steps during the sale, which was the goal when designing the updates to the new Package Plans feature. More steps when setting up, less steps when selling. That is our goal with Package Plans.
What can you expect from the New Package Plans feature?
Speed improvements
Ability to set end dates and auto calculate the package length
Bug fixes brought to our attention during the opt-in period
Documents can be added to packages
Clients can agree to the document during the sale of the package
Members can sign documents electronically using signature pad, touch screen, or mouse
Capability to effortlessly create predetermined plans using a 2-3 step wizard • Ability to quickly sell packages using a 3-step wizard
Flexible billing installment possibilities for your clients
Nothing beats a good stretch of fresh perspective. Our blog team took a trip for some fresh perspective on the marketing industry and we’re happy to share what we learned with all of you. Take a dive into the marketing world today, join us in our recap—and let’s get a new perspective on social media together!
Build Your Client Profiles With Social Media
Facebook is still the most popular social media platform and per its own quarterly report, an average of 50 minutes or more a day is spent on their site per person. So if the average person reads around 200 words in a minute, then an estimate of 10,000 words are read in that 50 minutes a day from Facebook users. That’s more than two chapters of the first Harry Potter or Game of Thrones book! So, what does this mean? One takeaway is the importance of personalization. If people are taking around an hour a day at minimum to engage in content relevant to their personal lives, then the messages they will want to continue reading should ideally be in line with their established preferences. These preferences can of course always be recorded in a Client Profile for future occasions such as birthdays or client anniversaries, etc. How can a business tailor their content for personalization? I would say a variety of options never fails to accomplish a personalized experience. For example, if you develop a poll post on social media you can utilise the comments section for that post as an “other” option answer. Not only does this prompt engagement among clients—it also gives them an opportunity to type their message directly to you in their own words rather than selecting an answer. I also reached out to my boss for her thoughts too!
The average amount of time that people spend per day on Facebook alone is incredibly eye opening to the opportunity it creates to engage with not only clients but attract potential clients as well. The stats learned while participating in Hubspot’s marketing event, further drove home the importance and value of crafting the right message for your audience. One tip I would give anyone looking to utilise this platform for their business would be too often check the built-in analytics to gauge how your content is performing. From there you can easily make informed decisions to tailor your message accordingly.
Great advice! Another insight from social media we learned comes from an out-of-the-box perspective. Because Facebook is so popular, what is the preference for platform access? Do clients prefer a computer, laptop or going mobile? These preferences can very well determine the presentation of your content. For example, video news content on mobile devices is commonly featured with large captions and an option for no audio. For the mobile user who may be quite literally on the go, the video then connects to them in the same way that it would for a user who is stationary. With the captions, there is no need for raising the volume or finding a quieter environment to concentrate because the content is tailored to their situation and therefore instantly digestible.
Communication Makes the Experience
In December, we mentioned the value of overlooked communications that, while may feel technically dated, can still carry an impact. Examples of these communications include ‘Thank you’ notes and—it may seem a bit contrary to recommend handwritten communication, however, to assume all our clients who use social media and technology don’t enjoy a letter can be a mistake. Not to mention we’re honoring grandpa and grandma each time we sit down and handwrite a letter. Remember that you can always double check your clients profile page under the Customer Relationship Management feature for their contact info as well as any information you have recorded for them. We also encourage watching our online webinar: How to Become A Data-Driven Powerhouse, to ensure the best is being made of your EZFacility account. You can also start an experience with members by communicating a follow-up. Follow up conversations have become somewhat prominent due to how fast communication has become so email is where to start. Our Email Marketing Tools has hundreds of templates to choose from. If you need a quick brush up on how to make use of email templates, please check our support guide here. And if you are interested in keeping in touch more than often, the EZFacility Branded App could be your best step of all! A branded app permits clients the ability to have access to your business within their smartphone. With the help of our design team, we will help you visualize the brand identity of your business into an easily accessible app from the symbol to the layout colours. Bigger buttons? You got it! No social media or carousel images? Done and Done! We’re happy to help you sculpt the app to your liking.
