Wodify gives out the seeds needed to grow a successful health and wellness business for no extra cost
Piloting a fitness business without a Wodify is like flying an airplane minus the wings. Wodify, a leading developer of fitness management software tools, isn’t gatekeeping their tactics for a proper takeoff either.
The Philadelphia-based company recently launched Free Unlimited, a model that grants users access to all of Wodify’s management tools for zero dollars down. There are no processing fees nor monthly costs, which Wodify makes possible via a service charge added with each invoice to clients.
“A lot of companies will offer some version of free or discounted software that’s a fraction of their total feature set,” said Brendan Rice, Wodify CEO. “It slows down gyms that are trying to grow or get off the ground. Whether you’re opening your gym in a month, just starting out, or already have 100 members, anyone on our Free Unlimited tier has access to all of our most advanced features. It’s a common practice in a lot of other industries, but we’re bringing it to the fitness industry.”
Time & Money Still Matter
Free Unlimited obviously helps users from a financial standpoint. However, the positives from that saved capital often go overlooked.
“We asked ourselves, How we can help fitness business owners increase lead generation and conversion, improve retention, or optimize business efficiency?” Rice explained. “That essentially boils down to saving time or money.”
Brendan Rice (credit: Wodify)
There’s an array of hidden software fees, primarily processing ones, that often come back to bite gym owners. In 2023, the average functional fitness or boutique studio gym did around $12,000 in top-line revenue per month, but the owners only turned a $4,000 profit as a result of those hidden fees.
“That’s just not good enough,” Rice said of those figures. “We ask gym owners how much they pay in processing fees and (they) do not know the answer to that question. They’re one of the largest hidden expenses that fitness business owners incur because it’s not a cost each month, it’s taken out of top-line revenue. We knew we could do something to help that.”
The saved money combined with all the features Wodify offers makes Free Unlimited a double-whammy in terms of asset management. The bandwidth Wodify preserves by handling operations from a tech standpoint also trickles down to all other areas of the business that require an operator’s attention.
“It essentially just gives them back more time in their day and it streamlines all their operations,” Rice said. “It lets them get started with all of that for free instead of having to either go in the red or potentially wait to invest in that. You get everything, you pay for nothing”
Features That Bolster Engagement
In addition to all of the features in Wodify’s premier core package, Free Unlimited carries Wodify Retain and Wodify Perform. Like Free Unlimited, they both accomplish exactly what their names promise.
Wodify Retain is an artificial intelligence system that predicts when gym members might cancel their membership. It uses millions of data points from thousands of businesses to forecast when individuals are most at risk. Doing so allows gyms to combat any poor retainment figures at their core, prompting gyms to reach out at the right time and get members back on track.
Wodify Perform enables instructors to program their workouts or class agendas ahead of class time and for clients to track their workout progress and accountability throughout their fitness journeys. This motivates participants to stay committed to achieving their fitness goals by making them personal and their progress toward them visual.
Wodify’s app drives engagement as well, connecting individuals to their gym even when they’re not physically there. This establishes an omnipresent sense of community which makes attending workouts far more enjoyable and supportive experiences. It’s a rare attribute Wodify gyms benefit from that many go without.
“With most gyms, you’re at best getting your client in-person for one hour a day,” Rice said. “The features we build enable a hybrid experience.”
“In-app chats allow gym owners to become a trusted advisor for their clients in health and wellness, versus just a coach giving them movement cues,” he adds. “That includes things like following up on injuries, helping them track their longer-term goals, giving them workouts while they’re on vacation and providing other resources like recipes and nutrition guides. All of that together strengthens the relationship of the business staff and the clients.”
The member-to-member relationship receives a boost via these features as well. A gym goer working out in the evening and another at the crack of dawn are essentially placed side by side with how the Wodify app connects users. Leaderboards are displayed via the app communicating workout results amongst users. This allows clients to see a bigger picture in terms of their performance and fosters stronger connections.
credit: Wodify
“We’re able to connect your entire community instead of siloing it to micro-communities,” Rice said. “Some gyms run a 5 AM class that only gets seven people to show up, but they have 200 members. Now those 200 people can all interact with each other. The 5 AM-ers can see how the 5 PM-ers did. They can communicate, make friends, engage with each other and feel like they’re part of a bigger community than just the very small group they interact with on a day-to-day basis.”
It All Comes Back to Gamification
That connection between users sets up a wide platform for competition, making gamification another motivator. It’s something Wodify is not afraid to lean on even with it drawing a bit of negative attention outside the fitness space.
“Gamification is often attributed to addictive mobile apps where you’re playing Candy Crush or something and you keep playing,” Rice said. “In fitness, you can think about it in a little more positive light. Gamification isn’t just a means to trick people into staying longer. If you improve consistency and motivation, you get better results, which is why people joined in the first place.”
“A lot of people who go to functional fitness gyms, if they don’t track their performance, they’ll leave after two or three months,” Rice added. “With us, you’re able to demonstrate with data and with some of those milestones that they’re making progress, and then a year later, they’ll have the strength or the weight loss or whatever other goal they had, because you were able to keep them on that consistent track.”
This gamification strengthens the gym community amongst Wodify users. By competing against each other, gym goers hold each other accountable and stay committed to their fitness journeys. The software’s community-building and gamification all combine to form a winning recipe for Wodify. The platform’s gym members double up the competition, staying for roughly 16 months, while the industry standard for a gym membership is eight months.
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