A new research and educational initiative aims to help fitness operators improve the customer experience they offer, by providing insight into the interactions they have with members.

The Customer Engagement Academy (CEA), launched in partnership by member engagement software provider TRP and a university academic, will aim to establish itself as a resource for research carried out in the field, as well as member feedback and real-world examples of best practice.

One of the first pieces of research CEA will undertake is a new, annual study measuring changes in customer engagement practices over time.

Entitled Member Engagement in the Global Health and Fitness Industry Survey and Report, the research will provide a snapshot of operators’ current customer engagement practices and will be first published later this year.

CEA will be led by TRP’s general manager Mike Hills – who will chair the organisation – and Dr Melvyn Hillsdon, associate professor of sport and health sciences at University of Exeter in the UK, who will take up the position of honorary president.

Hills, said: “We felt the industry was missing a resource like the CEA, so as experts in the field of customer engagement within health and fitness, we saw this as a gap we were obliged to fill.

“We have got some really exciting plans for where we can take the CEA over the next few years, with the Member Engagement in the Global Health and Fitness Industry Survey and Report just the start.”

“This kind of survey is a great way of taking the pulse of where we currently stand as an industry to help inform the CEA’s focus for taking us where we need to go in the future.

“From our findings, we plan to write up a report which we will share via the Academy as well as using this insight to identify areas to focus on as we look to develop a bank of educational content for the CEA over the next 12 months and beyond.

“We would encourage as many operators as possible to take part to ensure as representative a picture as possible is painted – this is a survey by the industry, for the industry so the quality of the output will be dependent on the input we get from you and we are very grateful to everyone who takes part.”

To find out more about the study – and to take part – click here.