In the increasingly competitive post-covid fitness landscape, brands are trying harder than ever to gain a competitive edge. Many focus on tangible improvements, like buying new equipment and investing in facilities – which are important – but many neglect intangible elements, like branding. Focusing on improving your brand image and the perceived quality of your business can go a long way and it typically doesn’t cost the Earth. In this article, we discuss some ways that you can create a more customer-focused brand experience for your clients and hopefully establish some long-lasting relationships with them.
Hire people with the customer in mind
The types of people you employ and how they act can make a huge impact on how people perceive your brand. For example, if you hire a bunch of moody people, your brand is going to be perceived as unwelcoming. If you hire a team of people with excellent interpersonal skills, people are going to perceive your brand as friendly and fun.
Going to the gym is a social experience for many people, and a large portion of the public go to the gym solely for social reasons. This means that it’s incredibly important for your staff to be approachable and even proactive in making people feel at home, as this will dramatically improve your brand image.
Design a customer-centric company culture
This may be a little complicated for people who aren’t familiar with branding and marketing, and it should probably be left to your marketing staff or a professional. Creating a customer-centric culture means aligning your company’s culture with customer outcomes.
One major way you can foster a customer-centric culture is to incorporate empathy into your systems and procedures, as this makes your business and brand appear more human.
Creating an empathetic business culture involves listening to customers and responding to them in a personalised and meaningful way, as opposed to copy and pasting responses – or worse, sending auto-responders instead of providing real customer service.
Use gym management software
Using gym management software is a powerful way to generate insights into how your customers are feeling and how they’re perceiving your brand. By understanding what customers like and dislike using high-quality data, you can work on enhancing customer experiences by eliminating what’s unpopular and promoting what’s popular.
Not only this, but software for gyms can improve your brand experience for your customers by giving them more access points to interact with your brand. This included customer-facing apps that let them manage their details and their memberships.
It also enables you to deliver a brand experience that isn’t restricted to the four walls of your establishment. You can use gym software to send relevant, personalised messages to clients, which in itself improves brand experience because it adds a personal touch. By sending customers discount offers at the right time, for example, you can show that you care about retaining your customers.
If this sounds like something that could benefit your gym, reach out to us today.