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The River Bourne club is creating online sessions for different demographics
Clubs without walls Venueserve Fitness is working with the Health Club Collection to drive its digital customer engagement
T
he Health Club Collection, a
The Health Club Collection’s
group of boutique health clubs
River Bourne Club in Chertsey has a
operating in and around London
suburban demographic, and is now
since the early 1990s, has
creating bespoke training schedules
collaborated with Venueserve
for some of its niche markets, as
Fitness to develop its live streamed
Blackburn explains: “We have a lot
and pre-recorded online content
of members who are retired. We can
to fulfil its long-term strategy of
provide comprehensive, bespoke
delivering clubs without walls.
training plans for this group online;
The Health Club Collection includes
something that’s costly in person.
We wanted to be able to offer our members a round-theclock ‘lifestyle’ experience, and Venueserve Fitness helped us to fulfil our desire
the Bankside Fit Hub, the River
For our prime-time customers aged
Bourne Club and Rize. Each club has
65+, our inspirational instructor
its own unique brand and client base,
Dee, who is 70 years old herself,
but all have benefited from using the
has created some fantastic lower
who says: “Virtual provision naturally
white-label digital workout platform
impact, age-specific sessions.
creates flexibility and extends our
provided by Venueserve Fitness. Heidi Blackburn, operations director
CREATING CONTENT
Heidi Blackburn, The Health Club Collection
membership offer. As the Venueserve Fitness platform is white-label, we
“At first we wondered if this age
can customise it to look and feel like
“We introduced the online platform as
group would engage with the
our own brands, so our customers
a way to connect with our members
online technology, and we filmed
feel connected to our clubs.
during lockdown. However, we always
some short ‘How to’ instructional
had the belief that online wellness was
videos, but they’ve tuned-in and
something we wanted to provide; it
turned up. Now we’re creating more
was inevitable for the leisure sector.
content for other demographics,
at The Health Club Collection says:
FAST TO MARKET
including post and pre-natal. “The fantastic thing about virtual
CUSTOMER ENGAGEMENT
“Brand loyalty is important for customer retention. Members can use the online platforms should they be working from
“The pandemic simply sped up our
wellness is we can provide a vast range
home, away with business, on holiday
implementation of this strategy. We
of content cost-effectively. We’re
or too busy to get to the club itself. The
needed to be fast to market with our
also considering online teenage/youth
reports created by the platform show
virtual offer, and the content had to be
sessions, prehab and rehab sessions,
both pre-recorded and live streamed
authentic, meaningful and ensure our
weight loss with nutrition programmes
sessions are popular. What we’ve
instructors had online security built
and long-Covid recovery support.”
learned is that choice and convenience
in. We wanted to be able to offer our
The platform creates an opportunity
is important to customers.”
members a round-the-clock ‘lifestyle’
to grow the business, according to the
experience, and Venueserve Fitness
Health Club Collection’s group sales
To find out more visit
helped us to fulfil our desire.”
and marketing manager, Ian Hassett,
https://fitness.venueserve.com
fittechglobal.com 1 2021 89