I was very interested to read the recent feature on activity tracking (see HCM Aug 14, p40).
With wearable technology now coming in a number of forms – wristbands, watches, vests, even temporary tattoos – only a few will make it through Gartner’s Trough of Disillusionment. These will be the ones that are not intrusive or cumbersome when training, that are easy to use and that genuinely help gym members get fitter, stronger, faster, lose weight. Real value derived will ensure adoption occurs.
It would be perfectly feasible for a gym member to track their exercises, duration, speed, calories, heartbeat, blood pressure and so on and have all the information automatically uploaded, via an app, to their club ‘exercise dashboard’. Clubs would learn much more about why their members go to the gym (fitness, strength, endurance, weight loss and so on) and the activities they undertake – who uses what equipment and fitness zone, when, how often and for how long – enabling them to build up a much more informed and valuable audience segmentation model.
Using this technology to better serve members would go a long way to helping them get more out of their sessions and to helping clubs better understand members’ needs.
Fortune most probably favours the brave. The chain to adopt the right technology, offering enhanced and genuine member value, will improve member retention and acquisition.