Locally owned gym operator, Gym Co, runs two successful clubs in the Belfast area. The Finaghy and Cityside locations now welcome over 4,000 loyal members.
At a glance
By partnering with Xplor Gym, Gym Co has:
- Streamlined the payments experience (and saved time in the process)
- Improved member engagement with timely communications
- Gained visibility into business performance
Struggling with outdated, inaccurate systems
For almost a decade, Gym Co had used separate CRM and membership payments systems. This approach was becoming increasingly challenging for the operator:
- Getting accurate insights into business and financial performance was almost impossible with inconsistent data in multiple locations
- Keeping up with consumer expectations was increasingly difficult – especially when it came to the digital member experience
- Staying in touch with members was hard work
- Payments capabilities didn’t suit the business, creating time-consuming workload and restricting opportunities to grow revenue
When you’re using two different systems, there’s often times where they don’t talk to each other and differences creep in between the two. Experiencing this we felt that the industry had changed and this approach was no longer acceptable.
Member expectations had changed too and we wanted to deliver on those expectations. But our systems were letting us down.
Stephen Haughey, General Manager – Cityside
Embracing an all-in-one gym management solution
Facing multiple challenges, Gym Co decided it was time to move to an all-in-one gym management system with embedded membership payments.
The operator was impressed with the features that Xplor Gym offered and the support they’d get. The process of moving was smooth with clear communication and an understanding of what was required at every step of the process.
Better experiences all-round
Gym Co Finaghy went live with Xplor Gym in August 2023, Gym Co Cityside followed soon after in January 2024.
Since going live the operator has realised benefits that boost the experience that members get and team members have on a day-to-day basis too:
- Staying in touch with members is made easy with the integrated communications tool the software offers. Messaging automation features are being used to support retention
- Understanding how the business is performing is straightforward with up-to-date, accurate dashboards and reports in one place. So, managers can make informed decisions and team members better understand how the business works
- Managing payments happens straight in the software, eliminating discrepancies. Automated resubmission attempts take the stress out of recovering failed collections. And the club can now take upfront payments
Being able to take upfront payments at the time of joining is invaluable to our business. It has opened up the option to offer paid in full memberships. And allows us to make sure we always receive joining fees and pro-rata amounts from pay monthly memberships.
Previously the Assistant Manager would have to call anyone who’d missed a membership payment. That’s time consuming and not very rewarding. Now that Xplor Gym automatically re-attempts to collect failed payments there are far less calls to make.
Lindsey Abbott, General Manager – Finaghy
From a business perspective, the most positive thing about Xplor Gym is the support we get.
In Xplor Gym we have a partner who offers proactive, as well as reactive support. This makes a big difference to us as a business. And it’s encouraging to know that the software is under constant development.
The Xplor Gym team listens to our feedback and actively finds ways to solve our challenges. It’s good to see the system evolve with our requests taken into account.
Stephen Haughey, General Manager – Cityside
Article by Xplor Pay
First published: 29 August 2024
Last updated: 03 October 2024