Having a customer relationship management software is essential for any business, but for gyms, a fitness CRM software is the cornerstone of your businesses ability to flourish. Every interaction you have with your customer will shape their level of loyalty, commitment, and ability to draw in further business. This series of interactions is called the sales pipeline.
Developing a sales pipeline can lead to 47% increase in purchases. That is a huge number when you consider that around 96% of the people who visit your website aren’t ready to make a purchase (yet).
As a gym owner, we know we don’t need to tell you how important customer loyalty is. It’s important for your CRM to be tailored to your business and customers unique needs and can charter them effortlessly into a long-term committed relationship.
Choosing a CRM software for your fitness club is much like looking through a toolbox. You have many options when it comes to which size wrench will be the best fit, but only one will do it most efficiently. To help you pick the perfect one, we’ve put together a guide of the ten best CRM softwares on the market today.
We looked at their prices, compared their features, and took the diverse nature of the fitness industry marketing into consideration as we made this list. Whether you’re a personal trainer looking to expand your business or a well established gym who’s ready to move away from the spreadsheet, these are our top recommendations.
What is a CRM Software
Before we dive in, let’s talk about what a CRM software can do and how to know what’s best for you.
It’s common for owners across the spectrum of the fitness industry to receive raving reviews from customers only to never see that satisfied customer again. This is because following-up with prospects is essential; but, without a CRM it’s nearly impossible.
A fitness CRM software will allow you to manage customer data, identify sales opportunities, pursue leads, build relationships with customers, manage your online reputation, and create (and deploy) digital marketing campaigns. Ultimately, a CRM will simplify the complexity of customer relationship management into one central and streamline location.
A quick google search will show you that there are a substantial number of tech companies who are tackling this problem with fitness clubs in mind. Opting for a fitness club specific CRM solution will likely give you the best outcome as most general CRM solutions are not equipped to handle needs like class scheduling, long-term customer acquisition optimization, or be able to integrate with other softwares that are essential for gyms and fitness club operations.
Three essential features you should be on the lookout for are:
- Customizability
- Cloud deployment
- Compatibility with your current softwares
The Fitness CRM solution you opt for should support you in achieving your business goals. The hallmark of a good CRM software is one that can meet you where you are at but will be scalable to accommodate your future needs.
10 Best CRM softwares for the fitness industry
- Gleantap
Gleantap offers one of the most powerful automation tools on the market today. Its software is highly scalable and perfect for anyone from small business to large enterprises looking to get serious about membership growth in 2023.
This fitness CRM can automate everything from review response to email campaigns to SMS messaging. The sophisticated pipeline builder is an easy-to-use workflow that allows you to craft the ideal customer journey. Finally, Gleantaps software includes robust data collection that allows you to track, analyze, and optimize your customers journey.
Gleantap is a great option for full service gyms of any size, but may be overwhelming for individual trainers or businesses who are just starting up. That being said, another powerful aspect of Gleantap is its ability to be easily scaled to the needs of your fitness club or gym.
- ActiveCampaign
ActiveCampaign offers a powerful email marketing software to its users. Automated workflows, a multitude of integrations, appointment scheduling, and a reasonable price make ActiveCampaign a great option for small to mid-level businesses who are serious about marketing automations in 2023.
This software has a variety of automation capabilities such as sales follow-ups, automated segmentation, triggered campaign capabilities, ust to name a few. ActiveCampaign is an advanced tool so if you are looking for something simple and streamline, we recommend choosing a less robust system as it can be overwhelming for beginners.
- Dubsado
For individual fitness trainers and small businesses, Dubasado is a great option. Its simple, straightforward system is powerful enough to be an effective customer management system without providing an overwhelming and unnecessary amount of tools that will ultimately go unused.
Dubsado offers customizable form templates for contracts, questionnaires, and other forms.It also includes a streamline invoicing system and interactive client portals. Personable automations allow you to schedule appointments, customize your workflows, and easily schedule sessions and appointments. Dubsados strength lies in their simple, yet refined system. On top of that, Dubsado customers report being highly satisfied with their customer support which includes live chat features.
- Mariana Tek
Mariana Tek shines in that their user interface is sleek, intuitive, and easy-to-use for admins, members, and everyone in between. Like most fitness CRM software solutions, Mariana Tek prioritizes customer retention tools, form and information management, and scheduling capabilities. One of Mariana Tek’s stand out features allows trainers to invite guests to workouts or offer deals to help build person-to-trainer engagement.
The biggest downside of Mariana Teks software is the price. Its highly capable system, easy to use interface, and wide array of features certainly makes it worth the cost for those that are able to foot the bill but may be a superfluous investment for smaller clubs who don’t have multiple locations or a huge membership base.
- SimplyBook.me
SimplyBook.me is a system that is perfect for small to medium sized businesses. This fitness CRM software solution has a variety of functions that range from appointment management to automated lead capture. SimplyBook.me also allows you to take payments and has robust API and integration capabilities. The software is optimized to integrate with Google Analytics, allowing you to understand what’s working and what’s not when it comes to marketing campaigns.
