VariFit began as a bit of fun while I worked full time as an aircraft engineer. Back then, I held five weekly Zumba Fitness and Zumba Gold classes for my local community in the evenings and weekends. This part-time hobby became my full-time job once the pandemic hit back in March 2020, at which point I opted for voluntary redundancy and decided to focus on VariFit as my sole focus.
Now that I had more time to concentrate on my fitness instructing, I added more styles of classes such as core workouts, aerobics and body conditioning. My customer base is entirely made up of women aged around 40 through to 90 – sometimes their family even join in with the online workouts which is wonderful to see.
Club Info
Contact: Sallyanne Foster
Number of Customers: 150+
Type of Business: Online & Face-to-face Fitness Instructor
Key Benefits
✓ Gained 350 new registrations.
✓ Run online classes via Zoom.
✓ Increased customer loyalty.
✓ Empowered customers to manage their own bookings.
Adapting during the COVID-19 pandemic.
As a result of COVID-19, I swiftly had to move my classes online during the national lockdowns which was a massive challenge considering I’d never done anything like that before. When restrictions eventually eased, I decided to cap my in-person classes to keep my customers (and myself!) safe. Again, managing the cap on classes without a robust process in place became a bit of a nightmare because I was managing it all by myself.
My yearly accounts were created using handwritten notes in a notebook after every class which would then be handed to my accountant – scribbles and all – with loose paper receipts and invoices.
The online solution I was looking for.
I found ClubRight after searching online and finding their website. The main problem I was looking to solve initially was finding a way to move my classes online because, at the time, it was illegal to hold them in person due to the national lockdown in place.
While I had my Zumba and Fitness Instructor qualifications, being a business owner was completely new to me after 36 years in a corporate role. Whatever solution I chose needed to be simple to pick up and also help guide me in the early stages of running my business.
I had never used any other software before, so I imagined I’d have a steep learning curve. I booked an introductory call and that’s when I first spoke to a member of their team, Neil. The training was fantastic. He quite literally walked me through the different areas of the software he thought would benefit my business the most in a way that was easy to understand. When I was ready to sign up and start using ClubRight, he sat and “handheld” me through the set-up process via Zoom, taking the time to understand how my business operates and the problems I was trying to solve. By the end of our training together, I was ready to share the link to my new Zoom classes with my participants.
ClubRight has truly taken VariFit to another level.
VariFit has seen amazing growth since using ClubRight, going from around 100 members to 350 customers now registered on my system. Seeing that I have around 200 inactive customers would’ve been a big problem for me before using ClubRight. How on earth would I ever get around to communicating with all of those people and encouraging them to book a class?
But since ClubRight has so many great features like bulk email and text messaging, speaking to that many people wasn’t a problem for me at all. It was possible in a matter of minutes! There are so many other features that have been invaluable to VariFit, such as the Zoom Integration, online card payments, automated waiting lists and so much more. The members love receiving their birthday messages through the system and getting awards when they’ve achieved their goals.
I’m most impressed with the reports because I’m learning so much about running a business daily. As a novice, looking at business stats can be confusing but ClubRight’s reports pull out all of the details I need and it helps me understand more about my business. It’s just brilliant.
The fact that my members could browse, book, pay and receive a Zoom link all from the ClubRight Member App meant that all I had to do was log in to Zoom and dance. My customers were so excited to be reunited in a more meaningful and convenient way than before. In a normal class environment, they would arrive, do the workout and leave. However, using ClubRight allowed us so much more. We used the Zoom integration for so many events beyond Zumba. I added quiz nights, discos, games, trial classes and taster sessions as well club nights where my customers can share their feedback with me.
ClubRight has truly taken me to another level; with marketing, my business and my confidence have grown massively in a short period. I’ve been on various courses to enhance my performance and to share with all my members. Whenever we have face-to-face classes now (still organised using ClubRight) they all hug and chat as if they are from one family. We all have so many laughs in classes now that I would never have dared to encourage before.
It’s a vital tool for any club in the fitness industry.
ClubRight is so much more than member management software. It allowed me to take my passion from a hobby after work to a fully-fledged business with hundreds of loyal customers in the middle of a pandemic. The ease of the Zoom integration helped me to build a better relationship with my members even at a time when we couldn’t be together physically. Now that the COVID-19 restrictions are more relaxed, the software continues to be a huge help. My customers can book their classes all via their Member App and the time I spend on admin is minimal.
Their Help Team are incredibly quick at responding to my queries and are so patient with me while I get my head around stuff. They always check if there’s anything else I need before we finish our conversation – it’s like having mates to bug when I need some help!
I would recommend ClubRight to any club that doesn’t have a functioning way of managing everything online. Slick features, superb integrations, great visuals, easy to use, reports/stats, quick easy scheduling, reminders, creativity ability… so yes, it’s a vital tool for any business in the fitness industry. If you’re reading this and thinking about getting started with them, go for it. They’re a fab crew and will help you to no end and make sure you get the best from their software.
I want to say a great big thank you to ClubRight for allowing me to make the last two years a success for VariFit. Go ClubRight!
Join hundreds of instructors across the UK using ClubRight to manage their classes and build community with their members by booking your free online demo today, or speak to us by calling +44 (0)203 884 9777.
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