When you think of a fitness center you likely think energy, movement and enthusiasm. You picture bubbly, passionate professionals pumping inspiring tunes and delivering killer workouts.
You don’t picture individuals sitting over a laptop for hours and working their way through all the boring (but necessary) tasks required in running a successful fitness studio. And we’d bet it’s not what you envisaged when you thought about opening your own fitness studio either.
Get back to what you love with a fitness studio management software that does all the heavy lifting for you!
But First, What is Fitness Studio Management Software?
Fitness studio management software automates the little things and gives you more time to focus on the big picture. It streamlines workflows, unifies processes, and cuts down on day-to-day duties by working seamlessly in the background to support your business. Plus, it gives you access to all your data and information in one convenient and easily accessible location.
Why is Fitness Studio Management Software Important?
2020 saw fitness studio and health club owners pivoting their business - and fast! As we were required to conduct all aspects of our lives from the confines of our homes, our eyes were opened to the ease of online workouts and bitesize sweat sessions that don’t require so much commitment.
More than a year later, the landscape has changed. In 2020, American health clubs and fitness studios lost $15 billion in revenue and 480,000 jobs, meaning the need for efficiencies and money saving strategies has undoubtedly increased.
But with estimates showing there’s 201,000 global fitness studios, how do you ensure they choose yours?
With a fitness studio management software that elevates their experience, makes you stand out and gives you an edge over competitors in an industry that’s worth $87.23 billion!
The right software can even reduce your technology costs by up to 80%!
Let's break down the benefits...
1. Centralize Your Database
With a fitness studio management software, all your data is stored in one convenient and centralized database. This saves time because anyone that requires insights can jump straight in and get an accurate picture of the business.
It also enables members to visit any of your studios and have their information readily available - making it much easier for you to manage members across different locations.
Say you own several fitness studio locations and operate each with a different database. However, one of your members is on a business trip and wants to pop into a nearby studio for a yoga class. The front desk team at the new studio would need to manually hunt down their profile on the other database – creating a painful and time-consuming experience for the guest and the team.
Know more about: Fitness database management system
2. Speed up Scheduling
With an all-in-one management solution everything is in one place, meaning that scheduling and managing classes is much faster and easier. Plus, instructors can easily view class rosters online or on a mobile device on the go.
An instructor not able to make a class? No problem!
A previously stress-inducing scenario is made as simple as a tap of a button. The instructor app empowers trainers to own their entire schedule, see who is signed up, manage check-in and request a substitute teacher. Plus, with optional substitution approvals you always have seamless insights into what is going on.
Know more about: Fitness scheduling software
3. Empower Members
Students expect to be able to engage effortlessly with brands. Chances are if their experience isn’t quick and easy, they’ll head over to a studio where it is.
A fitness studio management software creates a fast, seamless, elevated experience for your members every step of the way.
Guests are empowered to own their profile online, including seeing what classes they’re booked on to, complete consent forms, purchase retail products, check-in and out, all on their mobile device. They can also track their class history, payments and goals without needing to call you and ask questions.
All these self-serve features not only create an extraordinary student experience, but they also free your instructors from the front desk as it’s no longer necessary to have someone always manning reception.
4. Maintain Engagement
Automated email and text messages ensure students are always up to date with classes they’ve booked on to and reminded so they don’t forget about their class in the mix of their busy lives.
Sending these reminders ensures your studio stays top of mind and maximizes class attendance by preventing no-shows and last-minute cancellations. It also keeps students engaged and nurtures them into loyal, happy members. Plus, for a personal touch, instructors can use integrated messaging to educate and connect with students outside of class.
5. Nurture Long-Lasting Memberships
Fill every class and pump up your member count by nurturing first-time customers into long-term members, without the time commitment.
Keep these drop-in guests from dropping-off by offering them the right packages and memberships. And nurture them with “always on’ marketing campaigns that result in more prospects, more referrals, and more revenue per member.
Integrated lead and sales management features ensure you can quickly pull their details in your centralized database and create an audience segment of all these users to target with automated offers that get them to come back – without the time or paperwork.
Consider this...
You own a yoga studio and notice several students aren’t members but practice at least 4 times a month. You could create a target segment that focuses on these students and send an email campaign that explains the benefits of getting a membership and possibly adding an incentive like a first month free with new membership.
Know more about: Fitness membership management software
6. Make Billing a Breeze
Wave goodbye to manual invoices and painful spreadsheets, eliminate reliance on a front desk team and speed up the checkout process for instructors. Your team no longer needs to spend time collecting fees for late cancellations or no-shows, these are auto collected from cards saved on file. Also, invoices can be auto-closed if a guest has a package or memberships making it much quicker to close outstanding invoices and head home at the end of the day.
All of these factors enable instructors to focus their energy on delivering incredible workouts, creating an amazing student experience, and upselling products and packages.
7. Improve Inventory Management
Modern inventory counts don’t require pen & paper! Ditch the clipboard and use your inventory management software and mobile app to scan and enter product counts for accurate information and one clear view of all stock across every studio location. And you can even choose to manage product set up at head office level or studio level depending on what best suits your needs.
If your members at a particular location love a specific product while it’s just collecting dust at another, you can quickly set up a transfer order and send the products to the other studio. This ensures the products enter the system and arrive at the new location as quickly as possible so you can get them on the shelves and into the students’ hands!
8. Cater to Every Student
While in-person classes will never be replaced, and the research clearly shows students are keen to return to the studio, individuals are likely going to continue convenient at-home workouts in some capacity.
So, software that offers easy integration capabilities with video platforms, such as Zoom, will have long-term business benefits and enable you to cater to every student’s need by providing the freedom to continue offering virtual classes alongside in-person. The right fitness studio management software will already have these integrations taken care of and automatically handle every aspect of the class, freeing your instructors up from having to interact with Zoom and enabling them to focus on their students instead!
To learn more, read our free e-book about How to choose the right technology that helps your weight loss center grow
Let Us Do the Heavy Lifting
With Zenoti you access a fitness studio management software that streamlines your processes, elevates your brand experience, attracts new members, and ensures your fitness studio prospers in 2021 and beyond.
Find our more here.
