In the past, WiFi was a real differentiator for businesses. But as technology advanced, strong WiFi, capable of streaming video content to mobile and tablet devices has become a commodity. Thus, having strong and reliable WiFi throughout your club is as important as ever. This article will highlight how you can maximize WiFi availability for member usage while eliminating the need for WiFi in order to transfer your asset usage data.
Strong WiFi is a commodity.
Today’s health club member is expecting to be able to consume content on their mobile device while exercising at your fitness facility. Whether it’s a movie on Netflix, streaming music from Spotify, downloading podcasts from iTunes, or simply catching Steph Curry highlights from a Facebook news feed, all that entertainment requires a strong WiFi connection.
Well known, successful businesses like Starbucks, Panera Bread, Marriott and Whole Foods, make strong WiFi a priority. Why? Because their customers expect it, for one. When your business becomes a place to spend time, the chances of your customer making additional purchases increases. Think about it, could your club benefit from some additional smoothie or food sales?
WiFi is for enhancing the in-store experience, not for asset management.
Businesses like Whole Foods and Starbucks know that the longer a customer is in the store, the more likely they are to purchase. But they also know that customers are enjoying their experience simply be spending time IN the store. This builds brand equity over time and promotes repeat purchase in subsequent visits.
Today’s leading fitness facilities are following suit, and are providing free WiFi to members as a means to improve the overall experience. LA Fitness and 24 Hour Fitness, for instance, offer free, reliable WiFi at ALL of their locations.
What no fitness facility should have to do, though, is jeopardize WiFi quality by using it to transfer asset management data on their equipment usage. WiFi is most in-demand at the times when your club is most busy. This is also the time when your asset management solution is tracking the most machine usage data.
Do your members a favor and use a proprietary wireless protocol to transfer machine usage data.
Save WiFi for group exercise classes, where instructor creativity is maximized.
If your group exercise instructors are teaching a class like a BoxMaster workout, Schwinn Indoor Cycling or StairMaster HIIT, they may need WiFi to stream the content. There’s no denying that the music selection your instructors choose can make or break a member’s experience.
Music systems like Sonos are becoming increasingly popular since it enables a smartphone to function like a true stereo remote control. You want to encourage your instructors to curate music and make great playlists that improve the member experience in a group exercise class. If you’re a franchise operation, at the very least, you want to properly distribute a great playlist made by corporate.
Music systems that use WiFi are becoming more and more popular. This makes the need for proprietary wireless protocol system for asset management data all the more important.
Asset management data transfer slows down WiFi, which can lead to member dissatisfaction.
Slow WiFi is becoming a more common cause of poor member satisfaction, but broken equipment is still the leader in the clubhouse when it comes to reasons members quit.
Reducing equipment downtime is best managed with asset management hardware and software that will alert you ahead of when a machine approaches critical status. This should not come at the expense of your WiFi speed members are expecting.
When you use an asset management solution that transfers machine usage data on its own proprietary protocol, you can operate your club without worry. You can rest assured that the all-important member experience will not be damaged by slow WiFi.
If you’re using an asset management system, make sure that it transfers critical machine data on its own proprietary wireless protocol. For instance, EcoFit uses its own robust and reliable wireless radio network, meaning the asset management system doesn’t use the WiFi that you want to be working fast for your members and instructors.