Self-Service is awesome
Ah Self-service. It can be seen from car rentals, hotel check-ins, gas stations, grocery stores… The list goes on and it won’t stop anytime soon due to the popularity it serves for a pleasant consumer experience. As the saying goes, convenience is king, and with the time saved throughout our day-to-day lives it would benefit more to add Member Self-Service to your time-saving helpers tools. Member Self-Service grants client access that puts them first. They can book sessions, lessons, update their contact info, pay bills, view schedules and cancel appointments online. In addition, you have the power to define requirements for bookings and package classes as well as set restrictions for members with unremitting balances. You may even open self-service to the public—enabling a bigger market audience towards your business. It wouldn’t be self-serve if it didn’t serve both your client and yourself! We welcome you to take a tour of our newly improved feature in our support center.
Here’s a marketing 101 mistake. Focusing the bulk of your time on mastering the art of your company’s services while spending very little time getting to know your audience. The result of this approach may bring forth a basket-full of good marketing materials with no specific audience to address. In marketing, a connection is vital. Without one, the project has neither beneficial use nor significant reach. It could be something as in depth as a live performance or as simple as offering a timely promotion, but if it doesn’t connect to the right audience the success is a guaranteed low mark result. So how do moms fit into this picture? Well, moms have a lot of say in the places they’ll send their children and most of that decision depends on the human connection a mother feels between a business. If a youth based facility or a facility with youth programs supports the following values in their marketing campaigns, they are sure to make a strong impact with mom.
Be Sincere
Remember, to create captivating content, you first must know the audience member you’re trying to reach. Mom’s value honesty. In their children, family and friends, so. being an authentic voice will attract them to your business. A trustworthy connection with your audience should be an action of intention to create a sense of comfort for the mothers you are targeting. The most brilliant piece of writing material with compelling high quality photos won’t draw in moms if the content doesn’t have a concise and clear message.
Be Swift
Mom likes getting right to the point and they want that point to be short and sweet. The bolder, more straightforward the message, the better for mom because she has a lot of things to do. In fact, according to a Pew Research study, moms have less leisure times than dads, so is the length of your message is incredibly valuable. If you need recommendations of presentation length, a study from the Pew Research Center for Excellence in Journalism reports that the most popular videos online range from 2-5 minutes, so it’s best to keep presentations within that time frame. For example, we filmed a video featuring Wendi Bulkley, Director of Washington City Community Center, reviewing our Community Center Software at 3 minutes and 2 seconds. (Hi Wendi, if you’re reading!)
Be You and Be Brave About It
What makes your facility exclusive from say the public pool? Once you discover the specialty of your facility, make sure to carry that uniqueness into your project. For example, let’s say there’s a facility called Amazing Tigerjaw Climbing School for grades 5-8 and it’s all the rage with local children. A mother named Anna has two kids, one in fifth grade and another in seventh grade, who want to go, but Anna is hesitant. To assure mom’s like Anna, Amazing Tigerjaw shares their safety standards on both their website and social media, as well as photos and videos of their sessions in accordance to their safety standards to confirm a balance of fun and safety. To make sure Anna and all their current and potential clients see this,, Amazing Tigerjaw also places their safety policy on the front of their website and at the end of every email they send out with a handy Marketing Tool.
Although the example is fictional, a facility that showcases a strong awareness of safety will have a real impact on moms. It will make them feel both comfortable and satisfied, knowing their child will be safe while having fun! And you’ll be having fun as well because having a mom as a client is having a client who values your business and you!
Congratulations! Your business has been recognized in an extraordinary manner. Whether it be an honorary title, a rave review or newly awarded achievement—it’s a wonderful accomplishment worth sharing. You can certainly make a quick capture of a moment to post for social media or you can apply more strategy to make the content last longer. And why not? It’s a special moment worth remembering! Below is a list of thoughtful approaches in expanding both the reach and length of self-promoting content.
Show Rather Than Tell
Recently, EZFacility received recognition as achieving the number 9 spot in Capterra’s Top 20 Most Popular Membership Management Software. If you’ve been to our company page, you already know that EZFacility started at a modest size and then grew to fantastic proportions thanks to hard work and a dedicated team which helped us earn this spot. To exemplify our appreciation, we shared content focusing one what best represents the success of our software: our client’s successes. On both Twitter and Facebook we shared precisely that and as seen, the act of showing rather than telling expresses a more visual representation of that success. When celebrating positive news, it’s great to make sure the presentation of the message is bright as the content itself!
