In his 12 years of owning a gym, Kurt Miller knows the importance of building a tight-knit community and providing the best possible client experience.For a long time, the owner of South Mountain Community Fitness in Pennsylvania has done things like celebrate client milestones, recognizing them with a small gift when they hit 100, 300 and 500 visits.
And it’s why he uses PushPress software, which has features like a Social Feed forum on their Member’s App to get his members connecting through banter or playful trash talk.
More recently, Miller turned to HybridAF as yet another way to add value to his members and increase their overall experience.
Prior to that, his members were able to access his gym using clunky key fobs, he explained.
“I was totally sick of using key fobs and HybridAF has allowed us provide easy access 24/7, streamline new additions totals hands off, [without] clunky fey fobs,” he said, adding that it also makes signing up a visitor or drop-in completely hands off and seamless.
Two years in, one hundred percent of his members today take advantage of HybridAF to access the gym, Miller said, adding that it has helped him increase both his client length of engagement (client retention) and average revenue per member.
More specifically, his average member length of engagement today is 25 months, more than three times the industry average of 7.8 months as per the 2023 Two-Brain Business State of the Industry Report.
“My members love it. It’s easy, safe, secure access that feels very professional,” Miller added.
More than anything, though, having HybridAF in his corner has given Miller a lot of time back as a busy gym owner wearing all of the hats.
“I would recommend HybridAF because of the time that it has given me back in my life,” Miller said. “Time is money, as they say, and I have completely won the lottery with getting way more time back.”
Pro Tip
If you’re a gym owner who knows it’s time to increase your rates, but you’re scared to, adding HybridAF might be perfect for you as a way to add value in order to justify a rate increase.
This is what Miller did. He doesn’t charge more, per se, for members today to take advantage of HybridAF’s unattended access whenever it is convenient for them to come to the gym, but when he first rolled it out he seamlessly “built it into a rate increase,” he said.
One Final Thing: HybridAF and PushPress Working Together
Miller also stresses the importance of having an efficient gym management software system like he does with PushPress if you’re going to roll out unattended access.
“The direct plan integration [with PushPress and HybridAF] is amazing. It has made it so easy,” he said.
He added: “Set up a plan in PushPress, boom automatic access to HybridAF. No more plan, no more access, easy peasy. I don’t have to schedule a meet up to get a new client access to my gym. Full automation.”
