What to look for in gym software for marketing to save time & boost retention

The gym software for marketing features and capabilities built into the systems you use on a daily basis can make your marketing easier and more effective. What should you be looking for? How does your current software measure up? Read on to find out.

When it comes to gym marketing and member comms, your gym management software should make it easy to do the essentials. That means effective gym email marketing and SMS marketing capabilities are a must.

Email marketing gives you direct access to a captive audience. Helping you stay top of mind, build your brand, and reach members with personal, targeted marketing.

Yet, 25% of UK gym operators are not making full use of email to reach prospects and members. And 20% aren’t using it at all.

Often overlooked by gym operators, SMS marketing can be highly impactful. SMS open rates can be as high as 98%. When used strategically, text messages can help you achieve your goals fast.

Read on to find out:

Let’s get stuck in!

Your CRM: The heart of intelligent marketing

Marketing works best when it’s informed by real prospect and member behaviours and data.

Your gym CRM should be at the heart of intelligent marketing.

Delivering a 360° view of prospects and members, detailed member profiles should show you everything from visit habits to past purchases. Giving you access to powerful data for marketing.

Data that you can use to segment your audience into targeted groups. Think groups based on attendance habits, membership type, demographics, and more.

Built-in communications and marketing automation tools

As well as selecting software that contains a detailed view of each member, look for in-built gym marketing software features.

The UK Gym Operator Insights Report found that 35% of operators using email marketing are importing data from their gym CRM software into a separate marketing tool. This is a time-consuming and fiddly way to market your business.

The same research found that 29% of operators using email find the whole process very manual. And 25% say it’s time-consuming keeping mailing lists up to date.

A dedicated communications module within your gym software alleviates you of these headaches.

So, it’s quick and easy to engage prospects and members with personalised, timely messages. No switching systems, no updating mailing lists.

For example, within Xplor Gym you’ll find the Smart Messaging module. This powerful module lets you:

Make sure the software will also handle compliance for you – respecting opt-out preferences.

Guide: Email marketing for gym operators

FREE

Boost profitability and grow your business with this guide featuring 16 ready-to-use or adapt email templates.

Get your copy

Segmentation & personalisation for higher engagement

27% of UK gym operators using email marketing can’t split their audience into targeted groups. And 40% struggle with low conversion rates.

Without the ability to segment your audience into target groups, and even personalise messages, it’s inevitable that conversion will take a hit. Why? Mass messages rarely resonate with recipients like those that talk to their specific needs and interests.

Your gym software, with in-built marketing and communications capabilities, should let you filter and create segmented audiences for automated and one-off campaigns. For example:

When you’ve segmented your audience, your software should make it simple to tailor message content to individuals. So, encouraging recipients to open, read, and react to your marketing messages.

11 reasons not to sleep on email marketing

Go deeper

Email marketing is an effective, low-cost marketing channel. Learn more and find out how to overcome common challenges.

Get stuck in!

Automated triggers & journey-based messaging

Right message, right person, right time – this is the cornerstone of effective marketing. Look for software that lets you automate communications at key points in a member’s lifecycle with your business. Think:

Triggers should deliver the right message at the right time without manual effort. Boosting engagement, while leaving your team free to focus on other things.

35 AI prompts to make email marketing easier

Go deeper

No time and/or resource to write marketing emails? Use these prompts to craft winning emails fast with ChatGPT, etc.

Get stuck in!

Revenue-focused promotional campaigns

The right software will support marketing beyond member retention. So, it’s easy to create and promote offers that help you increase revenue across your business. For example:

With the right mix of one-off and automated campaigns, you can reach members with relevant offers when they’re most receptive.

New revenue streams to add

Go deeper

Strengthen your bottom line, delight members, and unlock growth opportunities.

Get stuck in!

Prospect & lead management

Your gym software should make it easy to engage both members and prospects with timely communications.

Look for functionality that lets you manage leads and prospects, nurturing them into paying members. If you have team members handling sales, use your software to automate follow-ups and send targeted messages that keep your brand front-of-mind.

Also, think about former members. With 58% of UK gym operators targeting the same demographics and/or seeing members switch to competitors, re-engaging ex-members is a must.

Use the segmentation capabilities in your software to run campaigns to win-back former members.

Win-back campaigns that work

Go deeper

Find out how to approach winning back ex-members and get 11 campaign ideas that work (and aren’t just discounts).

Get stuck in!

App marketing

Beyond email and SMS marketing functionality, look for software that gives you access to a gym member app that helps you market your business.

For example, the Xplor Active app from Xplor Gym. Available on Apple iOS and Android, with the option to customise the app to match your brand, the app lets you engage members with:

Your app should create more touchpoints with your members, which means more opportunities for effective marketing.

Marketing insights

Look for reporting capabilities that show you how your marketing efforts are performing. It should be easy to:

The wrap up…

To make marketing easier and more effective, look for gym software that centralises member data, supports segmentation, automates communications, and provides performance insights.

If you’re a multi-site operator, your software should support centralised marketing management. So, you can keep campaigns consistent across locations where needed, while allowing for local relevance.

To support marketing success, opt for software that’s easy to use with onboarding assistance to help configure messaging workflows, templates and best-practice guides, and a responsive UK-based team on hand to answer any questions you may have.

A modern system with proactive and reactive support, like Xplor Gym, gives you the tools you need to focus on strategy – not manual execution. Elevate your marketing with Xplor Gym.