So, you have a vision—you want to open a gym. Well, there will be a myriad of decisions you need to make to get started. One of the most critical decisions to be made when opening a gym is to decide what your gym membership prices are going to be. Sure, it can be deliriously fun to get caught up in your logo, paint colors, and t-shirt designs. But before you start going too far down the creativity rabbit hole you’ll need to figure out how to properly set your rates to make sure you can pay your bills, your staff, and yourself. Be sure to consider each of the steps below because an effective pricing strategy will pay dividends for your fitness business.

Understand Your Market

Firstly, understand that your pricing will vary based on the kind of market you’re in. Therefore be sure to conduct lots of market research and make sure you’re hitting the pricing sweet spot. This means your prices are not so expensive that no one in your area can afford you, and not so discounted that no one in your area will value you. My husband Josh and I opened a gym in 2012, and we made a huge mistake by structuring our pricing and offerings based on what worked at a CrossFit gym in Austin, Texas that we admired. Ultimately we learned that what worked in Austin didn’t work in South Florida. In short, get to know your market intimately before you set your offerings and gym membership prices.

Decide on Your Offerings and Gym Membership Prices

Have you heard of the paradox of choice? It’s the contention by American psychologist Barry Schwartz that says eliminating consumer choices can greatly reduce anxiety for shoppers. In other words, the more choices a consumer is given, the less likely they are to buy because they become overwhelmed and skip the purchase. As a gym owner, you can use this knowledge to your advantage to limit your offerings.

We settled on three offerings at our gym: Drop-In, 8x/Month, and Unlimited Classes. Identify what the per-class rate is (your drop-in fee) and then set your gym membership prices based on that rate.

For example, if your drop-in rate is $30, then offer a discount if the client signs up for a recurring monthly membership. For the 8x/Month Membership, you could offer 10% off your per-class rate: 8 x $30 x 90% = $216. For the Unlimited Classes, you could offer 20% off your per class rate: 12 x $30 x 80% = $288. (For the Unlimited Classes, I assumed that a client with an unlimited membesrship would attend an average of 12 times per month.)

Do Some Basic Budgeting

Figure out what your monthly operating costs are. Once you know how much it costs to operate your business every month, then you can set your gym membership prices. After that be sure to keep in mind that your projected monthly operating costs will likely be an underestimation. Therefore you’ll want to provide some cushion for your business when setting your rates. Aim to price at a place where if your monthly operating expenses prove to be higher than your projection, you wouldn’t be in trouble. In addition, if finance isn’t your thing, recruit your most business-savvy friend or relative to help with the projections.

Check Your Competitor’s Rates

Do some research and find out what your direct competitors are offering and charging. You’ll likely want to be in the same ballpark as your competitors when it comes to pricing. If you’re going to charge more than your competitors, make sure you show why your product is more valuable. On the other hand, If you plan to charge less than your competitors, be sure not to undercut the price to the point where you devalue the product.

Believe in Your Pricing

When we first opened our gym, both Josh and I would cower at our prices, and even make excuses for them. Our lack of confidence in our pricing and offerings didn’t sit well with prospective athletes. If we didn’t believe in our worth, why should they? Once we came to the realization that the service we offered was absolutely worth the price, we no longer felt uncomfortable when we discussed the gym membership prices with prospects. Know your worth and believe in your price. You’ll have a hell of a time making a sale if you don’t. For instance, new business owners often fall into the trap of offering discounts, especially when they aren’t confident about their prices. Beware of this tactic—it often backfires.

In conclusion, you’ve got an amazing new season of life coming your way—you’re opening a gym! If you’re prepared for the season, you’ll do great; but if you haven’t done the work you’re in for a rough ride. Remember to take your time in setting your offerings and gym membership prices. Find some trusted advisors to review your ideas and projections with. Furthermore, keep in mind that pricing is an iterative process. Don’t expect to get it right on the first attempt, it will likely take you a few times before you get it right.