Think Before You Use Hashtags
Hashtags are a great way to be seen by both new people and potential clients. For newcomers to social media, a hashtag is a short phrase following the # symbol that identifies a social media post as a topic. For example, if someone were to post about how they met a goal of performing 100 push-ups a day, they may write a hashtag #PracticeMakesPerfect or #LifeGoals at the end to encapsulate the message of their post as a lesson of dedication. If a popular hashtag is used by a mass amount of users in the same time period, then the hashtag will trend and become visible for all users to see what’s trending on social media. It’s important to make sure a hashtag has some relevancy to the post and there’s no space between the text. If not, then the post will neither reach their targeted audience nor the maximum range of its audience. #HashtagsDoneRight
Build Up Anticipation
Content featuring surprises can gain quite a lot of attention. Think of the news headlines that read “You Won’t Believe This.” and “What You Hear Will Shock You”. These are sentences meant to grab your attention and while successful they are dramatic and we don’t want to turn authentic social media posts into that! Ideally, we would like to introduce intrigue to the presentation but not too much at the risk of oversaturating the content. One method is by making an announcement for your announcement. For example, we did a short tease post on social media about an upcoming blog post to be released in the afternoon. Note how we included a timestamp on when the reveal would be to keep audiences engaged. Using time effectively within a modest range gives the audience less of a burden to check back and less time to wait!
Make it Accessible Across Social Media Accounts
Spreading self-promotional material across your different social media account platforms is ideal but what’s better is to alter the content to fit the best practices of the social media account. One of the best references to find the style of each social media post is to look at examples from other accounts you follow (and that means competition as well!). Most pictures on Instagram have dynamic angles whereas photos on Facebook have a traditional ‘photo album’ appearance. Catering the presentation to your social media accounts will create for a significant impact for varying platform audiences.
Congratulations! You have achieved the dream of opening your own gym or personal training facility. Your initial marketing campaign was such a success that your membership numbers have gone through the roof and many of your fitness classes are oversubscribed. It all sounds wonderful, however, as your business grows unfortunately so does the administration and tasks. Administration tasks that can take you away from offering first class support to help your members achieve their fitness goals. It’s great to be kept busy by clients on the increase, signing up and joining classes but there is a price to pay if it all becomes too overwhelming. The wheels of progress can collapse in two ways:
1) The administration tasks become overwhelming and this results in mistakes. – Too many clients turn up for a class due to incomplete bookings for previous clients, resulting in a double booking and therefore not enough space for everyone. – So either you allow everyone to participate anyway – even though there are too many clients – resulting in a cramped, stressful environment. Or you have to turn away some clients even though you were meant to have booked them in – and again they’re stressed, – Or maybe you’re letting clients in without a package by mistake so they are attending classes without sufficient monitoring. So clients end up coming to classes without paying. There was frequent rescheduling but the action wasn’t sufficiently monitored enough so the class ends up being surprisingly empty. 2) The other scenario is you’re on top of the administration tasks but it’s taking you forever and stopping you from actually leading those fitness classes or guiding your members to reach those fitness goals you helped them set when they joined your facility.
In the April edition of Gym Owner Monthly Magazine, Gym Owner of the month – Nick Pugliese from Bornefit – listed one of the main reasons for the success of his new facility is because they know their members on a personal level and create a family atmosphere within the gym that urges people to come and train.
However, it is possible to be up to date on your admin without it taking over your life while still engaging with your customers and ensuring they feel welcome at all times. If you give clients a way in which they can book their own classes or personal training sessions online, or through a mobile app, then they are in total control of scheduling themselves. Not to mention all of that time spent in administration tasks is now back on your side for however you see fit!
Using EZFacility’s self-service module or branded mobile app can get you there. Our clients can see what classes you are offering, how many spaces are available based off the maximum class numbers that you set and book into the ones that suit them. When a class is full, it’s full – no double bookings! No crammed classes!
You may be thinking how a ‘family feel’ of a facility stays intact if clients are not engaging with anyone when they are making a class reservation? Well, with the branded mobile app you can share facility information, photos and videos to keep your clients informed as well as sending “Push Notifications” to update clients about class availability, recent news, events and more. Keeping that family feeling 24/7 rather than whenever members pop in. Furthermore, you can create virtual coupons and market current promotions to your clients. What better way to keep engaged with your clients in the modern day at any given time!
The following is an EZFacility blog that was printed in the National Fitness Trade Journal Spring 2017 edition.
