Opportunities for health and fitness businesses during the COVID-19 pandemic

Updated on 02.04.2020

The Coronavirus pandemic has impacted businesses all around the world, especially within the Health and Fitness industry.

Whilst the Australian and New Zealand governments have recently mandated the closure of Health & Fitness centres, there are still opportunities for businesses to continue providing a service to their members responsibly whilst meeting the new measures. Your member community are, in most cases, paying for your service to reach a personal goal – so why should limited access to a physical location stop them from achieving this?

Now is the time to consider alternate ways to deliver your service and generate revenue. So, what can your business do?

Maintain your member base by adding value

We are already seeing a lot of members wanting to support their local gyms through these times whilst also continuing to exercise at home, so the opportunity exists to nurture these relationships through an extended service offering. Many operators we have spoken to are using this as an opportunity to add value in alternative ways.

So, what are some examples of this?

• Offering members 1 on 1 PT sessions where social distancing is applied, or remote sessions with an app such as goXpro.
• Moving to a remote engagement model; offering online group classes through your Gym Membership Software.
• Creating a video library of content available to members using online video software like Vimeo.
• Adding a virtual coaching component to existing offerings. Life Fitness has done this by creating a range of workouts based on stretch and mobility, body weight training and workouts with accessories.
• Offering short-term virtual memberships (using any of the above delivery methods) to those at home, with the option to extend in-club once reopened.
• Offering ‘digital’ subscriptions by providing relevant content, workouts, nutritional advice etc. via online newsletters or through a member app.
• Using free apps like The Magic Mountain App to create a community group and help motivate your members to keep moving whilst at home.
• Partnering with other digital solutions to offer additional value to members. A good example of this is Jamie Hayes and his dietflex and weight loss programs. He’s also helping clubs that want to set up their own gated members-only exercise platform, as he has done.
• Looking at ways to ‘rent’ equipment to customers to use at home.

In continuing to support your customers in meeting their fitness goals, you are reinforcing your value with them and strengthening your position for the future.

Software solutions to help you adapt to change

Many software providers in the industry have adjusted their offering and added functionality to their solutions so that their users can continue to operate their businesses online through live streaming and online video workouts. They are also offering resources to enable businesses to remain connected with their clients and members through a variety of online channels. This investment into cloud technology means businesses can quickly adapt to change.

Ezypay’s Health and Fitness partner directory has been created to assist iConnect360 users select a new Membership Management software in light of the product’s upcoming retirement. However, it’s a helpful resource to understand each solution’s features and capabilities.

Resources to stay on top of industry news

Justin Tamsett of Active Management and The Fitness Business Podcast put together a panel of 6 experts to discuss approaches to dealing with the COVID-19 impact to the Health and Fitness Industry, covering all aspects of business during the pandemic.

The Active Management Community Facebook Page is also a helpful, no-sales pitch group for sharing best practices among other gym and fitness business owners.

The Health and Fitness industry has undoubtedly been impacted by this pandemic and it’s important to take advantage of any government assistance available to you during this time. But with change also comes the opportunity for businesses to expand and pivot.

Operators can act swiftly to nurture existing member relationships and tap into the ‘at-home’ market of those looking for a solution whilst in isolation. They can also prepare for the future by creating solutions to take them into the digital era and target those people unlikely to commit to visiting a gym each week but may be interested in alternative solutions.

Ezypay’s support teams are happy to share advice on how to get the most out of your billing service during this time and can assist you with any changes to your account. Please don’t hesitate to reach out to us at help@ezypay.com. If you are not currently using Ezypay and would like to see what is involved in making the switch, you can find out more here.

Amid the uncertainty caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, we’d like to reassure our customers that Ezypay’s service has not been impacted and our billing operations will continue as normal. 

Learn more about how Ezypay can service Health & Fitness businesses, or apply online to get started.