Whether you’re ready to open your doors as a new gym owner or you’re trying to build your current member base, getting new members can be quite the mission. While you may be tempted to throw out discounts on membership packages to get those new members in your doors, it’s totally possible to get new members without offering discounts.

Sure, everyone loves a bargain. However, discounting memberships can devalue your time and your brand. Alternatively, by implementing membership standards early on , such as a no-discount policy, can help your gym attract quality leads, attain max profitability, and prevent you from financial troubles at the start of your business venture.

The problem with low barrier offers

All it takes is one early financial mistake like too many discounts or a bad offer to set your business up for failure down the line. Moreover, the wrong types of discounts or offers can attract the wrong types of members that won’t stay with your business. For example, low barrier offers tend to attract low-quality leads.

For reference, a low barrier (or LBO) is generally considered to be an offer that is less than 30 days long and costs less than $100, such as “Only $99 for your first month.” Similarly, the following list of common membership discounts can also backfire later down the line in the same manner as LBOs:

• “Lifetime”, “Grandfathered”, “Founding Member” or otherwise locked-in membership rates.
• 6-Week Challenges.
• Groupon deals.
• Bartering free or discounted memberships in exchange for other services.
• Discounted tier packages, ex: “Buy 1 class for $20, Get 3 classes for $50.”

Think about it, if you are offering $1 memberships and free pizza night, you might get a lot of people to sign up at first, but will they be motivated to stay at your gym without the commitment that comes from making a financial investment? When you offer low barrier deals, you run the risk of attracting members who are just looking for a deal.

Furthermore, you also chance that these “deal-hunters” will tell people in their network who are similar in nature and not qualified leads. The LBO method might get a lot of members in your door at first, but your churn rate will be high because when they have to buy a full-priced membership package, or your rates increase, many of these members will inevitably leave your gym to find the next deal.

Trying to lure members to your gym may not seem like a difficult task if you’re offering discounts, but you must then figure out how to keep them in order to avoid the revolving door dilemma. You can avoid this by adhering to your membership standards and avoiding discounts overall.

You can avoid this by adhering to your membership standards and avoiding offering any discounts at all.

Alternatives to offering discounts at your gym

So if you don’t offer discounts you might be wondering, how do I get new members in the doors of my gym? Savvy gym owners know how to offer so much value that they don’t need to discount their memberships because they have people knocking down their gym doors through the following incentives:

1. Issue a no-commitment policy.

The biggest argument in favor of offering LBOs is to convince members to join who are afraid of making a financial commitment such as a year-long contract, or cancelation fees. Avoid this by implementing a commitment and cancelation policy-free membership policy. The benefits of no-hassle memberships will also save you headaches down the line when it comes to membership management

2. Host free trial classes.

Letting someone try a group class or two for free is not going to cost you a thing. This type of try-before-your buy offer is a similar form of sales psychology as LBO’s, however, with a free trial class you have the opportunity to prove the value upfront at no cost to them or to you.

3. Offer feeder programs.

Otherwise known as “lite” or “intro” programs, memberships for these programs come at a lower price point than your core packages and serve as a segway to get paying members in your door while also making a financial commitment. The intention being that these members will love your product so much they will eventually upgrade to higher membership offerings. An example would be offering “sweat” or “bootcamp” class memberships that feed into your main, higher-priced CrossFit membership.

4. Promote personal training sessions first.

Generally, someone who purchases pre-paid sessions isn’t going to stop coming after their first few classes. They made a financial commitment that they are going to see through. Once they see your value, and the results, they will be more likely to stay and commit to a membership.

5. Partner with fitness marketplace programs like ClassPass.

ClassPass is a monthly fitness membership that provides users access to local studios, gyms, and wellness offerings. As a gym, you’ll never be charged a fee to be listed as a partner on ClassPass. In fact, they pay you for reservations.