SimplyBook.me also allows users to access the software via computer or phone application. Users report that the user interface for the app is easy-to-use and even offers you the ability to personalize each client’s app interface.
- Virtuagym
Virtuagym is a great option for gyms that are looking to offer a wider breadth of virtual tools to their clientele. Offered in multiple languages, Virtuagym goes beyond sales pipeline customization and membership management. This fitness CRM solution is great if you’re looking for a digitized software to supplement your in-person gym or to establish your virtual gym.
Features like nutrition focused workflows, membership management tools, and virtual training capabilities make Virtuagym a great option for completely virtual gyms or gyms that are looking to add a virtual component to their repertoire. This software is able to be easily integrated and has a robust API, making it perfect for well established gyms that already have other operating systems in place.
- Exercise
Exercise is truly a great option for gyms of any size who are looking to integrate remote and physical training facilities. They offer packages for everyone from influencers to brick and mortar gyms.
Their streamline interface makes scheduling or uploading classes easy. Their automation systems make tracking potential members through the sales pipeline easy and their user interface is well known for being customizable to the needs of staff, clients, and administration.
In addition to standard CRM functions, Exercise sets itself apart by offering post pipeline features such as leaderboard and habit tracking dashboards to clientele to cultivate an online community and boost customer retention.
- Mindbody
Mindbody is a great solution for small to medium sized fitness clubs. This CRM software uses facebook to support class signup and appointment booking, waitlist management, and scheduling.
When it comes to the sales pipeline, Mindbody offers a powerful automation software that works via email or text to reach your customers most effectively. In addition, the Mindbody app makes it easy for new and standing clients to book classes, join the waitlist, or fill out necessary forms.
Finally, Mindbody’s software comes with a built in reputation management system. Mindbodys CRM solution can be set up to automatically prompt clients to leave reviews, capture feedback from negative reviews, and boost positive reviews. This is a valuable tool for smaller gyms who may not have the budget for large media campaigns.
- TeamUp
TeamUp is easily one of the longest standing Fitness CRM solutions on the market. While one of their many strengths is scalability, we would recommend this software for medium to large fitness clubs.
Among many of the standard CRM features such as class scheduling and analytics, TeamUp also offers costumes the ability to manage their own account details so you don’t have to. Forms, waivers, and questionnaires are also included in the customers welcome journey.
One thing that sets TeamUp apart is that it is customizable to build long term customer relationships via the fitness CRM. It does this by allowing you to set up rewards programs, record attendance, and offer discount codes. Having a CRM that not only functions to capture new business, but also prioritizes maintaining current business can be substantial in boosting retention rates for fitness clubs.
- Gymdesk
Gymdesks wide breadth of offerings makes it great for medium to large-sized businesses that are looking to take the customer management bull by the horns. Beyond having high integration capability, this fitness CRM has a unique set of options that are tailored to the needs of your specific fitness club.
Whether you’re running a dance studio or a crossfit gym, the CRM solution offered by Gymdesk is highly customizable. A few of Gymdesks features include contact management, marketing automation, customizable task dashboards, and appointment scheduling.
Gymdesk is also known among users for their softwares flexibility and a responsive customer service team. Both of which are essential for businesses prioritizing growth in 2023.
Knowing what to choose
After reading through the numerous options available to gym and fitness clubs, you may notice that there are some qualities that you will need to identify in order to properly choose your CRM.
- How big is your business?
- What are your goals for this year?
- What features are you currently offering to clients? What features are you planning to offer to your clients?
- What is the best form of communication for your clients?
- What is your budget?
- What are the 3 crucial features you need in your CRM to achieve your goals?
These key questions can help you eliminate options that may be incongruent with what you, as a fitness business, are offering. Almost all of these fitness CRM solutions offer a free trial for you to test out whichever solution you are considering. Utilizing a free trial is a great way to understand more definitively what the needs of your company are.This can then help you more effectively find the right fitness CRM for your business.
Closing thoughts
Knowing what’s right for you and your fitness center can be difficult when you’re bogged down in post-it notes and a thousand excel spreadsheets. Having a competent CRM is essential for growth; but, having a CRM that is tailored to your needs is a definitive factor in success. When examining why a CRM might be important and how it could change the way you attract and retain new customers, consider these statistics:
- 63% of consumers need to hear a company’s claims 3-5 times before they believe the them
- 30-50% of sales are made by the first vendor to respond
- Companies who contact a lead within an hour of receiving an inquiry are 7X more likely to make a sale
- Referrals are 4X more likely to lead to a purchase
This is a short list; however, you can see that prioritizing the customer’s journey is critical to the livelihood of your business. The more you can keep your customers engaged and organized, the easier it will be for them to reach you and vice versa.There is a lot of business to be generated from simply being available and active in the customer sales journey. Of course, this is much easier said than done, as customer management is a full time job in itself.
Through the automations and reputation management offered by a great fitness CRM solution, you can be available to your customers without having to be glued to your customer management dashboard.
If you’re ready to change the way you’ve been managing your customer relations, don’t hesitate to reach out or schedule your free trial today. Let us show you how our robust automations and suave operating system can convert interested prospects into loyal clients.
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