Apps and websites are a topic of daily conversation for most people in Silicon Valley (and not just from us!), but sometimes it’s hard to see how it’s applicable to your own business. This is especially true when you are a retailer or directly involved with the web itself. How does one use an app or website grow a business like, for instance a Gym or Dance Studio?

It comes down to how people use the internet: they don’t just use it to buy things, or read about the news. The modern web user also uses it to check out a business. To see if a business has the needed services, or to take a virtual tour. The fact is that people use the internet for pretty much everything under the sun – which makes it one of the best tools for marketing and growing your brand.

So let’s take a look at some ways that an App or Website can help growth hack a business as non-techie as a Gym.

Apps and Continued Engagement

Apps are very similar to a website, but one key difference we will discuss today is an app’s ability to push continual engagement. There are both good ways (non-intrusive, helpful ways of doing this) and not-so-good ways (annoying push notifications). There is always a desire to use the not-so-good methods because, simply put, they can be an extremely cheap and effective way to get people to notice your app.

In the long-term, however, it’s actually an effective way to not only lose app users, but to forever ruin your brand. As a gym, you probably won’t lose loyal members because of underhanded app methods, but neither will the app gain users. Additionally, it will chase away members who are only partially engaged (i.e. they only show up once a month or less).

Not only that, but both Android and iOS let you quickly silence an app in just a few seconds, so it ruins your brand without any long term positive benefits. On the flip side, “good” engagement tricks not only push engagement but actually increase the value of your app. Plus it gives Members the opportunity to leave feedback or rate particular classes – essential to not only correcting problems but to gathering information on what people like the most.

This information can then be combined with Machine Learning to inform specific individual users of a new class they might like. Additionally, an app can track the classes a member signs up for, sending push notifications to a member’s phone: i.e. a reminder, notices on cancellations, updates, and so on. A mobile app is one of the most effective engagement tools that the world has to offer – don’t neglect it!

The Face of Your Business

We’ve said it before and we’ll say it again, the website is the face of the modern organization. Everything from the choice of color design to button layout can and will change how people interact with your business. While there are definitely design guidelines one should follow when designing a website, we’re going to cover specifics that a website for a Gym or Dance Studio would need:

♦ Let’s start with the big one first: a full list of the services you offer. The landing page should display the most popular classes you offer (both the most popular at your gym, and popular classes nationwide, such as spin class) and a full accounting of all equipment.

♦ A schedule showing all classes and events should be prominently placed. An interactive schedule would be ideal, showing details of each class and the ability to signup from the calendar itself. The idea here is to make the conversion process as simple as possible. People sign on, immediately see a class they want, with all details, and then sign up. The easier it is for visitors to become members, the more money in your pocket.

♦ Trainer and teacher profiles should be clearly displayed too. A class at Gym or Dance studio is made or broken by the teacher. A brief bio, description of the classes they teach, and a rating from previous students should all be available.

♦ An update or news section is vital to improve a pages organic search results; in other words, the more often your website receives updated content, the higher it ranks your page on a search query. This can be anything from news about class cancellations, industry blogs (which also help demonstrate expertise), to general news and information.

♦ Virtual, interactive, tours of your entire facility is essential. You’re selling your space as well as a service. SDI can help you build a 360 degree tour that enables visitors to get details by room, examine every corner of every room – even the ability to zoom in on specific equipment sets providing pertinent details. And yes, you need to include bathroom and, if any, shower facilities (ideally when they are empty).

At the end of the day, a website or app, when built by the right team, can help exponentially grow your brand’s awareness and increase your membership base.

So pick up a phone and give us a call at 408.805.0495/408.621.8481 (or click to contact us) to get started!