GLL Better UK App passes 1 million downloads

Can you tell us a little bit about GLL?

GLL is the largest public-sector fitness provider in the UK, managing 280 leisure centres in partnership with more than 50 local councils and sporting bodies.

We host a huge range of facilities and activities and with more than 13,000 staff and 58 million visitors a year, GLL really makes a difference to fitness in the UK. We exist to make community services and spaces better for everyone and to improve the health and wellbeing of local communities.

What lead you to bring myFitApp onboard as your App partner?

Before working with myFitApp, we developed an app from scratch using a low-code/no-code platform. We wanted a unique solution specific to our requirements, but this solution did not provide us with the quality and maturity that was required for our brand. We wanted a solution that could keep up with the accelerating pace of innovation and changing technology trends, but this wasn’t possible with this platform.

We scanned the market for a partner that would be able to provide us with fast and continuous innovation with a solution that focusses on a great user experience for our members. We also needed a ‘toolbox approach’ allowing us to change anything in the app ourselves.

So, how did the switch to the new App go?

We had only four weeks left on the contract with our prior solution, so asked the Innovatise team if they could achieve the rollout in this time. They committed to it and dedicated key resources to getting our 280 sites onto a new Better UK App.

Our management board were sceptical it could be done, but Innovatise proved us wrong and successfully launched the new Better UK within the deadline. Thanks to their efforts and the flexibility & architecture of the myFitApp platform, our new App went live within three weeks, fully integrated with our Leisure Management System.

Your new App launched just before the pandemic hit, how did this affect GLL?

When the pandemic struck, we realised our new App could play a critical part in keeping members engaged and healthy when they couldn’t attend our centres in person.

With myFitApp we were able to add new functionality and content including nutrition and @home fitness workouts. The flexibility of the App meant we could do this ourselves, under our control and on our schedule.

How did the App perform during lockdown?

The App assumed a critical role in our ability to deliver services to members during the pandemic and beyond. It transformed how we interact with our customers.

With the built-in @home video platform, members were able to work out from home, via both on-demand workouts and livestreams from their favourite trainers. They could also easily stay up to date with the latest COVID-related club news. The App helped us keep our members engaged and healthy whilst they couldn’t come into physical GLL centres.

And, with the new digital world we now live in, what position did the App take post lockdown?

The uptake of the App continued to grow after lockdown and when gyms re-opened, GLL made all activities including swimming and gym sessions bookable. We also used the App to keep members informed on the changing COVID guidelines and entry requirements. Reaching over 1 million downloads is a testament to the usability and strength of the platform.

Congratulations on passing 1 million App downloads! How does this make you, and the GLL team, feel?

To get to 1 million downloads in the last 18 months is a terrific achievement, showing how valuable the App is. A core part of GLL’s services, App downloads are running at over 100,000 downloads per month as our customers get back into fitness post lockdown.

It’s great to know that our members love the App as much as we do. Moreover, myFitApp allows us to serve our members both inside and outside our facilities, adapting to the hybrid fitness world.

What is the most important thing with your App now?

Our App has transformed how we interact with our customers, allowing us to react quickly to changing circumstances. Before, we couldn’t change anything on our App – with the myFitApp platform we are in full control, and we can change everything ourselves.

The platform is easy to use and adaptable, meaning we can update navigation and content in real-time, ensure our App design is consistent with our branding and open to integrate anything at any time. 

Looking back, did you get what you wanted?

We got exactly what we wanted – an off the shelf, innovative solution paired with the flexibility that you could normally only achieve with your own inhouse development. Innovatise is more than a vendor, they are always there and care about our success.

Transform your gym today

If you want to know more about how myFitApp can transform your gym and its digital offering, we are here to help!

How to perfect your pricing strategy

Are you looking to, or have recently digitised your gym? You might be wondering where to start when it comes to pricing your new or upcoming offering?

Digitisation isn’t just about the technology, it’s about how your fitness business makes money. With this being said, your pricing strategy is extremely important – if you get it right, you have the potential to generate sustainable profits.

