(Editor's Note: This sponsored article is part of the Club Industry report, "Technology: Agent of Growth for the Health and Wellness Industry," which can be downloaded for free by going here.)
For more than a decade, the fitness technology market has been growing steadily. New fitness wearables have entered the market on a steady basis, health and fitness-focused apps have been developed by the thousands, and at-home fitness has evolved to include state-of-the-art connected equipment.
Slowly but surely, fitness technology has been moving from niche to mainstream, but in March 2020 that all changed.
Spurred by the outbreak of COVID-19 and the shutdowns that followed, fitness technology quickly moved from a “nice to have” to a “need to have”—for both consumers and fitness businesses alike—and its trajectory for steady growth became exponential almost overnight.
This acceleration of fitness tech adoption left fitness clubs in an unprecedented situation. Where before, technology had been an addition to the services clubs offered, it was now the replacement. And if fitness clubs didn’t want to become a relic of the fitness industry past, they needed to act fast.
Fortunately for fitness clubs, the situation was not as dire as it may have seemed. Yes, tech adoption rates had skyrocketed and their doors were shuttered, but this rapid pivot had also accelerated our understanding of what consumers want in a digital fitness experience.
On the top of that list? Human connection.
Given the social isolation that the pandemic has imposed, that might not seem surprising, but it wasn’t just our new quarantine lifestyles making human interaction so valuable.
Research shows that social factors can play a key role in how long and how often individuals work out and that adherence to an exercise program increases when fitness activities are completed in a group environment. It has also revealed that making fitness social can increase the enjoyment of physical activity, decrease exercise anxieties and yield additional mental benefits, such as lower stress levels, that extend past the workout.
As experts in building community and using social motivation to engage and connect with members, this was amazing news for fitness clubs. While digital fitness providers scrambled to add social elements to their products, fitness clubs simply needed to keep doing what they do best. They already had the “human element” down pat; they just needed to find a way to digitize it.
What clubs needed was a platform that put member engagement first. A solution that:
- Let them maintain their club brand and personality, but translate it from in-person to online.
- Put their team of trained fitness professionals front and center, emphasizing the importance of their knowledge and expertise in the fitness experience.
- Supported relationship-building by providing tools to connect members with club staff, such as in-app messaging, video streaming, video calls and one-on-one appointments.
- Fostered a sense of community by bringing members together in online support networks, groups and challenges.
- Extended the member experience beyond the gym doors and took a 360-degree approach to member health and wellness, including not just exercise, but nutrition, habits, sleep and mindfulness, too.
- Integrated with wearables and technology that members had already adopted, building an ecosystem of tech that supports members every minute of every day.
- Collected powerful member data that can be used to personalize fitness experiences and help trainers make data-driven recommendations to help members hit their goals.
- Fit seamlessly into the club’s existing software stack and helped streamline the entire process of going digital.
For the fitness clubs who were able to find and pivot to an online engagement-first platform that checked off all of the requirements above, the rewards were large.
Not only were they able to keep their existing members, but they were able to enter the arena as a digital content provider, tapping into markets they would have otherwise never been able to reach. In the process, they also proved that traditional businesses can succeed in the digital fitness space.
What we’ve learned from watching the first wave of fitness clubs pivot to online is this: even if this is their first foray into fitness technology because of the unique value clubs provide—with the right solution—they won’t be entering the race as just another competitor, they’ll be coming in as leaders. Reaching the 2020 fitness consumer is not about just going digital; it’s about facilitating relationships with today’s tech—going digital with a human touch.
BIO
Laura Dunlop is the senior marketing manager at Trainerize, the fitness club software making fitness accessible by empowering businesses worldwide. By combining fitness, nutrition and habit coaching with client communication, in-app payments and access to the world’s best fitness and business add-ons, Trainerize allows fitness businesses to extend the experience beyond the gym, build online communities and tap into the growing market of digital fitness enthusiasts.