Tips on maintaining your membership standards

Implementing a strict no-discount-policy may sound counterintuitive to starting and marketing a business, but keep in mind that manipulating your price is not a sustainable business approach. Here are some simple tips that will help you maintain your membership standards while adding value to your gym, and bringing members to your door:

Over-deliver on results:

Offer an unbeatable product. Hire knowledgeable, reliable and enthusiastic staff. Put all of your energy and efforts into making sure that you are offering the best of the best. If you succeed in doing this, your reputation will attract new members to the gym itself.

Add value:

Instead of lowering your prices, provide added value incentives, like free clinics, seminars or fitness assessments. Choose offerings with relatively little incremental cost and a high-perceived value to engage member satisfaction and drive loyalty. Another low-cost, low investment strategy is to offer giveaway items like branded t-shirts, water bottles, etc.

Build community:

For many, the gym can be an intimidating place, and by creating a sense of community at your gym, it will ensure that clients keep returning. Make sure that each person who enters your door feels like they are a member of a family and not just a gym.

Tell don’t sell:

Provide high-quality free content. Think fitness tips, motivation tactics, success stories, and healthy recipes. Share this information on your social media pages or create a free book that you provide to new members.

Offer incentives for referrals and reward loyalty:

Rewarding your loyal members is a proven strategy for attracting new members and a far better investment than offering a discount to someone just because they walked in your door. Remember, it costs more to acquire a new member than to retain a current member. As such, once you start building your membership base retention should always be your primary objective. Plus, long-term members are more likely to refer family and friends that will stick around.

Did you have a positive experience offering deals when opening your gym? Or do you wish that you had attracted new members without discounts in hindsight? Share your comments below!

Whether you want to increase revenue, attract new members with additional services or enhance your current member satisfaction rate, running a nutrition challenge at your gym can be a great way to accomplish your fitness business goals. Before you dive in, be sure to consider the following aspects for why and when a nutrition challenge might be a good venture for your gym.

Why you should run a nutrition challenge at your gym:

Exposure

If you’re thinking about implementing a nutrition program at your gym or already have one established, you can run a nutrition challenge as a means to increase the exposure of your program to your members. This venture is a low-cost and low-risk way for members to dip their toes into learning about nutrition. If they complete the challenge with having moved closer to their aesthetic, lifestyle or performance goals, they will likely consider digging deeper into their nutrition needs post-challenge.

Community Building

When you run a nutrition challenge you also create a great community building medium for your gym. Challenges should foster an environment that encourages members to interact with each other. Whether it’s through sharing recipes, or personal bests on workouts, building camaraderie with other members is a priceless byproduct of a gym-wide nutrition challenge. When members are encouraged to interact and support each other, a sense of belonging and trust in the community is gained.

Motivation

Now let’s be honest, who doesn’t get motivated by some friendly competition? If there is a golden carrot hanging at the end of the race, people will inevitably do whatever it takes to get to that carrot! Not to mention the fact that if you run a nutrition challenge it will help people look and feel better by design. If that isn’t a win-win situation, I’m not sure what is! Running an in-house challenge or competition is a great way to stimulate your community to grow better, together. If you have the capacity to offer a prize, members will go full speed to the finish line!

When to run a nutrition challenge at your gym:

Timing

Offering your nutrition challenge at the right time is paramount for member participation and success. An ideal time to start is at the beginning of the year when people are motivated to clean up their diet and change their ways. Another highly successful time for a challenge is in the spring. Every spring is a new opportunity to build that “beach body” we all dream of. Imagine how much more successful members will be with a little extra nutrition guidance! Be sure to avoid running through school vacation periods, as this is generally when families go away.

Frequency

One or two challenges per year seems to be the ideal amount to host without overdoing it in a fitness community setting. If you desire to add more exposure to nutrition beyond the challenges, adding in social events like a “Learn to Meal Prep” series of classes is a great addition. This entices the community to continue learning and interacting in a way that benefits their health and compliments their lifestyle.

