Leisure centres have always been an important space for the surrounding community. Now, as life begins to return to normal after two disruptive years, people’s expectations have only become even higher. We’ve highlighted seven areas following research recently conducted by leisure centre experts, Legend that you need to focus on if you want to keep your members happy and coming back.
1. Deliver great value for a fair price
When members are deciding whether to renew or not, price is often a primary factor. When resources are under pressure, exercise and fitness centres can be considered a luxury.
You can try to accommodate price sensitive members by making your payment plans more flexible. Don’t lock them into long-term contacts and allow them to pause when they need to. You can also look at providing more for the price of memberships by expanding your class offering, which we will go into, in more detail below.
2. Create a culture of cleanliness
Consumers expect the highest levels of cleanliness and hygienic conditions from recreation facilities. This has become even more of a focus with the events of the last few years. Ensure that your members feel that they’re walking into a pristine and hygienic environment when they come through your doors.
3. Easy entries and exits
People don’t want to have to wind their way around entrance queues or bother with antiquated sign-in procedures. Make sure that people can get into your facility as quickly and efficiently as possible. An easy way to do this is by ensuring you’re using effective leisure centre management software.
4. Expand your offering with online classes
You don’t need to guess why internet-based workout programmes and classes have seen a huge surge in popularity over the last few years. While people are keen to get back into physical workout spaces again, these aren’t going to go away. There are ways you can accommodate this by offering your own classes digitally or even providing spaces where people can take online classes themselves.
5. Work with member’s wearables
It’s become extremely popular and almost ubiquitous for people to track every part of their fitness journey. Wearables have been a critical feature in enabling people to do this. There’s been a significant increase in the amount of wearables fitness enthusiasts have purchased since the start of the pandemic due to the need to track at home. You can provide support and integration with wearables by ensuring your equipment can interact with a good range of the most popular products. You may also allow members to upload workouts and reward the based on wearable tracking data.
6. Go wholesome with a holistic offering
There has never been a better time to be in the health and wellness industry. It’s a multi-billion dollar industry in most regions. So, expanding your offering through more holistic classes and programmes should be welcomed by leisure centres. You may want to add expert meditators or mindfulness instructors to your programmes. Your members and community are going to connect more with some options than others. Change things around until you find what works for your facility.
7. Show you care by offering more
In line with previous point, members and clients are expecting more from their health facilities. They want them to be responsive to changing trends and requirements. Are you considering adding treatment rooms for rehabilitation as well as massage or spa facilities? These are all areas that members believe that a leisure centre can offer more value. It’s these kinds of features that will keep them happy and renewing their memberships for many years to come.