“Why don’t customers come back, even though they say they’re happy with our service?”
It’s a question many personal trainer, fitness coaches, yoga teachers and gym managers ask themselves. But you can’t just sit back and expect customers to come back because your facility or services are excellent.
You need to follow-up with new clients. With a Customer Relationship Management (CRM) system, following up and nurturing leads does not have to be a tedious process.
However, most CRM solutions are not well-tailored for the fitness training industry. For that reason, we have prepared this guide on how to choose a CRM system for your fitness training business.
What are the Essential Features of a CRM for Fitness Instructor Business?
As a fitness instructor, there are specific features you should be looking for in CRM software.
Long-term customer acquisition
See, while a restaurant can survive on one-time customers, a gym thrives on repeat customers. As such, you need CRM software that can nurture a one-time customer to a long-term client.
For long-term customer acquisition, you need CRM software that tracks and stores every interaction between you and your customers. Recording these interactions helps nurture leads through follow-up and up-sell offers.
Integration
The CRM software needs to integrate with other software to enhance customer relations. Typically, CRM integrates with accounting apps and payment systems. In the fitness industry, you also want to integrate with your business website and marketing systems, such as social media, for marketing predictions and to better target leads.
Integration is crucial as it allows you to manage customer relations and carry out essential business activities on one platform.
Dedicated custom modules
A gym CRM should have not only an admin module but also trainer, and member modules. The admin module is where you can quickly analyse business-related issues such as maintenance, revenue, and budget.
The trainer module will provide details related to the employees (trainers). You can view their schedules, progress reports, and even salary details. On the members’ module, you can see all information related to your clients, including attendance records, subscription details, and health records.
The bottom line is, you want a CRM with customisable modules and portals so that you can modify the software to suit your needs.
Deployment on the cloud
Cloud-based CRM is the go-to solution in the fitness industry. All the information is stored off-site (in the cloud), and you do not need server space or a dedicated IT expert. More importantly, the set-up costs are relatively low. However, you have to be online to access the system.
However, over time, an on-premise solution is cost-effective. So, if you have a large facility and can afford to employ a tech guy, you should consider an on-premise solution.
Choosing A CRM Solution for Your Fitness Training Business
The features outlined above are not the only consideration when selecting a CRM solution:
Figure out your requirements
The CRM system you choose should be customised to match the needs of your business. So, ask yourself what your goals are and what you hope the CRM system will achieve. Consider your existing marketing efforts, such as social media, and how you can integrate them into the CRM system.
A good CRM system should not have features you do not need. However, it should also be scalable to accommodate your future needs.
Carefully select a vendor
Ask around and research online for the best CRM providers. Reputation should not be your only priority. Make sure the vendor you choose has experience setting up CRM systems in the fitness training industry.
Additionally, ask about the compatibility of what is being offered with your existing business applications. Another vital consideration is support — will they be available to maintain and update your system?
Consider the cost
The set-up costs can be expensive depending on the vendor, the features, and the type of system you choose. As much as CRM will have a return-on-investment, you can’t spend money you do not have.
You can take advantage of free trials to test run a solution before you commit.
Best CRM solutions for the fitness training industry
Some vendors providing CRMs appropriate for fitness trainers include:
ActiveCampaign
ActiveCampaign is one of the best solutions for small-to-mid sized businesses in all industries. It contains features a fitness trainer will find useful and integrates with many other business applications. The best part is the automation, which allows you to perform a myriad of tasks such as setting up appointments and sending customised messages to clients.
Copper
Copper CRM is easy-to-use, which is a vital feature if you are not tech-savvy. Perhaps its best feature is the seamless integration with Gmail and other G-Suite apps.
Dubsado
Dubsado has all the essential features of a CRM system, less the complicated processes a fitness trainer does not need. Perhaps the best part is the customer support that includes live chat. They can also help you transfer data from your old CRM tool.
Luke is the founder of LeadSync and, as a Digital Marketer, has been helping businesses run lead generation campaigns since 2016.