No matter how often you work out, if your diet is lacking in nutritional value, you’re less likely to see results. However, it’s critical to the success of your business that your members see results. Offering nutrition at your gym is an added value that will help your members reach their goals. Plus, the more value that you provide, the less likely your gym is to become a revolving door. Additionally, nutrition services create a new revenue stream for your business. Above all, time is money to both you and your members. Adding nutrition to the menu at your gym will help your members save time, and help you make money.

Furthermore, due to busy lifestyles and the option of fast food, many of us tend to lean toward convenience. For example, anyone can easily google nutrition advice. However, is the internet the best source of nutrition information? Probably not. In the same way that you wouldn’t encourage your members to look up fitness advice online, you wouldn’t want them to do that in regard to nutrition either. Additionally, a major problem with online nutrition programs is that they are standardized and lack personal accountability. This is why a dedicated, in-person nutrition specialist at your facility is huge. Besides, having a nutritionist on staff will allow for a dedicated person to run and organize nutrition challenges at your gym.

When your members are exposed to nutrition regularly, the nagging thought of addressing their diet can become a reality. They will gain value in the ability to seek nutrition knowledge from a trusted professional, at a place where they feel comfortable. As a result, you’ll further earn their trust and therefore their business. Furthermore, following a diet that is not under the supervision of a professional while working out intensely can be a dangerous combination. For this reason, providing consultations with an in-house nutritionist can also ensure safety at our gym.

Making your gym a one-stop-shop for both fitness and nutrition will not only bring value to your members, but it will also set you apart from other facilities in the area. Similarly, adding nutrition services to your menu of offerings will bring value to your community at large. In conclusion, adding nutrition to your services can help grow your gym and provide value to your members. As a result, you’ll be able to deliver a range of services that keep your members coming back and keep your gym in business.

As a CrossFit Affiliate Owner, you’re likely familiar with the young, buff, ‘kool-aid drinking’ CrossFit athlete stereotype. However, that’s most likely not an accurate representation of the membership at your gym. So, who is the average athlete coming into your gym? Will the recent changes to the format of the CrossFit Games, and the focus on CrossFit Health, affect the demographics of the sport at large or the membership at your gym? Triib gym owners Mike Burnes and PJ Massey, Co-Owners of CrossFit Rail Trail (CFRT), and Ronda Rockett, M.D., Owner of CrossFit Launchpad share what their gym membership is like below.

Triib: From the day you opened the doors to your gym, to the present day, has the typical person who has walked through your doors changed?

PJ: I think if you have a good mix of demographics, it’s healthy for any fitness business or any program. At CFRT we still have a fairly good mix of athletes. We have the young kids that come in that try to push too hard in the beginning and then kind of reel back. Then we have older folks that come in and they just know they need to be here. Then we have middle-aged folks like myself. I want to make sure all our athletes come in and get a good workout and leave in one piece, and continue on with their life outside of the gym. All of our athletes, despite their age, get a good support system at our gym. I haven’t seen any kind of separation yet. I think it might change a little bit because this is still the first year with the recent CrossFit changes, but I think that any changes that promote a healthy mix of demographics at your gym are great.

Mike: The way our culture’s been set at CFRT, I don’t see the recent changes in CrossFit affecting it much. I think we’ve had the healthy mix that we have had for a while, and it’s going to continue to be that mix because of the culture that we set. The uber-competitive people that want to come in and look for the leader board, they usually don’t last here. It’s just not the culture that we have at our gym. I’m not saying that’s a bad thing. I’m just saying that’s not what we have fostered. I actually can see this focus from health, coming off The Games, perhaps enhancing our culture and boosting membership at our gym.

Ronda: We have a neighborhood gym. It’s almost completely word of mouth, which is great. My youngest member is eight. My oldest member right now is 74 and he’s awesome. He’s writing a blog and he went to our deli shop that everybody goes to in town. Just this morning, another member of ours overheard him asking if they would put a Paleo menu together for all of us. It’s awesome to see people are changing their lifestyles in not just our gym, but our community as a whole. So we also have a mix of membership at our gym. We have parents and their kids coming to work out together. Young parents in the neighborhood with an infant, who might not know anybody yet, they’re meeting people at our gym. The variance in demographics at our gym is definitely enhancing the community.