You might be asking yourself “is my pricing competitive?” or “how many members do I need to make a profit?”. We’ve put together some top tips to help you perfect your digital offering pricing strategy.

1. Member demographics

Who are your customers? And where are they coming from? Your customer demographics are important – appealing to the right ones will help them utilise their own membership as well as recommending your offering to others, too.

You should consider:

• Income level – what level of income do your members earn? 
• Disposable income –  what are your members spending money on? What other health, entertainment or fitness products and services are they paying for?
• Age – can you offer packages that cater to both young and old? You may want to consider family deals etc.

2. What is your competition’s price point?

Have a look at the market and what other gyms are offering. You should consider what makes you different from your competitor and keep this in mind when pricing your offering.

Your customers are going to know what is being offered by other, nearby gyms and you need to understand this too. They will have a clear idea on what they expect to pay, and what they want in return for their membership fee.

You can either offer a similar style of pricing – one that is familiar and easy for customers to compare, or offer something a bit more different and stand out, highlighting the unique features and benefits of your gym compared to competitors. 

3. Position yourself in the market

Positioning looks at your brand in comparison to your competitors. Are you a high-end gym with the best digital offering or a low-end gym with a smaller digital offering? Where you position yourself will help determine your price point.

4. Consider incentives

There are a few things you might want to consider at the initial stage of your pricing, to maximise sign ups and increase retention:

• Free trial – Some customers will want to try before they commit. At this point you can make a good impression and prove the worth of your digital offering.
• Lower introductory rate – You might want to offer a percentage off for the first couple of months, this convinces members to come on board and gives you the chance to make a good impression and ensure they stay signed up. 
• Discounts – Make the most of lead generation or family and friend discounts. Because who can recommend your club as convincingly as your own members?

5. Bundle pricing vs optional pricing

Decide the pricing strategy that suits both your offering and your members.

Bundle pricing is where a member pays one rate, whether that is weekly, monthly or annually and it is all inclusive of everyday services a member may require from your facility. This is a more traditional membership pricing approach, and one that some will argue is no longer fit for the digital world we find ourselves in post-pandemic.

Optional pricing is where you can offer a lower rate for the customer to have flexibility to select what is included in their membership. This is a good place to start for a hybrid fitness offering as members can scale their membership up or down depending on what they want. For example, some members may want a digital only membership whereas some may want to use both in-centre facilities and have a digital membership. You can then offer different prices according to what they are using. 

Need more information?

Want to find out more about how you can price your digital offering? We’re here to help!

7 ways to make your new digital offering a success

Whilst lockdown restrictions have been lifted across the UK, there is still a requirement to provide your members with a digital offering.

With uncertainties surrounding the spread of Covid-19, and as we enter the winter months, you need to be prepared for changes to how your gym is to operate, to be enforced at any time. The best way to future proof your business is with a hybrid fitness offering.

Things to consider for a hybrid fitness offering:

• A branded member App – gym, swim & class bookings. News and club updates. Marketing automation & push notifcations to keep your members informed.
• At home – on demand workouts. Livestreams, re-streams & third party content.
• Access control – an easier way for members to access your club and register attendance.
• Lead generation – using your own current members as a sales tool to generate new members.
• Monetisation – new revenue opportunities through digital memberships.

We understand the new digital world can be daunting, so we have provided you with some tips to help you make your gym, leisure centre or health club thrive with a digital offering. Take these steps when going hybrid…

1. Why?

Ask yourself why do you need to go digital? There may be certain problems you’re trying to solve, or member needs you are trying to meet.

We know the ‘why’ at this point in time is to ensure your business will succeed in a new, post-lockdown, digital world and to keep up with the ever-changing restrictions that have been in force and may continue to be faced in the future. Not only this, but the new hybrid fitness model gives you the opportunity to generate more revenue with a new, digital offering.

Your offering needs to be member-centric, so it’s important you understand your customers needs and wants to help you prioritise the solutions to offer.

2. Choose your digital partner

Your partner should reflect not only your brand but also your business model. Any technology you implement needs to compliment your future plan and goals.