Manager, Director, Leader. These are some titles you’ve earned before becoming the business owner. As the business owner, you have effectively attained the right to control your business identity, and every business owner of course, should have control.
The funny thing is though, clients want control too and in today’s digital environment there are many ways to pull off the ol’ smoke and mirrors trick to keep clients happy while still guiding the identity of your business.
But this is where we should stop.
A big aspect of your business identity is its relationship with your clients. Tricks should never be an approach to any relationship not the start of an honest business. It should also never become a last resort for any matter of business because then the business identity turns into The Ventriloquist, making clients “believe they are in charge” when they’re actually the dummy, thus increasing the risk of a fallout.
When energy radiates within a team, productivity is at its peak. The spread of energy through a motivational speech has an incredible effect on the audience. Think of pro wrestling and game show hosts as examples of different energy. Both use short, simple phrases but bring the same stimulation from their audience. But there is a difference between both examples. The difference is confidence and enthusiasm.
Enthusiasm & Confidence
“Just do it!” and “You got this!” are much more different than what we think. Confidence is a buildup of self-esteem from within whereas enthusiasm has a higher chance of reaching a broader audience. When publishing outlets share motivational stories, they narrate the content with phrases like “This man reminds us to never give up!” that engage the audience and make them feel related to the story. Most motivational stories on their own, carry confidence rather than enthusiasm, so it is often the messenger’s job to add detail around the story to reach the audience.
Highlight the Little Things
Social media has brought attention to a lot of the little things in life. Relatable images, gifs and such are shared, spread, and watched by the millions of viewers every day. But popularity isn’t the only reason to highlight the little goals in your business, it’s a great opportunity to boost the human aspect of your business. A staff member got to the office extra early? Ask them to take a selfie and share it on your Twitter/FB page. Did someone bring a homemade healthy workout meal with them to work? Ask them to post a picture with the recipe in the text. You can even be a bit more marketing savvy and release ingredients only to the followers who like your post to encourage follower engagement!
Getting To Know Your Team More
Knowing your staff should be just as important as knowing your clientele. Which is a seemingly obvious standard for maintaining a good work ethic. However, going a bit deeper can also improve productivity in some areas. One way to start this objective is to identify the reactive and the active individuals in your group. It’s possible that not all members of your team will be recipient to situations in the same manner. For example, if a child has a minor injury while playing sports, one staff may go to the child first while another may contact the first aid kit. Both reactions are right in their own way, but effectively determining the character of each staff member can help you decide who and where to assign your team members.
Each and every individual that enters your facility carries an untapped potential for the benefit of your business. They harness the power of representing your business as well as sources for free business advice. Now the question is, what are the steps to get this power up and running? The answer isn’t as hard as you think, not when there’s only one main goal that matters—and that goal is: an established level of comfort. As long as you know your clients will feel welcome, the possibilities are endless. Here are just a few.
Suggestion Boxes
“Hey you know what you should do?” No doubt you’ve heard this before. Suggestions, while helpful, can be overwhelming when there’s no physical place to store them for actual consideration. This is why creating a visible suggestion box is a valuable asset when considering adding new additions to your gym. Considering adding dance fitness classes at last? Turns out eight members had the exact same thought! Always make sure to thank them for their suggestions and share how their input was in alignment with your ideas. Clients will feel valued to know their thought was in line with a place where they spend their time and money.
Shout-outs on Social Media
Appreciation that extends beyond face to face communication is not mandatory but it does put your business in the perfect human spotlight on social media. There’s a quite a difference between the impact of a scripted performance compared to something completely improvised. It’s why spontaneous acts of entertainment get so much media attention, a phenomenon that can even be dated beyond America’s Funniest Home videos.
Contests
Who doesn’t want a little fun competition? The mere mention of a contest can bring about the wonderful effect of maximum audience engagement. Why? You know the answers. It’s what’s guaranteed at the end of every contest and practically commands the participation rate of the event itself. The prizes. The glory and the bragging rights. When it comes to the prize itself, however it never hurts to get creative. As long as the reward bears some relevance to your business it’s certainly prize worthy.
Record Boards
In the same fashion of world record books, your gym can also have a place of fame for all different types of categories. Avoid a divider between the go-getters and beginners by setting up a variety of titles to win, from most push-ups in a day to longest run of fitness jokes. Another great suggestion would be to have a suggestion box for members to add in their ideas on what new categories could be added to the board. The longest conga line of joggers? Why not?
