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Trying to remain fit and healthy can be a challenge. It requires strict routine, behavioural changes and sometimes dietary changes, as well as dedicating enough of your time to notice a positive change. In the H&F industry, it’s our job to reduce this challenge as much as possible to keep people coming to our gym, club, or class.

Until the past few years, smartphones were only considered for a select few things, including social media, playing games and methods of contact. However, over the last few years, mobile apps have reconstructed health and fitness monitoring in a beneficial way for fitness lovers. A study conducted by Passport Survey on the usage of health and fitness apps found that 15% of respondents aged 18-29 look for dieting and fitness apps to help keep on top of their fitness schedules.

Now, apps have revolutionised how we’re able to run our everyday lives. Here are seven ways apps can keep customers coming back, and why your business should encourage their use or consider investing in app developers.

  1. Help their organisation

Most gyms and clubs are focused on pushing memberships, however this is a commitment that many potential customers are not prepared to make.

Apps like ClassPass allow users to see class schedules, events and current availability. Fitness apps also remind a user it’s time to begin a workout session, time activities and let the member select the intensity of their workout.

Taking away the stress of organising their fitness routine can really help motivation and focus, and it can give you a platform to upsell personal training to the most dedicated members.

  1. Social media marketing

Word of mouth is often how gyms are discovered, particularly as millennials and the younger generations tend to trust any health and fitness news shared by friends or celebrities. As social media plays a major role in the health and fitness industry, being active in the online community is a great way to establish your reputation.

Encourage your customers to post from their fitness apps to social media and remind them to tag you! This allows you to ask and answer questions, make conversation, and re-post those progress pics. Being active in the conversation increased your reach and improves your chances of attracting new customers.

  1. Workout videos

According to Aberdeen Group’s report on the benefits of marketing with video, video marketers achieve 66% more qualified leads per year, so incorporating videos into your strategy is something you don’t want to be missing out on.

Fitness classes are now able to operate outside their own walls by streaming work out videos. For those members who aren’t able to make it to a gym class or location, they can stream or watch a recorded session and stay involved.

  1. Improve brand image

We’ve touched on reputation already, and this is a big part of upholding a strong brand image. In such a saturated online environment, it can be hard for a fitness brand to stand out above the rest.

Allow (read: encourage) your customers to leave reviews either on fitness focused social media apps, or the goto third parties like Feefo. This shows prospective members that you’re a modern brand, who keeps its members heavily involved in how the place is run.

This is an excellent way to boost your brand image and reputation.

  1. Fitness trackers

The trend of the wearable fitness tracker took off and became sought after from  2015 with  the sale of 11 million Fitbits and in 2016 Apple sold 11.9 million Apple Watch units, which resulted in a 49% market share that year!

Ensure that your app, or whichever apps you recommend to your customers, supports the most popular devices. This will further entrench your establishment as part of your customer’s lifestyle and make them more loyal to you.

  1. Rewards

As well as organisation, fitness apps provide fun personalisation and gamification in the form of rewards. Receiving a reward reinforces the positive effects of exercise and sticking to a routine. The sense of satisfaction from collecting a series or virtual trophies, hitting continuous goals, and reaching the top, will keep customers feeling motivated and excited to reach new heights.

Wherever possible, be aware or even involved in this kind of progress. It may be something that you can emulate in your own app, or as part of your membership plans.

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Billy Goodwin A.K.A Skaidon (my gamertag). As you can probably tell I love gaming. You will more often than not catch me with my headset on yelling online. I also love blogging, especially about the tech industry, hence the birth of the blog ' Skaidon'. Feel free to get in touch with me anytime or if you fancy a challenge add me online using 'Skaidon'.