CrossFit is known for its inclusivity, and as an Affiliate Owner, you probably have witnessed an array of demographics at your gym firsthand over time. As Founder Greg Glassman has said regarding CrossFit, “The needs of Olympics athletes and our grandparents differ by degree, not kind.” With the recent focus on health, it seems that membership at CrossFit gyms could become even more inclusive of the general population than ever before. Have you noticed any change in the demographics of your gym membership recently, or has it been consistent? Comment below! Interested in the full interview? Check it out here. 

In a recent survey we conducted, over 50% of gym owners viewed “Attracting more members” as one of their biggest challenges. So we asked several thriving Triib gym owners what works for them in growing their membership. We broke down their advice into 4 proven strategies to attract more members to your gym below:

1. Offer Free Trial Classes

Whether you are a new, young, or established gym, offering free trial classes to your network (think friends, family, even your first few members) is a no-brainer for attracting new members no matter what stage your business is in. All of the gym owners we spoke with offer free trial classes at their gym either once a week or once a month, depending on the turnout. Be sure to follow these three steps our gym owners recommend in promoting free trial classes effectively:

• Promote internally to current members by announcing the free trial classes before and/or after workouts. Many gyms call the event “Bring a Friend Day” to signify to current members that they should invite their friends and family.
• Additionally, make sure to promote externally to your local community at large. Share the news on your website, social media, and distribute fliers around town and post on community forums.
• Lastly, once you do get those referrals in your gym, don’t be afraid, or forget to follow up! PJ Massey, Co-Owner of CrossFit Rail Trail, admits that he learned the hard way “not to just expect people will come back” after a trial class. Once PJ started reaching out to member leads directly, CrossFit Rail Trail increased their membership by 30-40 members in one year.

2. Develop A Referral Program

Looking to reach a milestone membership number quickly? Want to get your first 50 members, or to get over the first 100 members hump? Incentivize your current member base to bring members to you by developing a referral program. PJ and his partner Mike Burnes, Co-Owners of CrossFit Rail Trail, offer a referral program they call “Friends With Benefits”. Here they reward existing members with 1 free month of membership for each successful referral they make who stays active at the gym for at least 3 months. Additionally, they run a monthly giveaway raffle for each member who made a referral. The investment in creating a referral reward program is small in comparison to the pay-off of a new membership.

While you’re busy developing your referral program, don’t neglect the importance of organic referrals. Amanda Ellis, Co-Owner of Shockoe Bottom CrossFit, believes that simply offering a good product helps her earn referrals to her gym, “I don’t want my members to send me referrals just because they will receive something in return. I want them to refer my gym because they believe in our product and want others to get the same experience.”

3. Network In Your Community

Networking is essential for any gym looking to attract new members in their local community. David Cardenas, Owner of CrossFit Windrose advises, “Unfortunately, gyms are not one of those businesses where if you build it they will come, especially amongst a neighborhood of established gyms.” Partnering with neighboring business can be a low-cost, high-return way to drive more awareness and attract new members into your gym. The gyms we spoke with have had success running events with schools, breweries, restaurants, neighboring fitness businesses, and charity organizations. Active outreach is proven to further your gym as a business leader in your community. Which in turn, will attract new members directly from the client list of anyone you choose to partner with.

One proven networking tactic to attract more members is to partner with local businesses to gain access to their employees. LJ Dicarlo, Co-Owner of CrossFit TILT, was able to do this by “offering free outdoor classes in the business parking lots and following prospects up with a corporate rate discount that was roughly 16% off.” Alternatively, you could host an open house exclusively for employees of local businesses at your gym. Get the word out by making flyers, and asking the Human Resources departments to disperse them to their employees.

