Technology offers enormous opportunities; the challenge is in understanding what it is able to bring to the heart and mind of the customer. At the end of the day, it comes down to the fundamentals of motivating people to work out. In that sense, technology is a tool which can be deployed to create high motivation, high stimulation environments.

My latest club in Auckland, New Zealand, has a NZ$1m-worth of plasma screen mosaics pumping out music videos. In my view, AV entertainment will continue to be the most important technological opportunity for clubs to entertain and keep spaces energised.

Globally, convenience is key, and virtual workouts where participants are guided by on-screen instruction will become prevalent. Originally I was something of a cynic on non-instructor-led exercise, but having trialled a virtual product at Les Mills I am now a convert. Allowing members the convenience of receiving a group exercise experience at any time of the day is compelling. Our research has also revealed a correlation between members moving on to live group exercise classes after trying virtual workouts. In that sense, technology will act as a feeder to the live experience. For clubs, it’s a massive way to add value as facilities increasingly become 24/7 operations.

Social media has been a boon to the industry. It has given clubs the ability to deepen their relationships with members and become a part of people’s lives. Its importance will only grow and it’s imperative that clubs continue to evolve online as technology develops.

Apps will also play a deeper part in the exercise process. Personally, I feel it will be apps that create experiences, rather than results-focused apps, which prosper. Although results help motivate people, the apps that bring people together, forming communities and bonds that go deeper than shedding calories will have longevity.

In combination, online, smart and AV technologies can enhance the fitness experience, and clubs will need to work out how best to deploy these tools.

If I try to project forward and imagine myself as a health club member in 2023, I believe the three most remarkable changes compared to today will be: firstly, the services offered will be more flexible and not dependent on the four walls of the club; secondly, the services offered to me will be more individualised; and thirdly, training will have become more social again.

All of these changes will be technology-driven. In 2023, my club knows me better as they have done extensive data mining, which means they know my interests and goals, and have tracked my past performance and activity. I have also had a thorough preventive health check-up including DNA analysis, which means that my club knows my exact medical predispositions and which types of activity can prevent me from developing life-threatening diseases. Based on this data, I’m receiving individually-tailored suggestions about what I can do, when I can do it and who I can do it with – whether that’s PTs, other members with similar goals, or a virtual trainer via my mobile device.

I can do the classes I want, whenever I want, with the best instructors in the world – whether that’s with a live instructor in the club, by following a class streamed over the internet with a thousand other people, or by doing a pre-recorded class.

If I want to do an outdoor activity, I can easily team up with the gym-buddies I’ve been linked with by the club’s data-mining system. And If I just want to work out at home one day, I can easily get a recommendation on what to do – or just follow a programme or a class in my living room in front of my internet-connected smart TV.

The future will be more personalised, more flexible and more social.

The technology already exists to gather a staggering amount of data about our members. We can see if a member has paid their membership, what type of membership they have, their email address, home address, telephone number and how many times they have used our gym recently. With that information, we can target gym members with bespoke emails pertaining to their recent gym adherence, and we can run advertising and marketing campaigns based on the geographical regions of our members.

Going forward, we can expect to see new, niche social networks emerging to match particular interests. Could a fitness-specific social network captivate the masses in the same manner that Facebook, Twitter and YouTube have done in recent years? Such a network, catering for gym users, could allow gyms that subscribe to create a profile comprising gym photos, videos and apps to download. It could even become a quasi-mandatory part of being a gym member, in the same way that being an online user is now a must to receive full benefits of being a gym member today.

Of course, even the internet is adapting to meet the needs of a mobile user: we expect any prominent exercise network to be an app. Xercise4Less intends to produce an all-encompassing app with a booking system, running maps, exercise journals, calorie expenditure calculators. Meanwhile The Colonel – the character who represents our brand in marketing channels and YouTube videos – will remain at the forefront of engaging members in our latest technology, sharing health tips, exercise guidance and online videos with home exercisers.

Finally, what technology can we expect to see in the gym itself? By 2020, we look forward to seeing greater technology on the screens of cardiovascular equipment. How long will it be before gym members can virtually see themselves running through customised environments linked to Google Street View?

The first ever website was launched in 1991, so the first 100 per cent internet generation – the digital natives – was also born in the 90s. This generation embraces advertising and information in a whole new way, which of course affects the operation of a successful gym. In 10 years’ time, this generation will begin to pass 30 years of age and technology will have a natural dominance in everyday life.

As a club operator, you always target new ways of making money in the areas of marketing, sales and customer loyalty. Technologies must be employed in the context in which they will have the most impact. As an example, most managers have too much faith in Facebook. This is a tool where you mainly interact with ‘super fans’ – those who already love you. It’s important to communicate with this audience, as they can be your best salespeople. But in the future, the web will provide far more efficient channels to energise your brand advocates than Facebook.

We know that, on average, the gym industry attracts about 15–20 per cent of the population, Where can we find all the others? They sit on the couch surfing the net. Will this situation decrease over the coming 10 years? No: it will of course increase so, with the help of technology, we need to use targeted marketing to reach the inactive individual and introduce our services.

Does your gym dominate on the internet? Probably not: the majority of health club operators do not have a strategy, knowledge or the right resources for optimal presence. What operator could have predicted that the most important people in his company would be web designers, usability experts, app developers, webinar teachers and social media content managers?

Many PTs and group exercise instructors have only a secondary role to play in the success of the gym of the future – even in the service area, technology is taking over. A high-service club is not only judged by staff-to-member interaction, but also on the possibilities that technology gives you. A definition of high customer service now also involves:

1) Accessibility: More or less everything should be available 24 hours a day.
2) DIY: A member needs to be able to do tasks via smartphone, computer and tablets, whether that’s related to bookings, programming, buying, cancellations, education or motivation.
3) Simplicity: Access should not only be available all the time, but just as important is the simplicity of the process. It needs to be extremely easy to become a customer, buy more services, cancel membership and so on.

As an operator, don’t follow the masses and do the same as everyone else. Evaluate every new technology and use the right element in the appropriate area. Make sure you’re using activities and tools that truly create revenue – then the possibilities will be endless.