Located in St Helens, Merseyside, Evolution Fitness XL has rapidly grown to become the biggest gym in the town. Committed to providing members with the best in free weights and machines, the gym is a place where hard work pays off.

The team has successfully created a hub for the community, uniting like-minded new and seasoned lifters to achieve their goals. The club rejects negativity to motivate everyone to be included and celebrated.

Ability to scale and evolve hindered

With big ambitions to grow, Evolution Fitness XL was increasingly held back by barriers created by existing systems and ways of working.

Growing member numbers left the team facing billing challenges. Hours each day were spent reconciling and manually processing membership payments – negatively affecting collection rate success.

Driven by this challenge, Evolution Fitness XL decided it was time for a change. The club was on the hunt for an all-in-one gym management solution that could handle all member billing and more.

They wanted a scalable solution that could cope with any amount of growth and complexity. And beyond billing, provide all the membership management and marketing automation tools needed.

It needed to be easy for the team to learn and use, with a cutting-edge user experience to match the expectations of members.

They wanted a true partner, to help them make their growth plans a reality. A partner invested in the success of Evolution Fitness XL. There to help tackle future challenges.

“We needed an all-in-one solution that could handle all the member billing for us now and in the future, as well as general member management and marketing. We would spend hours a day reconciling and manually processing payments. Our collection rates needed to be better. We needed a system that would automate these processes and improve efficiency and collection success.”
– Mike Garner, Director, Evolution Fitness XL

More time to create exceptional member experiences

In 2021, Evolution Fitness XL decided to partner with Xplor Gym to solve the challenges the business faced.

By choosing the Xplor Gym all-in-one club management solution, Evolution Fitness XL has been able to significantly reduce admin work. Having membership payments embedded within the solution has streamlined financial processes. No more reconciliations.

Evolution Fitness XL has automated the whole billing process. Resulting in a higher success rate of membership collections. Ultimately, creating reliable income without having to manually chase payments.

The team is now able to devote more time to delivering an exceptional member experience.

Xplor Gym provides a real-time 360°-member view, so the Evolution Fitness XL team always has the information they need when serving members. And can rely on the marketing capabilities the software offers to communicate with members even when they’re not at the club.

Getting started with Xplor Gym has been easy. With an intuitive and easy to navigate interface, the Evolution Fitness XL team got up to speed quickly. The staff love using it!

“Xplor has a team that is second to none. They make themselves available to help when we need. The aftercare team goes above and beyond every single time for us. Xplor Gym is a true partner, not just a software supplier. The Xplor Gym team works alongside us to ensure we are set up for success.”
– Mike Garner, Director, Evolution Fitness XL

A partner for future growth

Evolution Fitness XL has ambitious plans. With Xplor Gym they are ready to scale and grow – a major reason for choosing the solution.

With software that’s ready to adapt and handle what the future brings from a hands-on partner, Evolution Fitness XL is set for even more success.

“If you’re a club with big ambitions and want a truly flexible solution that will support your growth, streamline your club operations, and give you and your team valuable time back to focus on your members, then Xplor Gym is the solution for you. We are delighted with the system to date and just wish we had it in place sooner.”
– Mike Garner, Director, Evolution Fitness XL

Operated by YMCA Black Country Group and located in West Bromwich, YMCA Western Gateway is home to YGym. With a state-of-the-art gym, dance studio & sports hall, YGym serves around 800 members. Plus, offers roughly 20 classes a week.

YGym is a friendly, community gym offering affordable memberships for the whole of the local community.

Time for a change – a fast, simple switch

YGym was using two different systems for payments and membership management when they were given the opportunity to see Xplor Gym in action. Recognising the benefits of upgrading to a modern, intuitive all-in-one solution, the gym operator decided it was time to make the change.

As well as bringing software and payments into the same solution, YGym were attracted by the extra features Xplor Gym included. Particularly, Xplor Gym’s smart messaging marketing automation technology to communicate with members through personalised messages.

Switching was straightforward and painless. YGym were given a clear understanding of all key dates and what the transition would involve. The move was faster than expected and with limited day-to-day impact on the team and members.

“Constant communication and being able to ask any questions that come up is vital when moving to a new solution. The biggest positive was how fast the Xplor team responded to questions, concerns, and issues. Everything was addressed and resolved quickly. We were given clear dates and details of what would happen. From signing the contract, we were able to switch quickly and were never left waiting.”
– Luke Tyler, Head of Health and Wellbeing Services, YMCA Black Country Group

Better experiences for staff and members

Since YGym went live with Xplor Gym in September 2022, there have been benefits all round for the team and its members.

YGym has found the software easy and straight forward to learn and use. As Xplor Gym is intuitive and simple to use, new team members can get up to speed quickly. Less time is spent on training and more time is spent serving members in-person.

