RETENTION SOFTWARE
tapping their foot or driving a car; FitPoints are awarded for the actual physical activity completed. “If tracking systems are to receive
the wider support of the health promotion community, we must be able to prove that the activity measures are real. At the same time, there’s no ‘one size fi ts all’ when it comes to a rewards programme. FitPoints are tailored to the individual – the 10 minutes that the retired teacher puts in on the bike are worth as much as a 10-minute interval run by a seasoned athlete – which keeps everything attainable.” FitPoints are automatically recorded
when a member logs on to FitLinxx. Every minute of cardio exercise earns the member fi ve points; 10 points for every strength station; and one point for every 100lbs lifted. Members progress through various award levels, ranging from ‘White’ (15,000 FitPoints) to
‘Platinum’ (500,000 FitPoints). Facilities can use points as they wish,
but for example could reward 2,500 points with a free cup of coffee, 15,000 points with a PT session and 125,000 points with a free month of membership. When analysing the impact on
retention, FitLinxx compared nine leisure sites managed by a leisure trust. Three were using FitLinxx technology, and these three sites reported 15 per cent better retention rates than the other six centres that hadn’t yet rolled out the tracking technology.
Healthy competition Financial rewards are proving a successful tactic for US-based company Pact (originally launched as GymPact – see also p44). Compatible with both iOS and Android, the Pact app tracks increased exercise and healthy eating,
Technogym’s Challenge app helps clubs manage and measure member challenges
allowing users to earn cash paid by other members who fail to reach their weekly goals. And the data is robust:
“GPS and photos are used as evidence for honest exercise reporting. All actions must be verified in order for them to count towards a Pact,” says Marissa Window, Pact marketing lead. The app has motivated 6.5 million workouts since its launch in 2012, and is used by gym-goers for an average of six to nine months. Also tapping into the competitive
nature of today’s members, Technogym’s Challenge app allows operators to create, manage and measure effective member challenges via an online portal – challenges based not only on number of gym visits, but also on intensity of movement, calories burned and distance travelled. Launched in 2012, the app sits on the mywellness cloud platform, with a live leaderboard spurring members on to achieve higher rankings and – if the operator wishes – prize wins. Not only does this approach help
clubs build a relationship with their members, but it also establishes a club community – both factors that research has shown time and again to positively impact on retention.
Virtual rewards Goal-setting is another way to motivate increased physical activity. Precor’s Preva Personal Accounts allows exercisers to set long- and short-term goals and choose relevant targets based on distance, calories or duration. Virtual rewards are then used to acknowledge
50 Read Health Club Management online at
healthclubmanagement.co.uk/digital
progress and keep members motivated towards their end goal, with badges awarded to mark milestones along the way – ‘Golden Gate’, for example, which is awarded
for burning 232 calories, the average calorie burn when walking across San Francisco’s Golden Gate Bridge. The virtual badges can be viewed in an
online gallery and shared through social media, and prove that rewards don’t have to be expensive for the operator – although feasibly an operator could allocate actual, physical rewards and prizes when members attain signifi cant milestone badges. At Wellington College’s Total Body
Gym in Berkshire, 89 per cent of the 2,500 members said that Preva increased the likelihood of them completing their workout; the gym also saw a 25 per cent reduction in membership cancellations over the course of 12 months after installing the networked system.
Time will tell… We already know that the easier it is for the user to accurately track their workout and see their results, the more likely it is that they will keep exercising and maintain their membership: Precor’s research, for example, shows that exercisers who set a weekly goal through their Preva Personal Account visit their fitness facility, on average, one and a half times more per week than those who don’t. The longer-term question we must
seek to answer, though, is this: to what extent are members motivated by their fitness goals in themselves – and to what extent do they need rewards to make them stick to the day-to-day actions needed to achieve those goals? ●
April 2014 © Cybertrek 2014
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