SPONSORED BRIEFING
JUSTIN MUSGROVE ON BANNATYNE & BRIGHTLIME Partnership puts software at the heart of an enhanced member experience Bannatyne is the largest independent chain of health clubs in the UK, operating 72 sites and providing a premium offer to 215,000 members. The company has expanded through organic growth and acquisition and has created an enhanced member experience driven by software, as CEO, Justin Musgrove, explains
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ack in 2014, a period which saw the health club market polarise and many mid-market operators suffer, we recognised we needed to drive an upmarket offering at midmarket prices, through a strategy focused on being at the forefront of technology. We were looking for advances that would allow customers to join online. Although commonplace now, this was cutting edge then – it’s easy to forget how rapidly the market has evolved. For the first 15 years, we’d used membership software that had been developed as a single site product, but we recognised we needed enterprise-level software suited for a multi-site brand. In addition, we wanted a cloud-based solution and for the software to integrate with third party applications, including our Bannatyne App, which enables members to book classes on the go, monitor biometrics, track exercise routines and view personal records. Fundamentally, the software needed to help us evolve our business and drive greater sales, efficiency and member engagement. Following a market review and tender process, we selected BrightLime, the web-based solution from Legend Club Management. First and foremost, it had the functionality we were looking for, was competitively priced, offered scalability and reliability, and, critically, strong data security. A STRONG PARTNERSHIP We continue to be impressed with BrightLime’s partnership approach to our relationship. In the last five years, we’ve not only developed online joining, but also have wristbands with RFID chips to allow members to access clubs via turnstiles, use lockers and make in-club payments to create a cashless environment. BrightLime underpins all this functionality. We’ve also evolved our customer engagement model through third party integrations, including with Technogym’s mywellness cloud, MYZONE and our
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“Bannatyne is a demanding, disruptive organisation. We want to be market leaders and this aspiration needs a technology partner who has the same ethos and the same aspirations. Fortunately, we have found this partner in BrightLime” Justin Musgrove, CEO, Bannatyne Netsuite ERP back-of-house reporting. This has created an enhanced member experience driven by software, allowing members to benefit from integrations, while allowing us to be more efficient in our back-of-house analysis and management.
healthclubmanagement.co.uk June 2019 ©Cybertrek 2018
Results have been impressive. Since the beginning of 2015, we’ve seen membership grow from 163,000 to 215,000, half of which can be attributed to online joining. In addition we’ve moved from 100 per cent of bookings being