Intuitive, useful functionality means daily tasks are simple. Having a single solution for member management and payments gives the organisation a complete view of all their members, without switching between systems.

The backend is easy to use, making tasks like assigning membership cards and updating class details fast. The software is also used for POS to manage the YGym shop. This allows additional revenue to be earned from ancillary sales.

Managing the online sign-up process has been made easier for YGym. New membership types and prices can be added at any time directly by the management team. And promotional codes can be created too – letting the team run campaigns whenever needed. This puts YGym in control – no waiting for these to be set up or incurring admin fees.

Members have their own digital member area. This allows members to manage their membership, wherever and whenever they want – including class bookings and cancellations.

Communications have been improved too. It’s easier than ever for YGym to stay connected with members and keep them engaged with the club.

Xplor Gym provides a cost-effective solution that allows YGym to target different groups of members with relevant, personalised email and SMS messages. These can be conveniently scheduled ahead of time in the software – set and forget.

“With Xplor Gym we are able to communicate with our members in a more personalised way. Previously, this required additional staff time and cost. Now, all emails sent out are included in our package, these can be scheduled and/or sent out automatically and require very little time to send. That's a big benefit.”
– Luke Tyler, Head of Health and Wellbeing Services, YMCA Black Country Group

More improvements to come

YGym plans to improve access control at the club in the future. Going from two systems into one, a barrier system will be installed that will be linked to Xplor Gym.

It will help control access through one system with members using their membership card for access. This will give the club detailed reporting on visits and check-ins that can be used to optimise onboarding, marketing, retention activities and more.

With software that makes life easier for YGym and its members, the organisation can focus on supporting its community.

“I appreciate how simple and effective Xplor Gym is – it’s not over complicated and gives us the functionality we need to succeed. It’s easy to learn, new staff members have completed the basic training in 10 minutes on their first shift.

I’d recommend Xplor Gym to other gym operators because of how simple it is. It has everything you need without unnecessary complication.”
– Luke Tyler, Head of Health and Wellbeing Services, YMCA Black Country Group

Xplor Technologies, a leading global platform combining SaaS solutions, embedded payments and Commerce Accelerating Technologies for “everyday life” businesses has announced its acquisition of Membr, a leading fitness-focused management software platform trusted by over 2,000 gyms worldwide. The move enables Xplor Technologies to bring a premium club management software solution to the fitness industry and further expand its global footprint.

Membr powers fitness gyms and health clubs in over 25 countries across four continents, working with fitness industry giants like Anytime Fitness and JD Gyms. With teams in the UK, U.S., Australia and Japan, the innovative software platform is designed to support both global gym franchises and single location operators of all sizes by better connecting the fitness industry to its consumers.

“Our decision to acquire Membr reflects our commitment to providing best-in-class solutions to gyms and health clubs across the globe,” said Ieuan Owen, Chief Revenue Officer, Fitness and Wellbeing, at Xplor Technologies. “Membr is a fast-growing, highly competitive gym management solution, proven and trusted by premium fitness brands. As our new Xplor Gym solution, we will accelerate product development and investment, and grow our global footprint as our mutual customers enter new markets.”

The addition of Membr to Xplor Technologies enables the company to go to market with a new compelling solution for gyms of all sizes, known as Xplor Gym.

Currently the gym management software platform automates member and client relationship management, booking, operations, and reporting, and offers native mobile app for members. With accelerated product development under Xplor Technologies, new capabilities are designed to put the multi-market gym operator more in control. These will include best-in-class marketing automation features to help gyms and health clubs more easily motivate, engage, and retain their members, along with enhanced embedded payment processing features for eliminating manual tasks and the complexities of operating in multiple markets.

The strategic addition of Membr to Xplor Technologies further expands its global reach, amplifying its ability to serve fitness businesses of all sizes. Xplor Technologies now supports over 12 million members and more than 13,000 fitness locations across four continents. Co-founder and CEO of Membr Jack Malin will continue to lead Membr, reporting to Ieuan Owen. The Membr team has joined Xplor Technologies’ Gym team.

“We are thrilled to have joined Xplor Technologies as a trusted growth platform for multi-market gyms and health clubs,” said Jack Malin, co-founder, and CEO of Membr. “Whether a gym operates in Tokyo, London, Chicago or Sydney, our promise to customers remains the same. Intuitive software, exceptional service, and an experienced global team that will help you scale your business and deliver a consistently engaging experience in all the markets you operate in.”

For more information, visit Xplor Gym

We are witnessing an unprecedented evolution of the fitness market and of consumer needs in fitness, sport and health. On one hand, the awareness on the importance of regular physical exercise has increased and, on the other hand, consumer needs have evolved. Today’s consumers expect to live personalised training experiences anytime and anywhere: at the gym, at home, at the doctors, when travelling, and outdoors.

