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Note: This article is sponsored by Motionsoft and is based on Motionsoft's IHRSA 2017 education panel, which was moderated by Al Noshirvani, chairman of Motionsoft. The 4th annual Motionsoft Technology Summit will be held Sept. 11-13 in Washington, DC. Don't miss the Technology track sessions sponsored by Motionsoft at this year's Club Industry Show Oct. 4-6 at the Hilton Chicago.
4 Key Takeaways in This Article
Technology tends to be the last thing thought about when a health club is being built.
Enhancing the member experience via technology is a top priority among fitness IT professionals.
IT professionals' chances of getting project funding increase if they present a hard ROI rather than how much time it could save.
Smaller tech companies are more likely to find success reaching out to small health club operators
Despite the value technology can and does bring to health clubs, implementing new innovations can be one of the biggest challenges club professionals will face.
Generally, IT projects fail or are not even given the go-ahead by health club executives because of perceived costs rather than forecasted return on investment (ROI). Why? During the strategy and planning phase, senior management executives do not evaluate the potential for technology to boost member acquisition, improve retention, or even evolve member experience because they're focused on up front costs to implement a technology solution.
To combat this barrier, club professionals to sell the potential and ROI to senior management, not the other way around. Technology has become too important to the fitness industry for innovations to fall by the wayside solely because of initial development costs.
At Motionsoft's Technology Summit during IHRSA 2017 in Los Angeles, panelists Jeff Skeen, CEO of Fitness Connection; Glenn Rappaport, CIO of Sport & Health; and David Collignon, vice president of operations for Blink Fitness, discussed how to get a "yes" from senior management, some of the technology they have in the works, what their dream apps are and insights on how smaller tech companies can get in front of large health club corporations.
Recognizing Technology as a Sales Tool
In the fitness industry, technology can become an afterthought when an operator is building a club. In the early phases, conversations gravitate toward the member experience, square footage and...