Everyone recognizes that business reviews have value (NYT link or some contested business review story). However, it’s been a challenge to tangibly measure their true value. Most recently, new companies have made significant progress in showing how this value can be looked at from 2 different angles, one of which can definitely be measured! (more on that later!).

The Basis

Let’s start with something that has been demonstrated, proven and measured – the value of customer retention.

According to MethodCRM:

• 80% of small business revenue comes from 20% of customers
• 5% higher customer retention can increase profit by 25%
• Repeat customers spend 67% more than new ones

Since the dawn of time, Word of Mouth (WOM) has been a driving force of business growth. Numerous studies show that WOM clients provide more value than walk-ins and other kinds of customers because they stay longer and spend more money. There is a definite correlation between WOM and Customer Retention.

In today’s internet era, online reviews are the new word-of-mouth, especially Google reviews. Official studies show that 84% of customers trust online reviews as much as personal recommendations, and 91% of customers read online reviews before deciding to purchase.

Why? Because the opinions of others are crucial in creating trust about a product or service, or a business in general. We rely on other people’s experiences, hoping to get the same good experience and – avoid the bad ones.

That means that good reviews will definitely help you organically get the people through the door. Coming in with the element of trust – they will be more likely to stick and become loyal as well.

Measuring Impact of Reviews

Remember the first sentence where we stated it’s been “a challenge to tangibly measure” the value of reviews? That’s changed. Companies have been looking at it for years, and at least one – ClubReady Partner Referrizer – has managed to crack the code.

How it Works

Google’s algorithm takes into account both the quantity and freshness of reviews (how recently it was posted), comprising approximately 15-20% of its decision-making process regarding the visibility of a business.

Looking at the data collected over the years, they’ve discovered a direct correlation between the growth of reviews and the subsequent increase in website traffic—specifically, in terms of website visit rates, click-through rates and impressions.

This example shows the rapid growth in website clicks, especially with the important mobile traffic tracks, after the addition of a focused review program with Referrizer.

To increase the trust factor of your business with google reviews and start gathering more positive reviews, consider a second party solution such as Referrizer’s Reputation Management.

Ready to Get Started?

Note: This article was written by Elena Spasojevic, Co-Owner & Corporate Accounts, Referrizer

RockBox is a boxing and kickboxing fitness franchise that helps members build muscles, build confidence, and build self-esteem. According to the RockBox website, boxing is one of the most effective exercises to tone muscles, boost cardiovascular health, improve core strength and stability, increase stamina, and burn fat.

To build their network of over 60 boxing and kickboxing studios, they needed the software that would help them grow. It was time for them to start scaling their business and provide brand uniformity to all of their new franchises.

It was important to Roger Martin, the CEO + Co-Founder of RockBox, to have uniformity in his reporting, billing, and overall task management, so members would receive the same experience no matter their location. This would also allow him and his business partner to track multi-location success via those same reports.

In 2019, Martin and his RockBox team started using ClubReady across the 15 stores operating at the time. By the time those locations were fully migrated, they had over 25 studios utilizing ClubReady. Currently, they have over 60 studios across the nation.

Don’t Reinvent the Wheel

“We’ve built out the entire system, so when the next door opens, it automatically is pre-populated in their CRM that every prospect coming in is assigned a lead type. We usually push anywhere from 200 to 300 tasks per day. Once you get your lead list built up, you never run out of tasks to do,” says Martin.

When they open and start setting up a new Rockbox franchise, everything is auto populated for lead management and lead nurture. There is no learning curve because everything is provided for you. They only need to make it happen as the franchise owner!

“They have every drip campaign needed auto synced into the system, so a new owner just needs to follow the playbook. That’s what we want to do as best we can as a franchisor is create an ability for a franchisee to just focus on the execution. When you do that, you have a much stronger network,” says Martin.