Technogym has always believed in this “wellness on the go” model and, over the years, has developed a unique connected ecosystem – made of connected smart equipment, software, apps, services and on-demand training content – to offer consumers personalised experiences, and industry operators innovative connected and integrated solutions to have an impact on their business model.

In line with this strategy, Technogym and Xplor Technologies announce a full end-to-end integration of Xplor’s fitness management software solutions within the Technogym Ecosystem.
The partnership is the next step in Xplor Technologies’ strategy to support the digital transformation of the fitness sector, ensuring operators can meet the ever-evolving consumer demands through delivery of deeply personalised fitness experiences.

Through the integration – which provides a single app adaptable to the services provided by a fitness facility – clubs will be able to create and deliver an enhanced consumer experience. The integration also allows operators to automatically set compatible Technogym equipment for the training programmes and membership tiers, simply by scanning a QR code on the equipment screen.

“We’re thrilled to be able to offer an end-to-end solution that allows operators to seamlessly deliver the level of personalisation that consumers now demand to keep them motivated and engaged in their fitness journey” said Ivan Stevenson, Director of Partnerships and Channel Sales at Xplor Technologies.

According to Digital Futures 2022, 88% of fitness and leisure operators say implementing personalised digital experiences and engagement helps increase retention of consumers.

The innovative partnership between Xplor and Technogym will provide fitness operators with an advanced end-to-end solution to personalise the entire consumer experience from the initial evaluation to programme customisation. This will help consumers along the whole customer journey with automated engagement, management of payments and access to additional services, both within the club and at home. The integration will help consumers see improvements in the value of their fitness membership and ultimately, the results they are achieving.

LONDON, UK, February 28, 2023 – Xplor Gym, a leading gym management software solution for the fitness industry under Xplor Technologies, announced today its official partnership with Independent Gyms, the national membership platform for independent fitness facilities in the United Kingdom (UK) and Ireland.

As its official strategic technology partner, Xplor Gym will play an active role in supporting the success of independent operators with valuable education and events.

Xplor Gym provides intuitive, flexible, all-in-one management software to gyms, studios, and fitness facilities, and is on a mission to raise the bar for gym management software in the UK.

Robert Handy, Founder of Independent Gyms said, “We’re thrilled to be partnering with Xplor Gym to offer our members access to valuable education and support, as well as member only rates on the software. The Xplor Gym team has a wealth of industry knowledge and experience and really understands the challenges independent operators face. I’m excited to see the value they’ll bring to the sector with this collaboration.”

Xplor Gym has been purposefully engineered to disrupt the status quo, delivering new levels of speed, responsiveness, and simplicity to its customers. Built with best-in-class, smart performance technology, Xplor Gym has been designed to give fitness club operators exactly what they need to improve operational efficiencies, supercharge member engagement, and grow their business.

Nathan Best, General Manager, UK and Europe, at Xplor Technologies commented, “Running an independent gym has been challenging these past few years, because owners are being asked to do more with less. We are committed to supporting this sector and helping independent operators succeed. Through this new partnership, we are well placed to bring that mission to life and make a tangible impact with our best-in-class technology, and through the delivery of free education, insights and events.”

For more information visit Xplor Gym.

Achieving success takes tenacity. The right partners and processes are vital. What do successful gyms and fitness clubs have in common? Let’s take a look.

Choosing best-in-class technology

Technology is essential. That starts with fast, responsive and easy-to-use gym management software. Software with everything needed to work efficiently, engage members and grow.

“Successful gym businesses must be able to grow without barriers. That’s why Xplor Gym is anything but one size-fits-all. An API first approach lets operators build a service to suit their specific needs and membership base – with the flexibility to easily add new services and work with leading industry partners. All unlocking new opportunities for revenue growth."

Successful clubs can’t risk downtime or security breaches. So, they rely on cloud-native, ultramodern software delivering exceptional resilience and data security.

To thrive, clubs choose software with fully embedded payments. Automating collections, offering a flexible payments calendar, resolving member queries and reducing admin.

Welcoming new members

Successful gyms let new members join digitally and a process with minimal steps gathers all the information needed to welcome new members quickly and efficiently.

New members need more than an induction – successful clubs know this. During the member onboarding process, gym software creates triggers at key journey milestones automatically sending personalised email and text messages.

Empowering members

Successful gym businesses empower members to manage their own memberships – with an easy-to-use app and online portal.

Each visit matters. Successful fitness clubs rely on access control technologies that are integrated with their software for seamless access every visit.

Engaging members

The most successful gyms stay in touch with members. Using their software to schedule and send targeted, personalised email and text messages at scale.

Successful clubs have an effective strategy for re-engaging high-risk gym members, which will be a multi-channel strategy, using member data for a targeted approach.

Managing performance

Leaders have access to real-time, reliable data. The software makes informed business decisions easy with instant access to insights.

Find out here why successful gyms are turning to Xplor Gym.