Marketing for gyms: the customer experience in fitness equipment

The fitness industry, at this time, is characterized by two essential aspects, such as high competitiveness and, therefore, the need to differentiate itself from competitors, and the great challenge of customer retention, complicated by the difficulty of getting a majority of users without a training habit to assimilate it. In this sense, one of the most effective tools to respond to this situation is the management of Customer Experience (the customer experience in their contacts with our service/product).

Customer experience planning must begin with a thorough analysis of the so-called buyer's journey. To do this, we must put ourselves in the shoes of the potential customer from their first contacts with the brand we manage.

In this sense, we must evaluate our rankings in the SERP's that measure SEO for the different keywords (93% of buying processes start with Google searches); the visual impact of our facilities and equipment; the impressions that our staff can generate; the ease offered by our information and customer registration processes; the technical customer service procedures (initial evaluation, periodic follow-up, feedback, etc.); the specific perceptions that the client enjoys in fitness rooms or during group classes and, in general, we must rethink these moments to avoid any reason for friction and, going further, to provoke sensory seduction.

By managing these items, we will achieve that the somatic labels, which are generated in the mind of the interested party in the first moments of evaluation, are of positive rating of the experience. This will provide a much wider and more permissive range of tolerance for possible friction. Obviously, this will be of great help to us when it comes to building customer loyalty.

Addressing everything that the management of customer experience management In an article it would be overwhelming, but we can provide you with some tips that can make a decisive contribution to improving these processes.

• BET ON DESIGN

People begin to evaluate experiences, services and products, subconsciously, from the second zero and from their first perceptions, which are usually visual. Therefore, attractive designs (brand image, communications, equipment, etc.) have enormous power to connect with the customer.

• TAKE MAXIMUM CARE OF FIRST IMPRESSIONS

Aspects such as the attractiveness of the website, the façade of your premises, the interior decoration and the distribution of spaces are substantive. In this sense, having experts in image, decoration, interior design, etc. is not an option, if we want to be truly competitive.

• DEVELOP EASY AND FAST CUSTOMER SERVICE PROCESSES

Both online, on the telephone and in person, the potential customer hates waiting, cumbersome processes and depersonalized service. Few feelings are as frustrating when it comes to accessing a product or service as facing processes and feeling difficult to understand or follow the proposed steps.

• INCLUDE CLEARLY DIFFERENTIATING ELEMENTS

Although each company must develop its strategy based on its competitive advantages, when implementing them it must have resources consistent with that position. For example, if a results-oriented service is offered, technological applications such as software or apps that provide feedback to the user are extremely interesting.

• SEDUCE WITH EXPERIENCE

People only buy services that they need or that they fall in love with and, as an expert in neuromarketing, I assure you that, if you manage to make them fall in love with them, you will become a necessity. At this point, the combination of a very pleasant physical environment with exquisite personal treatment are key.

• CUSTOMERS WANT AN EXCITING PLAN

A customer experience isn't complete if it's infrequent, especially because it's not going to deliver results. Therefore, my recommendation is to use pedagogy to make the client understand the importance of committing to a program of long-term results.

• WORK ON THE ACQUISITION OF THE TRAINING HABIT

In fact, for novice customers, the initial goal should not be to lose x kilograms or improve their squat. It should be to get into the habit of training. For this reason, it is crucial to enjoy each training session. In this sense, group sessions can be of great help and, even more so if they are accompanied, by distracting elements (highly sensory experiences such as those provided by gamification are of great value).

• INCLUDE TRENDING DEMANDS

Although, as we have indicated, the positions of fitness businesses can and should be differentiated, they must also include responding to social demands in terms of training activities and methodologies such as HIIT, HIST or Functional Training.

As a final conclusion that will help us establish the direction of our management of Customer Experience, we must bear in mind that PEOPLE DON'T BUY PRODUCTS, THEY BUY BETTER VERSIONS OF THEMSELVES.

‍