054 Sunil Saha: Fitness Loyalty Programs For Revenue & Engagement

New technologies in the fitness space are helping everyone achieve greater results as digital reward programs are making the gym experience more enjoyable for customers and more profitable for owners. In the past, running a loyalty program was fairly expensive and required a great deal of manual effort. Now there are automated tools available and tailored to the fitness space that allow members to track progress, use points, and interact with the club, all without the need for additional staff to facilitate the process.

This episode is for club owners, operators, and fitness professionals to explore the impact of how digital reward programs can be used to drive engagement, increase spend-per-member, and improve customer retention.

For episode 054 we're joined by Sunil Saha, the Co-Founder and CEO of Perkville, a company offering custom automated loyalty programs in minutes that is revolutionizing how businesses motivate their customers to help them grow.

Sunil also discusses how fitness management systems are investing heavily in their API's and mobile platforms which is opening up the ecosystems for new players to come in and have an incredible impact on engagement and member experience in the health club industry.

With the plethora of technologies at our disposal to increase customer loyalty, how can we use these digital platforms and automated services to enhance the member experience and reduce monthly attrition?

The answer to that question and much more takeaways for club owners, operators, and fitness pros in this episode with Sunil Saha.

About Sunil Saha

Sunil Saha is the Co-Founder and CEO of Pervkille, a company offering custom automated loyalty programs in minutes that is revolutionizing how businesses motivate their customers to help them grow.

Sunil has been working in technology for over 15 years since graduating with a BA in Human Biology from Stanford and enjoys working in teams to build things that the fitness industry needs in the era of exponential technology, including product management, internet services, healthcare, small business marketing, and more.

Listen To Episode 054 As Sunil Saha Uncovers

• The customer loyalty trends that Sunil believes will impact the fitness space in 2018
• How mobile platforms are allowing companies to digitize their loyalty programs
• The ways technology is impacting the member experience in small and large facilities
• How to measure the effectiveness of our customer loyalty programs
• Why larger facilities should focus on driving down their monthly attrition rates
• How facilities can use A/B Testing to increase referrals and optimize landing pages
• Strategies for facilities that sell monthly packages to increase their Repeat Customer Rate
• Striking the right balance on spending enough to keep members engaged without breaking the bank
• How facilities can generate customer loyalty by exceeding their member's expectations
• Why new members need to receive meaningful rewards within 3 to 6 months of joining
• How to create customer advocates who will share their experience on social media and help leverage powerful word-of-mouth advertising
• How to identify the activities and rewards that are compelling for your members
• The split testing techniques that Sunil used at LinkedIn
• How to use rewards to gain information by enticing members to fill out surveys
• Why engagement increases 30-50% when staff members are properly trained to talk about the program
• How Perkville is experimenting with machine learning to identify members who may stop coming to the club
• Additional technologies that are impacting customer loyalty in the fitness verticle
• How to create loyal customers by using tech to respond to member issues

Top 3 Takeaways From The Show

• Exceeding member expectations is a critical piece for any facility who wants to increase customer retention. Sunil recommends implementing loyalty programs shortly after a member joins and allowing them to start seeing rewards within the first 3 to 6 months. This can act as a successful differentiator for your facility and quickly create a loyal and engaged customer. Along with creating this up-front value, it's also necessary to show member's their progress along the way to keep them motivated as they work towards their goals.
• Leadership from the top down regarding loyalty programs through educating staff is paramount. If a loyalty program is going to be successful, it's necessary to share, communicate, and properly disseminate within the club. Sunil has seen a 30-50% increase in engagement when staff members are properly trained to talk about the value of loyalty programs.
• It's important that club's find a good balance between their marketing efforts and their spending. What Perkville helps clubs figure out is how to spend enough to reward and keep members involved without breaking the bank. Facilities must identify the rewards that are compelling enough for their members, while also setting points at the right values on the earning and the redemption side. When the club sets the points at the right values, they increase the chance of having a meaningful and cost-effective program, which at the end of the day means more members seeing their health goals come to fruition.

Power Quotes From Sunil Saha

"Being able to test is key to understanding how your marketing programs are performing." - Sunil Saha on the Fitness + Technology Podcast

"If you structure your membership program incorrectly, it will either cost you too much money or fail to have an impact on your business." - Sunil Saha on the Fitness + Technology Podcast

"Quickly responding to customer feedback is one of the fastest ways you can build customer advocacy." - Sunil Saha on the Fitness + Technology Podcast

Resources Mentioned From Sunil Saha

• Sunil Saha
• Perkville: Rewards and Loyalty
• ABC Financial
• Jonas Fitness
• Mind Body
• Club OS
• InTouch CRM
• Listen360
• Medallia
• MyZone
• FitMetrix
• Linkedin
• Yahoo
• The Peanut Butter Manifesto
• GymSales

Thanks To Our Outstanding Sponsors

• Bryan O'Rourke and his family of companies including Vedere Ventures, Integerus Advisors, and many more. If you are looking for unmatched guidance, capital, insights or a great speaker or facilitator, Bryan and his partners are the go to resource for your organization. To learn more visit bryankorourke.com
• The Fitness Industry Technology Council, your non-profit resource for reliable technology information supported by forward looking brands who are seeking to drive increased technology adoption in the fitness industry. Make a difference and join FIT-C at fittechcouncil.org today
• Check out Bryan and his partner Robert Dyer's recent book "9 Partnership Principles: A Story of Life Lessons" which is available now on Amazon.com

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