Fitness centers and gyms are facing increased competition from versatile workout technology, like wearable exercise bands, that are now more accessible to consumers than ever before. According to business intelligence firm IBISWorld, gyms, health and fitness centers will look to offset high capital costs and increased competition by reducing labor costs.
Wireless beacon technology, which has emerged as a powerful tool used by retailers and large venues to streamline communications with customers, can be used to achieve the same results for gyms and fitness centers. Increasing customer engagement while reducing labor expenses is a winning routine for fitness centers ready to bulk up their revenues.
Going mobile helps gyms to market to Millennials
One changing demographics that is having a large influence on how gyms will need to respond is the rise of the Millennial generation. An overwhelming number of young professionals, a major customer base for gyms and fitness centers across the country, not only own smartphones but operate much of their life around the device. Expectations for mobile functionality are increasing, noted Study Breaks Magazine. Wi-Fi access is no longer a perk, it's the standard. Beacons allow gyms and fitness centers to go one step further, and leverage the Millennial love of smartphones to boost customer engagement.
Beacons provide businesses with a direct line of communication to each customer via a cost-effective Bluetooth transmitter, like the devices designed by Digital Social Retail, and a customized smartphone app. Through the app, visitors can join the gym's membership program, download free coupons, upload workout plans designed at home, locate open machines, post their performances on social media and answer short surveys regarding newly added amenities and equipment. In addition to luring in smartphone-loving young adults with a passion for new technology, these high-tech amenities can serve as a means of increasing customer engagement from fitness lovers of every generation.
"Beacon technology can be used to offset high labor costs."
App-driven workout plans turn smartphones into personal trainers
One way that beacon technology can be used to offset high labor costs is by helping gyms and fitness centers to provide automated, virtual training programs. By creating a system of tracking customer routines and frequency of their visits, gyms can produce automatic workout suggestions that are tailored to the fitness level of the visitor using the app. With a personalized routine always on hand, the desire for the assistance of a personal trainer dips and fitness centers earn an opportunity to restructure their staff accordingly.
Beacon generated customer data help businesses to target problem areas
Busy gyms and fitness centers must account for a large amount of bustling foot traffic as visitors queue for machines and move from station to station. Locating sources of congestion and identifying which piece of equipment is creating the longest line becomes considerably easier when businesses have the ability to track customer locations in the store, and wireless beacons provide fitness centers with the tools necessary to make turn this plan into a reality.
Beacons can effortlessly collect information about customers with the gym's app on their smartphone, and compiling this data from multiple visitors provides valuable insights into the facility's hot zones and which pieces of equipment are most overlooked. Access to this data makes it simple to tailor purchases and reorganization to the needs and wants of the gym's clientele.
Truly ambitious fitness centers may even develop their own automated queuing system that alerts via nearby screens when the service or piece of equipment of their choice becomes available. A comprehensive Content Management System would make it easy to incorporate wall mounted flat screens into a gym's new marketing strategy.