Make sure the tech does everything you need, from livestreams and re-streams to marketing and commerce, there’s a lot out there to get your head around. Use your answers to ‘why you need a digital offering’ to guide your decisions.

You also need to ensure you trust your provider to be there to give you the support and guidance you need to make your digital offering a success. Our Customer Success Team will be happy to support you before, during and after you have gone live.

3. Consider your pricing strategy

It’s important to get the price tag for your digital offering correct, take some time to consider this – talk to your partner for advice and guidance if this is something that is new to you.

Things to consider:

• Are you looking to make a profit?
• Do you want to enhance the current customer experience or bring on new members, or both?
• Will you have a ‘digital only’ membership offering?

Need further support with this? Read our pricing strategy blog here.

4. Communicate

Spread the word about your new offering. You need to be considering the communication for both current members and potential new customers. Whatever digital solutions you decide to implement, you need to get creative and excite your audience! Ask your digital provider for marketing ideas and support if you require it -they’re the experts after all.

Things to consider:

• Social media campaigns
• In-centre campaigns
• Launch day promo
• Competitions to get members and prospects engaged

5. Plan your launch

It’s really important to get your launch right. Make some noise about launch day to build up the excitement amongst staff and members. Make sure your team are prepared for questions from customers, and confident in talking about your new offering. Give them a brief in advance and make sure they are trained adequately – remember your staff members can be your biggest brand advocates.

You could even run induction sessions, either virtually or in-centre, to share your exciting new offering with members and potential customers.

6. Keep the momentum going

Make sure you have a content plan in place to make sure you are talking about your new digital offering frequently, across all channels. It’s important to keep the momentum going to really maximise the potential of your new digital offering.

7. Monitor success

The joy of a digital solution is the data that comes with it! It’s important to report on and track the progress of your new solutions. This will allow you to see what’s working and what may need a little more love to get it off the ground.

You should work with your digital partner to optimise your offering. Testing and learning is all part of the process with a new digital solution – so look at what is working and do more of it! 

What are you waiting for?

If you want to know more about how myFitApp can transform your gym and its digital offering, we are here to help!

How Generation Z are changing your gym

The ‘digital natives’

Generation Z, born between 1997 and 2010, are the age group becoming more and more dominant in your gym. Certain characteristics are attributed to each generation and Generation Z are known as the generation of ‘digital natives’. They were born into a society with the Internet, cell phones, and modern technology, and of course grew up with it.

They don’t know a world without digital media and for them, the transition between virtual and reality is fluid. They mainly shop online, stay in touch via apps and social media and their smartphone is an essential everyday item.

Your future customer wants a hybrid offering

Statistics show that Gen Z first seek information about places online rather than through face-to-face contact and 70% of them already use apps or other digital offers to track their health.

Since this generation is your current and future customer, you should turn to a hybrid fitness offer to keep them engaged . Hybrid means both in gym and online at the same time. This not only includes hybrid classes, i.e. workouts that you broadcast live to members at home during a class in the studio, it also means creating a smooth experience between on-site in your gym and at home on the sofa.

Strengthen brand loyalty

You don’t need to worry that your on-site studio will soon be obsolete. Although Generation Z has a little difficulty with brand loyalty, as they are aware of the variety of offers offered by the Internet, they will continue to come to your gym if you adapt to their needs through appealing online offerings. 

Therefore, the main thing is to strengthen their trust and bond with your fitness club. With an online offering, they will see the added value and remain loyal.

Digital customer loyalty – how to implement it

Our hybrid business platform helps you to keep this generation onboard as members. We help you design and create your unique branded App, thus creating a digital gym. This allows you to offer hybrid workouts, contact your members at any time and provide them with the latest information.

They can also use your App to view the range of classes, find out more and make bookings. Even more important, your members can refer friends digitally in return for a reward, something they’re extremely used to. 

Above all, our platform offers new sales opportunities for your gym. With in-App purchase, you can also reach non-members who want to test your digital offering. These may stick with the digital membership for the time being but could also come to appreciate your physical centre further down the line.

Questions?

If you want to know more about how myFitApp can transform your gym, we are here to help!

