Blog Post by Steve Hayward, UK Country Manager at Gymmusic
I’ve been to a lot of gyms, more than most people. It’s part of my job to understand a gym’s client base, the atmosphere, the style of the place and then help them set up our Pin2 music streaming service accordingly to match their needs.
Visiting all these places (all pre-Lock Down!) led to some interesting situations/conversations and I thought I would share some of the more interesting ones here. I’m not going to mention any names but I am pleased to say that most of them are now using Pin2 and so their situation has radically changed!
Gym Manager #1
“We don’t need a new music system because most of our clients wear headphones”
I heard this when I first started at Gymmusic three years ago and I was stunned! It was no surprise that the gym was one of the most soulless empty spaces I’ve ever been to. The music they were providing was from the TV! At the same time they wondered why their numbers were down and that most people only stayed a month or so. Key learning: a great, up beat music mix gets your clients talking and if they have friends at the gym, they will stay longer!
Gym Owner #2
“I play what I like and nothing else”
This guy was a classic case of a guy who worked out a lot, who eventually got his own gym, then expected all his clients to be like him. At the same time as flipping that worn out 80’s heavy rock CD in the music system he was wondering why he was struggling to attract any women and younger people to his gym. Learning: a good music mix will please a broad range of people.
Gym Manager #3
“We just put on a Spotify playlist”
That’s exactly what most gyms are doing. You are not doing anything different to the competition, it just isn’t special anymore. This isn’t matched to your clients wants or needs. And then what happens? Either you hear the same songs over and over again (sometimes in the same order if you havent hit shuffle play) or you spend an hour or two each day ‘curating’ your playlists… this is classic nothing work, it doesn’t make much difference and is time consuming. Again it’s unlikely (unless you have a profound music knowledge) that the time costly results will produce a good mix.
Gym Manager #4
“I let my staff play what they like”
This is tricky territory, but it fails to work more often than it does. What you won’t hear is the collective groan from your clients as your heavy metal fan PT queues up his Slayer CD again… I’m not saying Slayer is bad, if that’s what your customers like, but it’s about providing what your clients like to listen to not what your staff like. Everything in moderation and in a wide and varied mix is a far better recipe for success. You want your staff focusing on your clients, not nipping off to change discs/playlists all the time. The other danger with this is that it’s very easy to get into client complaint territory: that gangster rap mix that sounds so on your headphones is perhaps not ideal for a public space where there is a spectrum of age ranges…
Gym Owner #5
“I just spent £50k on new weight machines, why should I spend even more money on music…”
Faster than a fancy paint job and definitely cheaper than a new Smith Machine, revising the way you deliver your music is the CHEAPEST way to totally revise the atmosphere in your gym for the better, get more people signed up and keep them with you for longer.
So there’s a quick round up of some common mistakes, none of them particularly bad in their own right, but you will lose clients over time if you’re not creating the right atmosphere.
Check out more of the functionality of our Pin2 fitness music streaming service here and don’t forget to request a free trial and experience the difference for yourself.