Gym Management 

Netflix recently made headlines when it came clean on its subscription sharing problem. Too many users are slipping passwords to friends and family. To rectify this bottom-line problem, they are pivoting to new policies and trying to stem the leak. However, if sharing passwords can make a company the size of Netflix quake, imagine its impact on small, privately held gyms. 

For gym owners, the answer to account sharing lies in digital keytags, a QR-embedded phone app nimble enough to save money and build customer loyalty. 

Gym Insight’s digital keytags eliminate unauthorized users by providing a dynamic QR code embedded in the Member App on your customer’s phone. Every time a member swipes the access panel to enter your gym and check in at the front desk, the software scrambles its digital QR code. This regular “refresh” creates a unique footprint that cannot be screen-saved and shared. 

“Account sharing” hurts gym profits.

This type of loss, which is the insurance term for theft, is a problem for small companies. Health clubs in particular rely on monthly memberships to support their core business. Few fitness centers focus strongly enough on ancillary services such as personal training and product sales to make up for weak membership numbers. 

But what happens if members are able to easily share keytags with friends and family? They’re stealing from your gym, right? Unfortunately most members – even happy, loyal ones — don’t see it that way. After all, the gym is open 24 hours a day, what’s a few hours between friends?

Unfortunately, every time an unregistered guest exercises at your gym, they’re creating two serious business concerns: 

Reduced revenue & Increased liability

Anthony Pasquale

That’s a terrible combination!

In business MBA-speak, theft-of-access increases your customer concentration. In essence, this means there are fewer customers providing more of the sales. This lopsided revenue stream can easily tip at the onset of a recession or another economic challenge.

For example, if new customer sign-ups’ slow, but members are still sharing keytags, you’re spending money to support ghost clients. Or, if client attrition outpaces new memberships, the leaky vessel lurches that much further towards capsizing. 

From this point, it takes only a string of bad luck to hurt the gym further. If an unauthorized fitness buff were to be injured onsite, they may sue. Or worse, without proper paperwork on hand, your employees might not be able to help this person quickly, leading to delays in care. 

But they’re not supposed to be on the premise. How am I liable?

You may not be held liable – gym injury lawsuits can be complicated. Often, attorneys target the equipment manufacturer. However, if the plaintiff can prove negligence, your business is in for an expensive and rocky ride. 

Realistically, though, why put your gym through this when digital keytags make it easy to avoid this situation?

Digital keytags cut costs across health clubs.

Digital entry systems are a simple investment that impact a gym’s entire revenue stream. 

For one thing, digital keytags replace a myriad of other, more expensive, physical options, including plastic RFID keycards and barcodes. With the rising price of petroleum, and shortages across supply chains, plastic cards run more than $3 each, and key orders can take several months to arrive. Instead, a single digital keytag costs only about $3 per year. per customer, and can never be lost, damaged or destroyed.

In addition, since the key is issued through a Member App, club owners save money and time. Instead of scheduling an employee to meet a new customer at the front desk, the gym owner simply sends an invite to the customer’s email address. The new member then clicks on the link and logs into their app to retrieve the digital keytag. 

Who wants to talk to a salesperson, anyway?

Technology is changing how health club owners run their business. Comprehensive solutions such as Gym Insight’s management software assist owners in retrieving and using data effectively, such as reaching out to customers through text messaging, and minimizing cancellations by providing accurate member usage information. Good tech is just making it easier for small gyms to compete with the big guys on services and rates. 

Ironically, in spite of these improvements, recent research reveals customer experience is a better barometer of client satisfaction than either price or product.

So think about that. How your member experiences your club is more important than how much they pay or what they receive for that price. 

Customer experience is their “perception of how your company treats them,” according to recent studies. Importantly, it suggests, technology is at the forefront of this change as it streamlines the sales process. Millennials in particular, according to research by Club industry, prefer not to talk to salespeople, and easy sign-up procedures minimize this natural barrier.

Why? Because with the right software in place, a prospective member can sign up for your club, retrieve their key, and enjoy their first workout without ever encountering a staff member.  

That leaves time for you to grow your club and member base on a sound financial footing without worrying about running late for a new customer.  

Join us on our The Gym Owner’s Podcast.

We’d love to hear your stories of running a gym in today’s dynamic fitness world. Feel free to contact us at 855-367-4967 or email [email protected] and ask for Anthony Pasquale. 

Gym Insight

Gym Insight is the easiest-to-use member management and member billing solution on the market. Visit us today at www.gyminsight.com.