Recent report by Digital Trends stated that 51% of people use their smartphones while working out. Sometimes they use it to check out their workout program, track their progress, share their achievements or connect with wearable technology.
But mobile apps have ever since have evolved to do so much more. Your fitness center apps can be a great engagement & retention tool. They solve not one but multiple business needs like:
And this is just to begin with. In a mobile-first world, it’s extremely important to have a gym mobile app or apps for all kinds of fitness studios because they can really drive your business faster than any conventional means.
Our experience of dealing with multiple fitness studios suggests that:
If 75-85% of your existing business is going to be driven by mobile apps then you certainly have to make sure that those apps are pretty good, unlike the Mindbody app which has several limitations.
Mindbody branded app is not branded in the real sense. If one were to go through Mindbody app reviews, they would realize that it's a marketplace app where customers not only discover your studio, they can discover and book classes with your competitors too.
That’s kind of like opening a YouTube channel to host your classes. Sure it doesn’t take a lot but your client can anytime switch over to another video if they feel like it. If you want to host monetizable fitness videos, then it’s best to have a dedicated website and mobile app to host your videos where your customer will have your and your attention only. More on this here.
If this were to be the case, then it makes little sense for people to pay big bucks to switch over to the Mindbody app just to lose their clients to other fitness studios rather than retain them, which dismisses the purpose of subscribing to Mindbody in the first place.
Bookee offers you apps that are fit for your Yoga, Pilates, CrossFit, or Barre studio (as well as gym mobile app) and are branded to your business needs. The moment a client downloads your app, they not just give you space in their phone, they give you space in your life.
Fitness center app then becomes not just a piece of software, it is a closed-loop environment where you and your clients are the only beings. A complete one-to-one, undivided interaction can take place where clients can truly discover and book your classes, appointments, workshops and make purchases of your in-store offerings.
Again, if apps will be driving so much business for you, they better have a great design. Take a look at the Mindbody App and you’ll know what we mean when we say that old-school, out-of-fashion, outdated apps can do more harm for your client retention than good.
Fitness center apps on the contrary have to have an intuitive and self-guiding design. That way once a client jumps on to your app via the Play Store or iOS store, they can understand its feature sets on their own.
Class booking apps have to be branded too. With Bookee, studio owners can very easily switch the colors of their fitness club app until they find the perfect fit, and then upgrade the images to create a look and feel that attracts members the most.
If you had to guide your clients to use your apps (like Mindbody App) then it would be ironic, because the ultimate purpose of a fitness class booking app is to empower your clients to drive their own fitness needs, make them independent, and self-serving, not confused and unhappy.
Now let’s jump on to some of the greatest reasons why you should zero down on a dedicated mobile app for your studio instead of Mindbody Online. Here are a few good ones:
When clients don’t have to go through a lot of hurdles just to book a single class, and they can do that at their fingertips, it automatically creates a positive feedback loop, ensuring no resistance in booking classes for a new client.
Existing clients also find it convenient to book classes & appointments or buy memberships via customer apps. The schedule is readily available and clients can see what classes and trainers are available. They can even join a waitlist or cancel a class directly from the app.
Whether it is buying a water bottle, purchasing your studio merchandise or upgrading their membership, apps make it really easy to do all that. With payment details already fed into the system, clients don’t have to worry about spending too much time making purchases.
Having your own studio app in the play store is great for branding purposes. The look and feel of the app play favorably in positioning your brand value in the mind of customers. Apps appear professional and modern than any other alternative form of booking.
Push Notifications are a great way of reaching out to your clients. Mobile apps help you inform clients about classes, and put forward reminders. You can use them to promote new classes or special offers. Even for catching up with at-risk clients, notifications can play a useful role.
Video-on-demand can open up a new revenue stream for your business. If clients can access your VOD content and specially designed courses straight from the app, then that would help you reach a wider audience and improve your online fitness business.
"Bookee’s mobile apps are extremely user friendly, and our clients keep asking us why we didn’t have them before. We were using the Mindbody app before and it was a real pain. Now we don’t have to worry about keeping track of everything, the app does it for us!”
Apps have a lot of different uses. There are different kinds of apps that fitness tech offers, similarly Bookee also has two different options:
Dedicated Fitness Center Apps
These are branded premium apps that have an entirely differentiated presence in the App Store and Play Store. Apart from all the features of the member app, they can be personalized to fit your facility, be it the logo you choose or the colors you like.
Member App
In the Bookee Member App your clients can search for your gym or studio and make the class bookings. They can download the Bookee App on the App Store or Google Play.
The best part of both apps is that they give clients direct and easy access to your studio. Once downloaded, it takes only a few seconds for a member to sign up and then book a class or buy memberships and credits from the comfort of their smartphones.
Still feel like sticking to the pen & paper model for managing your fitness business. Hop on to a 15-minute demo call with us to see how simple upgrading to modern fitness software is. Click the button below!
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