A loyalty program is an important part of successful fitness club brand development. It helps not only to attract new clients, but also to create long-term brand relationships with existing clients. Ultimately, it increases the revenue of clubs - both owned and franchised - and makes them more competitive.
In the case of the fitness business, a well-built loyalty program also helps to stimulate the purchase of high-margin additional services at the brand's clubs: personal training, spa and tanning services, meals at the fitness bar, and so on.
The XFIT brand has its own loyalty program. All club members are automatically included in it. They receive 1000 welcome bonuses, which can be used to pay up to 20% of the cost of goods and services in fitness clubs. Further, the status of a member, and with it the percentage of accrual increases depending on two conditions: it is either the length of membership or the total amount of expenses in XFIT. So, from the starting 5%, the bonus accrual rate can go up to 15% for “gold” users.
"It is equally important to set up communication channels with users so that they know exactly the terms of the loyalty program and can easily use it. In XFIT, this functionality is implemented in the mobile application: in the personal account you can view the current balance of points, as well as book goods or services and debit bonuses against them. Informing about new promotions for club members is also realized through standard mobile marketing mechanics: push notifications, pop-up banners when opening the application and others", - adds Irina Troska, XFIT Franchising and Development Director.
If we talk about the future of loyalty programs in the fitness industry, two key trends will be personalization and gamification. In the first case, brands will use machine learning tools to offer a person a more suitable offer based on preferences and services that he or she and other members of the brand's clubs with a similar profile use.
In the case of gamification, these are rewards for certain achievements: the number of workouts completed, attending a variety of classes, and reaching fitness goals. Points, discounts, or even prizes can be awarded for this. And with social mechanics, when a person can compare their results with other members of the brand's clubs. This becomes another incentive to keep visiting developing and going to the gym.