Jon Rowley has earned his stripes in the fitness industry. In 2012, he opened 2020FIT in Prairie Village, KS. This was long before the days of gym CRMs and sophisticated systems to track gym member check-ins.
Today, his gym has grown to more than 550 members, plus kids.
When the PushPress Check-In Challenge came along in April, Rowley thought, ‘Why not?’ The challenge monitored both improvement and overall attendance through PushPress Core.
Rowley said he originally signed up for the challenge mostly because it was free. In addition, he thought it would be a good idea to track his check-in data for a month.
2020FIT ended up winning the challenge, simply due to the consistency in gym member check-ins. Aside from the win, Rowley says the challenge was also a huge morale boost for his staff of four full-time and nine part-time coaches.
“It’s really good validation for our team,” he said. “We think that we have so much to improve on and we do. But it’s nice validation to our team to know that we’re kind of kicking ass.”
He continued, “Basically it’s a pat on the back to everyone who is making it happen. It has been something to celebrate. It’s one thing when I brag about us, but it’s nice to have some objective bragging.”
The Importance of Gym Member Check-Ins.
Rowley admitted he “didn’t do anything outside of our normal business operations” to win the challenge. He just went about business as usual. Coaches simply asked clients to register for classes. If someone forgot, staff would check them in.
“And apparently, we’re crushing it,” joked Rowley.
When asked about the importance of gym member check-ins, Rowley said there are several reasons. Ultimately, the goal is to help people stay on track with their fitness. Secondly, you’re showing them you care about them and their commitment to fitness.
With 550 members and average class sizes of 12-15, Rowley says check-ins are an incredibly important gym metric. It allows him to accurately manage who’s on track and who his team needs to reach out to.
“Ten years ago, I knew everyones’ name, their dog’s name, their kid’s name,” he said. “I knew everything about every person that was at our gym. As we have grown, we have had to use systems to keep that small feel intact.
“Even though we are a decently big gym, we don’t want to lose the small gym feel. And knowing where everyone is, who everyone is, is really important.”
For instance, if a member who attends class regularly doesn’t show up for more than a week, they’ll show up on the at-risk report. This alerts coaches to reach out and make sure all is well. With 550 members, manually tracking gym member check-ins like this would be next to impossible.
How The Other PushPress Products Helped.
Rowley became a PushPress client in the fall of 2021. In addition to Core, he uses several other PushPress products to help him manage his gym. He said he couldn’t overstate the importance of having quality software as a gym owner.
Core helps him manage billing, scheduling and (obviously) gym member check-ins. And he loves the fact that Core syncs with Grow, PushPress’ gym CRM tool (customer relationship management).
PushPress Grow
Rowley uses Grow for everything from lead generation to creating the ultimate member experience for his clients. And while he believes PushPress is the best gym management software, what truly set his experience apart has been the customer service.
“When you utilize a CRM, you expect it to do its job,” he said. “That’s what you’re paying for. But what PushPress has done so well is the support side. It has been very, very good any time we have had a problem.”
And if there’s ever a hiccup, the customer service team is there to help.
“That to me, is the mark of a good company,” said Rowley. “Someone who will go out and solve the problem for you, and not leave you hung out to dry.”
Pro Tip: Want to learn how PushPress Grow can help you run your gym better and save you time with the power of automation? Book a demo with our team today!
PushPress Staff App
For everything from gym member check-ins to staff communication, Rowley said the Staff App has made it all considerably easier.
“Before PushPress, it was sloppy and you needed a computer at every kiosk,” he said.
Today, he just has an iPad in each of the four areas of his gym. If the front desk misses a check-in, coaches can easily check them in on the iPad. Members can also use their phone, however Rowley prefers they avoid having phones on the gym floor.
Ultimately, checking clients in is “so much more streamlined now,” he said.
The gym member retention results speak for themselves. Oftentimes when a gym grows to the size of 2020FIT, client retention can suffer. Not for lack of trying, it’s just tough to give that many people personalized attention.
But with the help of PushPress, Rowley said his retention has remained “remarkably consistent.” Despite the gym’s growth, he’s been able to maintain just a two percent client churn rate.