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How to maximise your time

Now your gym is open at full capacity

With your gym, leisure centre or health club back up and running at full capacity now the lockdown restrictions have been lifted, you and your team may have less time than before to spend on your digital offering – things like livestreams, marketing and member communications.

We have put together some quick wins that will help you save time whilst maximising output: 

1. Re-streams

Now they are back in the studio, your fitness instructors may not have as much time as they once did, during the pandemic, to host as many live-streamed workout classes. You may be considering reducing the amount of streamed fitness content your members can access, but with such a large demand for at home content, why not simply re-stream past livestreams?

With an @home platform, you can simply re-use any previously streamed classes, and schedule them in the same way as a live class. This not only keeps your at home content regular for members, it also gives them a chance to attend the class that suits them. You can even add the re-streamed class to the calendar, multiple times a day. Your members get the same motivating user-experience, whenever it suits them without you having to tie-up your trainers.

2. Use your members as a sales tool

Who could recommend your club as convincingly as your own members? The answer is, no-one! With a Lead Generation module, your members can send your offer to their friends, who receive a unique code to retrieve the offer. 

Increase sales and membership numbers with minimal work – all you need to do is create a campaign and your members do the rest.

3. Schedule marketing messages ahead of time

Promote all of your content with automated push messaging, ahead of time. Whether it’s marketing automation campaigns or news with push articles, you can build your content and schedule the message to send in the future, on the appropriate day and time. Whether it’s a new class that has been added to your timetable, or centre news, with an @home solution you can target your marketing campaign to specific audiences or share with all members. Create short messages that can be sent in-App with whatever call to action you like – simple!

4. Benefit from third party content

Are you looking for ways to build up your on-demand content library quickly, without the need to take up your trainers’ time? Supplement your content with high-quality third party content, like Wexer and Les Mills. This content can be fully integrated with your own current content and gives your members access to hundreds more videos at the click of a button in your App.

5. Use your App to get feedback from members

Find out what your members want, quickly and easily, with an in-App survey. Remove the need to spend time building emails or printing feedback forms for members to complete by simply linking to an online survey from your App. You can then send members a notification asking them to complete it. This way you will be able to gather feedback quickly allowing you to concentrate your time and efforts on keeping your customers happy.

Questions?

If you want to know more about how myFitApp can transform your gym, we are here to help!

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Stream workouts to the largest screen at home

with Chromecast and Airplay 

Are your members already streaming your workouts on their TV? Thanks to Chromecast or Airplay, members can stream directly from your branded member app to the largest possible screen at home. This creates the perfect gym feeling right at home.

Thanks to the fantastic user experience of myFitApp@home, over 50% of members watch their workouts on the TV. This was the result of a recent survey of 2,500 members of our @home customer ixmal.

Easy to use

The great thing is: it’s intuitive and effortless. Integrated into your app, your members can join your workouts with your trainers from their TV or another big screen with just one click via Airplay or Chromecast.

And even if there’s no TV nearby, your members can join the workout from their laptop via Magiclink, without any additional login.

So anyone, regardless of age or device, can have a great workout experience from anywhere!

Take your live classes to the next level

Give your workout videos the platform they deserve: The biggest possible screen and therefore the full workout experience!

Pixelated workout videos belong in the past, because with myFitApp@home your digital classes shine in breathtaking HD quality and with crystal clear sound.

Normal video conferencing tools are not made for irresistible customer experiences in fitness. However, we have developed the myFitApp@home solution exactly for that. With it, we can support you in your usual professional appearance in your app.

Offer your members the complete workout experience, amazingly close to your studio experience.

Your members will love it

Great results and positive experiences are synonymous with fun for your members. This increases their motivation and produces better results. Most importantly, it strengthens the bond between your members and your trainers.

The real difference in success is the user experience, so offer your members a fantastic training experience and keep them engaged with continuous excellence. 

But you can also convince your members professionally in trial training sessions thanks to Chromecast and Airplay and thus win new members.

Show your studio in the best light with your own hybrid workout platform with myFitAppy@home and upgrade now!

Do you already have @home?

Then share the great features with others! If not, we’re always available to help. Your members will love it.

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