HOW LOCKDOWN IMPROVED OUR PRODUCT – PART 1
ZOOMing in
We had poured capital into expanding the gym when lockdown hit. Going onto Zoom could have looked like a saviour, a new product with a relatively low buy-in and a huge captive audience. Also a huge demand in equipment for home use meant we could’ve cashed in by renting ours out.
We opted for neither, deciding to keep the skill in our training by giving our existing members the equipment they needed. We also released those who wanted from their contract obligations. We protected what we had, instead of chasing what we didn’t. Also knowing our physical product was far superior to any Zoom experience, we viewed this as a short term fix, knowing we would return. Our members were the long term solution and that’s where our loyalty lay.
With gyms remaining closed for a few extra months, our loyalty was repaid by our members supporting us throughout (minimal cancellations in this period).
This got the ball rolling, how could we offer more value when we return? There were still concerns over ‘The How’ we are returning and ‘The When’, obviously two very big contributors, but we focused on getting to work on what we could control.
Despite ‘no contracts’, the members stayed, so that was the first thing to install. Also not knowing whether we’d plunge into further lockdowns etc, this made complete sense.
With the expansion we had added BOXFIT. This made us change our existing Strength Training (previously a 4 day split) into a much more standardised class aka 360 STRONG (A combination of HIIT Cardio, Kettlebells, Lifting Techniques & Calisthenics). This made it much more fun and a simpler format to train beginners and advanced alongside each other.
Now with two classes on the menu, we wanted to offer that to the members at no additional cost. Also with our membership down and more classes we knew the vibe (a huge factor of our product) would be tarnished. So we fixed our price at our lowest membership option and gave everyone unlimited classes to combat that. This however meant less income was going to come in on an already depreciating membership base.