4. Develop Retention and Loyalty Reward Plans

Once you reach your membership goals, you’ll want to stay on top of maintaining those numbers. Attracting new members to your gym is certainly a feat, but keeping them can be something more of an art. Customer service is a critical component of not only attracting new members but retaining them as well. You’ll want to keep your members happy and loyal by developing a solid, perhaps even rewarding retention plan so your business doesn’t become a revolving door.

Offering your first, or “founding”, members special treatment is one effort that can promise long-term retention from members. David Cardenas, Owner of CrossFit Windrose, kicked off his gym opening with a special offer for gaining and retaining members called “The Founders Club”. David limited the offer to the first 40 members and promised them exclusive deals to motivate participation.

Already an established gym? Austin Maleollo, Head Coach of Reebok CrossFit One and Co-Owner of One Nation Fitness, runs a “Committed Club” program, based on attendance at his gyms. You can easily track member attendance through your gym management software. Then, reward members who have the best attendance record with a prize or even a shout out on your website. Member satisfaction is essential to maintaining membership numbers, as the cost of customer acquisition is 5x higher than customer retention. So, although this strategy is last on this list–if you’re looking to grow your membership, be sure to invest within first.

At CrossFit Rail Trail we believe in community first. A great gym culture is built on relationships. We make this apparent during introductions at the start of each class. We foster connection when all athletes, of differing abilities, perform variations of the same workout. Furthermore, our community encourages camaraderie by cheering everyone on to the finish.

We believe a great community is built in small ways, every day. However, it shouldn’t stop there. Community flourishes outside of normal classes, during organized gym events. For this reason, we host various events throughout the year. One fan-favorite coming up for Halloween is our “HalloWOD”! Many of our events are run the same way each year. This creates tradition, and makes them easy to organize after the initial planning. If you want to grow the community at your gym, consider hosting an event with the following components to make sure it’s a success.

Programming

For “HalloWOD” members are invited to dress in costume for a workout and after-party. We don’t program weights for this particular workout, as it could be dangerous to perform in costume. Instead, we do a lot of body weight movements, and traditionally team up with partners in the spirit of fun. The format is an AMRAP (as many rounds and reps as possible) so everyone finishes together. Furthermore, to keep it safe and fun, we don’t keep score for this event. In the absence of performance tracking, members are encouraged to let loose and have fun. During events where we do want to track performance or scoring, we rely on Triib for event management, which allows us to focus on community.

Another component essential to the success of community building events is to create traditions! For “HalloWOD” one of our Coaches, Kelly G, always programs a dance routine warmup. It’s completely outrageous and hilarious, and sets the fun tone for the event. Kelly has been known to leak details about the music or movements on our community facebook group, building the event  anticipation.

Promotion

To promote events, we create a Facebook event in advance and invite all of our members. This allows us to keep track of attendance, and encourages participation as members get FOMO when they see their friends signing up online! During classes we make announcements about upcoming events and ask who’s going to inspire participation. For certain events, such as memorial WODs, competitions, and fundraisers, we hang flyers up around the gym. Additionally, we host a few events each year that are programmed for friends & family with no prior CrossFit experience. We’ve found that a newbie-friendly event encourages people who might be otherwise intimidated to give CrossFit a shot!

Food

A surefire way to win at event attendance is to promote free food! We typically provide some food and organize potluck dishes for our events. We always supply the basic necessities like plates, napkins, beverages, etc. as well as some party food like hot dogs, burgers and salad. Easy options to feed the masses work best, plus everyone tends to be hangry and appreciates something hearty after a workout. The potluck aspect further contributes to the community vibe as food brings the many different cultures in our community together! We haven’t found this cost to be too high for us as gym owners, and it’s worth every penny. You must be willing to invest back into your community if you want to build it strong!

