“When designing our low cost gym facility, we knew immediately that the web was going to be at the centre of the business”
Members sign up for The Gym Group online and can use its Facebook page to keep up to date with news
Group, Facebook and Twitter are the biggest sources of traffi c refer- ral to its site, and are also helping the com- pany build relationships with its customers. The web has been central to The Gym
F
Group since its launch in 2008. With no joining fee, The Gym Group offers a web-based joining process and account administration as well as ‘build your own’ exercise programmes. This level of online interaction gives customers the ability to ‘co-create’ products and services via the social web. Social media – in particular Facebook and Twitter – have been essential tools for attracting new members to The Gym Group since its launch. The recently-published 2011 European Health Club Industry Web and Social Media Report, compiled by Ray Algar and sponsored by The Gym Group and its strategic suppli- ers, shows that Facebook and Twitter are currently The Gym Group’s biggest traffi c referral sources, with 8,241
ISSUE 2 2011 © cybertrek 2011
or low cost health and fi tness oper- ator The Gym
CASE STUDY FIVE THE GYM
GROUP
Facebook followers.
Almost 6,000 members interacted with The Gym Group’s page in some way during the month of January 2011 (just before the publication of the report).
The Gym Group is
now averaging between 5,500 and 7,500 hits per day on the website – 50 per cent of these hits come from existing members logging into the Members Area and visiting News sec- tions. In January, according to the repor t, there were nearly 900,000 web page views on The Gym’s web- site and 2,263 unique visitors were tracked in the same month. As members reveal more informa- tion about their lives online and share experiences with others, this ena- bles The Gym Group to develop a real, direct relationship with members. While this level of transparency can put companies under public scrutiny, The Gym Group says it sees it as a conduit to addressing any weaknesses and making improvements. “When designing our low-cost gym proposition, we knew immediately
that the web was going to be at the centre of the business,” says CEO of The Gym Group, John Treharne. “UK consumers are very web-savvy and have welcomed the ability to join online and administer their accounts. The emergence of social media plat- forms such as Facebook and Twitter has enabled us to begin building rela- tionships with our members.”
The digital agency behind The Gym
Group’s success, White Hat Media, is led by search engine optimisation and social media expert, Jeremy Spiller. “The Gym Group is one of our favour- ite success stories,” said Spiller. “We’ve been involved with building the company’s online presence from the star t and it’s great to work with an organisation that recognises and embraces the power of social media. “The online hubs we’ve developed with The Gym Group not only offer transparency and measurability, but real-time interactive communications that provide regular two way engage- ment. These have become vital tools to maintaining excellent customer serv- ice and driving growth – something The Gym Group is now renowned for.” ●
www.whitehatmedia.com
Read Leisure Management online
leisuremanagement.co.uk/digital 37
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