"Falling and getting back up in business: “The takeaway fitness during the lockdown was a success!”
Gym Tonic’s mission is to get and keep people moving. Anyone who has ever joined a gym only to never put on a pair of trainers knows the perils of a well-intended 'resolution'. And if your gym is forced to close its doors, this resolution virtually turns into a 'mission impossible'. But Ann Van den Rijn kept in touch with her customers. “When the lockdown was announced, I knew that we had to act very quickly,” says the entrepreneur. "Many sports centres are stopping their services altogether. We had already launched an online programme after just one week, with live streamed workouts."
Exercise via the app
Gym Tonic’s major advantage was that the centre was already using digital technology quite extensively. "We already had our own app, so we could easily continue to reach our customers online. We therefore no longer had to make this investment. We did, however, invest in a good studio with professional sound and audio equipment, so that the digital lessons were of high quality. We also introduced takeaway fitness: training programmes for home, including loan equipment such as spin bicycles." Later, Ann and her team developed two more fit-o-meter courses nearby and organised outdoor classes.
Children in bed? Time for an online workout
“By staying in touch with customers using newsletters, online surveys and telephone conversations, everyone was aware of our offering and I was also able to properly assess what our customers' needs were,” continues Ann. She discovered that many are willing to continue to pay for online workouts even after the reopening. "Gym members who like to train in the gym find it an added value to also be able to take part in an online lesson after they have put their children to bed. But we have also discovered a completely new target group: people who live further away and never come to the gym, but want to enjoy the online offering We are currently building an even better digital app to continue serving them now that we are open again."
Image of Loet van Eijndhoven
Continuing to innovate
Our bank contributed to the digitalisation of the sports centre. "We were in close contact with our relationship manager at BNP Paribas Fortis. It's great to have your bank check in from time to time to see how your business is doing and to help communicate your renewed offerings," Ann says. She joined BNP Paribas Fortis about five years ago. "At the time we were also going through a more difficult period. As a result of roadworks, Gym Tonic was barely accessible for a year. We had to reinvent ourselves to stand out from the crowd. BNP Paribas Fortis understood where we wanted to go, which allowed us to expand our sports centre with the group practice 4 Effect, where we collaborate with physiotherapists, an osteopath, a nutritionist and a mental coach. BNP Paribas Fortis has been working with us from day one. As a businessperson, you have to make sure that you have a partner that not only takes care of your money matters, but also broadens your network and forms a sounding board for testing new ideas. Because no matter how you look at it, constant innovation is a must. As Darwin put it, it is not the strongest of the species that survives, nor the most intelligent; it is the one most adaptable to change."