Wrap Up

After most events, we keep the gym open for a casual after-party. Everyone pitches in to clean up, put equipment away, and set up food and games. The festivities typically consist of games like corn hole, spike ball, music and mingling. There are always plenty of photos taken to document the fun, which everyone seems to enjoy. This becomes especially apparent in the days following, when they are shared in our members-only community facebook group (another great way to grow your gym family!). We strongly believe there is no better sign of a great community than seeing your members enjoying themselves at the gym long after the workout has ended.

If you manage a Box, you’re probably aware of a dozen or so ‘competitors’.  Whether their true friend or foe is irrelevant but growing your fitness community in a competitive region is all the more reason to look at how your gym operates.

Often, the most valuable process optimization can be done on the back-end, wiring your gym appropriately and conveniently for growth. Typically, if a process FEELS clunky or like it should be running smoother, you’re usually right. It’s always worth looking at improving how you do things.

After all, adapting is the best way to continue to grow and thrive, so why not make sure your back-end system is optimized.

There are plenty of affiliate management software solutions out there so browse around. Odds are there’s a well-established software with the functionality you might be missing. (Yes we do gym software well, but we aren’t perfect for everyone, nor do we want to be)

With the right tools, you can get out of the office and back onto the gym floor with your members.  Here are our 5 essential tools you should be using right now:

1. MEMBER FLOWS

Remove manual entry wherever it makes sense for you. For us, it’s everywhere you can. Member flows like streamlined forms for drop-ins, free-trials, and sign-ups allow the MEMBER to get added into your system seamlessly. They can be sent in the form of external web links posted to your social profile or as an in-person self-service kiosk. Gym staff get notified upon a new sign-up and are given the necessary information for proper follow-up. Easy day.

2. SELF-SERVICE SCHEDULE & RSVP

Get serious about scheduling and class RSVP’s. Class scheduling, personal training scheduling, 1-on-1 nutrition coaching, individual programming scheduling, and everything in between.  It’s essential to have affiliate software that can help save you hours upon hours here by allowing members to self-schedule sessions at will. RSVP to appointment blocks or scheduled classes right from your phone! This will make your life easier, your staff lives easier, and your members lives happier.  This will also help attract new prospects at your affiliate gym with an easy-to-use interface.

3. AUTO & CUSTOM MEMBER BILLING

Sure a one time, recurring monthly payment is as simple as it gets when it comes to automated billing for any affiliate software solution. But how many affiliates operate solely under that structure? The answer is almost none. Customizing when you bill members and how much is often much more tailored to the affiliate software capabilities. Can you split payments? Add-on a membership upgrade for additional class access? What about automating an introductory offer, perhaps a ‘Foundations’ course, with a discounted rate that turns over to a standard rate after a set amount of time? These options power your member experience. Setting a membership should be a one-time occurrence and not something that constantly needs tending to. Make sure your gym software is helping you provide the best possible member experience.

4. WEB INTEGRATIONS

People need to be able to find you. From your social accounts to your website, does your affiliate management software integrate with web links or utilize the digital member flows mentioned above? Easy, user-friendly pages that you can integrate with your existing website, your sales funnel, and class calendar or blog is a huge benefit.

5. PERFORMANCE TRACKING

Athletes who are held accountable as part of a fitness community, achieve their goals at a higher percentage. This we know and we want to them to have every opportunity to access and track their progress through performance data. An affiliate management software should afford members multiple avenues of tracking across multiple devices. A mobile app that syncs up with the gym is a great way for people to see the WOD and enter scores on the go. Inside your box, auto-generating leaderboards and live displays for workouts, schedules, and tv screens all contribute to a well-rounded performance driven environment. A member can walk in, check-in and see historical performance metrics in a frictionless way. At Triib, members can see the leaderboard, their personal performance history, check-in, and record scores all from one kiosk screen.

Choosing the right gym software

There is a lot to consider when choosing affiliate management software! Before you spend a penny, be sure the system you’re considering includes the five features mentioned above.

Want to learn more about our upcoming Triib Engine announcement? Get a sneak preview here: Introducing Triib Engine: Optimized Membership Management.