Appreciation Displays
In contrast to a record wall, an appreciation wall highlights achievements that happen outside and show a human size to your gym. The little things that go untold. This is also where you get to give power to your loyal of customers and give them a platform. An appreciation wall doesn’t need limits to a piece of paper saying thank you. It can be photo collage or published short bio. You could even take advantage of our Photo ID’s & Player Passes feature and customize client cards with their newly earned title! Turning a simple action into a personalized memory will make both a powerful and positive impact on your client.
Although it does take planning, the approach on how to unlock these special powers isn’t as hard as initially believed. Once customer morale has built up on positive vibes and human elements, the identity of each customer becomes a part of something greater. A solid community. A family.
Warning: This is going to be a hard read if you’re eating.
It’s a bit ironic, that facilities for our health can pose bacterial harm if not properly cleaned. Although places like gyms are not number one on the list of highly germ populated public locations, they can be one of the most common areas to contract bacteria.
Nobody wants to think about all these microscopic germs and particles that coexist among us but to have a healthy fitness center inside and out, one must be properly equipped with both the knowledge, products and —oh your facility is well cleaned? Excellent! Now, how much do you spread that information around? It’s very well worth turning a quick spotlight on the cleanliness of your facility. Especially when the USA ranks number 28 out of the 188 healthiest nations despite being one of the most health data indulgent countries in the world.
So it wouldn’t be such a bad idea to remind the public you care about the shape of your gym right? Right! Here’s how to take advantage of a hygienic presence.
Provide Easy Access For Sanitation
You sneeze and there’s no tissue in sight. Here’s a worse situation. You sneeze into a tissue and there’s no trash container nearby! Avoid these minor inconveniences by providing disposable soaps, hand wipes or non-alcoholic hand sanitizers and easily accessible waste bins throughout your facility so your clients don’t have to interrupt their workout for long. They don’t have to be every two feet but a good presence of complementary products will give members a good impression of cleanliness in association with your business identity.
Establish You Have a Cleaning Schedule
Whenever that time for the full scrub overhaul of your facility comes around—that’s the chance to show off your results. Take a picture of your pristine facility and post in online. You could even incorporate fitness into the mix because who say’s scrubbing an entire building isn’t a workout? Or that just the act of cleaning is the only sign of a healthy gym? Share pictures of upgrades, new installations, or even a photo of yourself arriving early! Fresh products, an active mind, and up to date materials express not just a business but a business owner who knows when to make the right decision.
Signs & Reminders
One of the most common of contagions caught at facilities of mobility are skin infections. (Gross I know, but stay with me.) The reasons for these skin infections are due to the unfortunate contact with deposits of leftover sweat on shared exercise equipment and or materials. (How are you doing? Good! We’re going get through this!) The best way this can be avoided is reminders such as: “Always Wash Hands After A Workout”, “Shower after A Swim Please.” and “Remember Scandals On While Showering”. Have any of these signs in your gym? Personalize them a bit, maybe station yourself in front of it for a quick selfie on social media. The more human involvement the better. Just no sweat!
Show you’re a good example
The image of the business owner and staff is everything. Clean clothes clean hair etc. We’re not suggesting to have your staff share their selfies all over your social media but rather to have them included within photos of otherwise stagnant objects. Have cool new health advice to share about pink noises and its ability to improve sleep? Send out an email to you clients! Have new flyers ready to be sent out around the local area? Have one of your staff smiling on the side and snap a picture for social media sharing! There are numerous ways to apply human engagement and interactions to health and safety measures. One way to ensure you have someone on the floor making it happen is with our Employee Time Clock feature. Set up a task for the staff member of your choice so there’s no confusion on whose job it is to post selfies with the clients!
If you are wondering more about effective examples of gym management software, we recommend signing up for a free demonstration of one the most highly experienced, ranked, and trusted gym management software solutions.
What do your classes look like and how would you describe them? Are they the same compared to other facilities? Some of the smallest alterations to your most standard classes can help put your facility back on the radar again. With just a little bit of out-of-box thinking, the steps to revolutionizing your facility can be made possible. We thought of three suggestions to get your creativity going on what can be done to spice things up. Continue reading “3 Simple Gym Class Makeovers For Instructors”→
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