Starting with prepopulated workflows in the CRM allows each franchisee to start contacting prospective members on day one, but thankfully, it doesn’t stop there. Rockbox stays in contact with their members throughout their entire lifetime to upsell them, communicate deals, celebrations, and even to check in on those they have not seen in a while and that’s when those automations come in.

Building A Community

A task management tool was what Martin felt RockBox needed. It would provide them with the ability to build a community and not just a place to work out. ClubReady’s software allowed them to set automatic reminders for text messages, emails, phone calls, and even handwritten letters using the automations tools within their CRM. Prior to using ClubReady, they were trying to remember to do all of these things on their own, so when they found the correct solution for them, it really changed the game.

Now, within their ClubReady CRM, text messages and emails are prebuilt with what to write, so each staff member across all franchises can copy and paste the same messages. This makes the task so much faster and easier for them to complete. It provides the franchise with the ability to focus on the members that are in the studio for their workout.

For the phone calls and the handwritten letters, they are provided with what to say through a message reminder. Consistency with the messages shared across every franchise is very important and this allows them to make that happen even over the phone. Martin wants to ensure that people who attend RockBox workouts can relate to the staff, as well as the other members whether it is their first time being there, or their one hundredth time. If a member can walk into their RockBox location and say, “Thank you for the birthday card!” It provides meaningful interactions versus the staff never noticing or acknowledging them.

Start Today

RockBox has set their franchises up for success by building out their task management tool. They developed these processes overtime to provide their franchisees with brand consistency and confidence, but it doesn’t have to take multiple franchises and a time of brand inconsistency for you to make these types of changes. ClubReady will set up the necessary automations you need to start providing brand consistency at your studios with pre-built emails, text messages, and more!

Let’s start today.

Own the member relationship, your data, and keep the revenue in your studio

You work hard to create a unique experience for all of your members. Their loyalty – and consistent payments – are paramount to establishing and running a profitable business. You’ve done the work, you should reap the benefits. That’s why it’s important that you own that relationship everywhere, including your mobile app. It should be apparent that all apps are not created equal – and that multiple brand apps were never intended to build loyalty for your business. When selecting a mobile app to build your business or franchise consider the following.

Don’t Open the Door for Your Competition

While a rising tide might lift all ships, the fitness business is competitive. You have to operate through low tide periods as well. Your members know they have options and likely pass several on the way to their session at your business. You don’t need to present offers from other clubs on your mobile app that could steer them away from your business.

Do Build Engagement

The relationships you build with members is what creates their loyalty. Your mobile app is the extension of the 1:1 in-person interactions when they are outside of your walls. Ensure that you can offer the content and encouragement for members to reach their goals while you track their activity and progress.

Do Take What’s Yours

Long-term viability requires profitability. You should value and charge for your unique offerings accordingly, not enter into a race to the bottom based on price. What comes through your doors should be yours. Additionally, as you grow and scale, it’s important that you have insights to accurately attribute revenue to members and locations. That sounds simple, but only an app and system that prioritizes your business and loyalty makes it possible.

See what a custom-branded fitness app could do for you!

Twisted Cycle is an indoor cycling, strength training, and HIIT studio currently with locations across Atlanta, Georgia and Alabama They decided to switch to PerformanceIQ and ClubReady after learning that the benefits of ClubReady outweigh those of their old software.

Why did you decide to partner with ClubReady — what problem were you looking to solve; or what solution were you looking to incorporate?

When I started looking into ClubReady, I wanted to switch to PerformanceIQ from the current software I was using. On my initial call, we discussed the benefits of using ClubReady and PIQ in tandem versus using PIQ with a different main software. During this discussion, we also focused on ClubReady’s automation chain and the abilities it has compared to our current automation tool.

As a business owner, we’re always trying to capture the attention of our customers and our leads. The most important question to me is how many ways can we get in front of our members/leads to bring value and highlight our business? I also liked the ability to assign tasks to my staff. I have a saying inside my company, “Move the needle!” Meaning, there is some way for us to improve in some area of the business. Every. Single. Day. By assigning tasks it allows me to keep my staff accountable and ‘move the needle’.

