Having been a coach myself before getting into marketing, I’ve seen a lot of membership software. The range is vast in all areas: pricing, user friendliness, features, integration capabilities etc. It’s common to go for a budget option when starting out, but experienced business owners understand the value of investment. The best membership software I’ve seen are the ones that save time and resources for the gyms, and of course, those aren’t the cheap ones.
Last year I was happily introduced to the GymOS software (formerly Quoox). I was able to familiarise myself with the system within a few weeks. As I am mainly using the software to help clients with marketing, I have been focusing my time on a select group of features. If you use GymOS as your operating software but aren’t utilising the features listed below, I suggest you start ASAP!
Scheduled Broadcasts What I use the most frequently is the Scheduled Broadcasts. You can create and send campaigns to select groups of your database within minutes. You could send a newsletter to everyone, or reminders to your members, or create custom groups to send communications to. With all new projects, the first time you use it might take some time to figure it all out, but the handy “Clone” button makes it much easier the next time. There is also the ability to send Push Notifications to all existing app users, which is really effective if you want to promote an internal member campaign or event.
Event Triggers An often overlooked part of marketing is marketing to your current members to stay – ie member retention. The built in event triggers are an extremely effective way to automate a lot of your retention strategies. This could be member loyalty gifts, attendance reminders, or simply sending birthday wishes. Like the broadcasts, once these are set up, you don’t have to worry about it again. The Meta integration makes it exceptionally easy to send new lead communications, instead of relying on a third party software to sync up your systems.
Nurtures Arguably the most useful long term marketing strategy for your gym’s lead generation. GymOS allows you to set up multiple feature automations (for both leads and members) which can last as long as you want. Send specific emails/texts/push notifications/videos/staff reminders/surveys (the list goes on) on specific days and specific times of the day. This could be utilised for a 28-day new lead sequence, or perhaps a content drip feed for a new member. Again, it takes some time to set up your first one, but once the skeleton is done, the handy “Clone” button becomes your best friend!
Member Location Map A small but very insightful feature for setting up advertising campaigns is the member location map – found in the member snapshot section. When advertising on Meta, you can set up a targeting radius where your adverts will get shown to. Instead of guessing where to set up your adverts, you can use the GymOS built-in map to see exactly which areas your members are coming from, and target those specific areas with your adverts. **Disclaimer** It’s common that some members use an alternative address on your membership software. If you see a handful of members based a few hundred miles away on the map, use common sense and don’t target those areas with your adverts!
I use all the extensive features of GymOS with my clients, however the ones listed above I would say are critical for maximising your marketing efforts. If you’re not using these, block off some time in your diary and get it done. Your future pipeline of leads and members will thank you for it!