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A very simple definition of visibility is to be seen. And what is the value of being seen? Billboards along the highways cost thousands of dollars. 30-second spots on TV cost even more. Putting your company’s name in these spots is of tremendous value. But this visibility can only be guaranteed to be occasional. Imagine the value of visibility that is practically guaranteed to happen many times a day. That is exactly what happens with smartphones. Users of smartphones pull their devices from their pockets and purses and look at them hundreds of times a day.
Immediately you think that your center’s parents are your target. Well, that is true. But they are not your only target. Who else is constantly using their smartphones? Your center’s students. In some situations, the students are in their smartphones more than their moms use theirs.
Thrive Dance Center has found that many of their customers already benefit from their email blasts however students don’t receive those blasts. Students do however have smartphones and sending a blast through their App reaches not just the parents but the student body as well.
Ahjalia Hall, one of Thrive’s co-owners noted “We’ve had great success with reminders that are sent to our students. It works like a charm. They’re the ones who want to attend the classes and events so they are quick to deliver the information to their moms and dads.”
Being More Interactive
It is true that the more you see something, the more inclined you will be to use it. Your center’s parents or students look at their smartphone home screens and see your mobile app icon or your alert and they’re reminded of you. They adore you for how easy you’ve made it for them to do everything they need to do with you.
Communicating Directly
Whether its parents or students you reach, everyone wants to know – ASAP – the critical details that could cause changes in the day. You can alert them to unexpected class cancellations caused by storms or other circumstances beyond your control by pushing notifications to them. You can only do this via your mobile app. It’s totally different and more direct than email or texting and it can’t be done from a simple website. You’re their hero for saving them unnecessary trips to your gym.
Getting Creative
Don’t stick with the expected! Get creative with how you use your app. And their creativity is just what Thrive Dance Center thought outside the “parental communications box.” They didn’t get stuck in the assumption that – since parents pay the tuition – they should be their center’s main information route. Thrive has proved that kids are an incredibly effective information conduit to the parents.
Ahjalia added, “How you use your app-and the visibility benefits you gain from it has a lot to do with how current you keep your app and website information. If your App and Website are both always up to date customers get used to receiving a blast through their app, clicking directly on it, and having the appropriate screen open up, allowing them to immediately gain access to the information needed to enroll, register or sign up for the next event.”
Providing Access to More
All of your gym’s parents and students may not realize the wide range of classes that are available to them. What better way to introduce the idea of taking more classes than through a simple pop-up message on their smartphones? They feel totally in the loop and appreciate being included in all you have to offer. Kids are excited that they’re considered a trusted information delivery system. All in all, they value your helpfulness and talk you up to others.
Establishing an Edge
In your competitive environment, you need an edge. A competitive edge is exactly what a mobile app establishes for you. You can be known as the cool gym that is laying the groundwork for how future customers are going to be communicating.
Ahjalia says that she can see this coming. “The kids that we send notifications to are the customers of the future and they will undoubtedly prefer their smartphones to handle ALL of their tasks by the time they reach adulthood.”
Many of the benefits that visibility impacts are considered emotional ones: excitement, inclusion, and appreciation to name a few. Emotional benefits are considered to be intangible. But intangible does not mean these benefits don’t produce tangible results. Emotional benefits are often the ones that decide a tie-breaker when your facility and another may be equal in tangible benefits such as price, class offerings and number of instructors.
With these thoughts in mind, visibility is pretty critical to success and using a mobile app customized for your facility is certainly an effective way to heighten your visibility with your facilities’ parents and students.
Willis, TX 77318
(281) 378-2122