How has ClubReady benefited your club and your members?

When we made the switch, we were able to get a better app (PIQ app). This gave our members a much better, personalized experience. The ability to assign tasks and make them complete has made a huge difference for us.

How would you describe ClubReady’s customer support?

Amazing. From day one, our reps have been responsive and have worked very closely with us to come up with solutions to problems.

Why should other club operators consider working with ClubReady?

The support team has been amazing. If you have an understanding of automation and how an automation chain can benefit your business, then ClubReady makes perfect sense.

 

Interested in learning more about Twisted Cycle, PerformanceIQ? Do you want to hear from another customer about their experience with ClubReady? Click below.

A recent study found that 98% of text messages are opened compared to just 20% of emails delivered. Cold calling stats are harder to find, but if you don’t ignore calls from unknown numbers you’re in the minority. That makes it clear that effective and engaging text messages should be your first choice in communications. The great news is that it can also help scale your business while maximizing staff efficiency. Like everything else, start with a plan and strategy.

Have A Call to Action

Whether reaching out to a lead or a member via text, the main objective is to get a response that turns into a dialogue that directs them to the purpose for the contact. A common complaint heard from owners is, “I paid for these digital leads, why aren’t they responding?” Just because a person clicked an ad, they DO NOT owe us a response! It is our responsibility to create a call-to-action that merits a reply. Remaining in control of the conversation will ensure that the lead stays engaged and open to reply, for example:

Lead: “What are your hours?”

Studio: “We are open 7 days a week with classes from 6 am-8 pm during the week and mornings only on the weekends! Tell me, when do you prefer to work out?”

A common mistake is answering their question completely without a follow-up call to action. Keep it open! This keeps you in the driver’s seat and prompts the lead to reply to your objective, whether it’s a sale or booking them for a class.

Identify Yourself

First and foremost, identify yourself and where you are texting from to make the client comfortable communicating with your unrecognized number. Without this, you can create a lack of trust right off the bat and decrease your chance of any response. After the introduction, you can segway into your purpose for the contact.

Timing is Everything – Be Ready

People are busy! For every person that prefers morning communications, another will prefer late evening. Some locations will send automated messages when a new lead enters their CRM system, but if the client thinks that message is starting a conversation when it’s not they’ll be disappointed. Engaging when they initially reach out in minutes is great if you can, but being ready to really communicate when they reply is more crucial to results.

What Can Happen?

The fact is texting is how we communicate, and it can drive results. For example, Rumble Hoboken recently opened its doors in February 2023. During its first month of presale operations it was able to attain 311 members – 302 of which were the direct result of text communications!

Learn more, get a demo now.

Jordan Meinster has always had a passion for pickup basketball. “I’ve always played pickup basketball. I never really played organized or on teams or in high school or college. I would go to local parks or gyms or rec centers and join any games that were running,” Jordan says. There were many frustrations that came with him playing pickup games versus structured, organized basketball games; the courts were typically crowded and dirty and there was usually no structure to filter people in and out of games. So, Jordan had an idea to “create a business where it’s pickup basketball and you can still show up whenever you want, but it’s more organized.”

Jordan Meinster is the CEO of PickUp Fitness USA Franchise Company. He built his fitness business from the ground up to provide the industry of pickup basketball with structure and stability.

The first Pickup Fitness USA was founded in Irwindale, California, just outside of Los Angeles in 2012. They now have 63 franchise licenses awarded across the country with 20 locations either open or being built and they anticipate having over 70 locations open by the end of 2024.

The concept of PickUp Fitness USA started by providing adults the opportunity to have more structured game play in a pickup setting but has since expanded their ground into two verticals: adult hoopers and youth hoopers. Within their adult hoopers vertical, they utilize technology they call “CaseyQueue” – named after Casey Meinster, Jordan’s wife and co-founder.