Ensure that formalities don’t get in the way of gaining climbing gym customers.
Imagine yourself shopping online. You find an online store, you want to finalize the transaction, but the store doesn’t allow you to spend your money! First, you are asked to read and accept the terms and conditions of the shop, fill in required fields with your personal data, take your time to watch some attached videos and sign. If you make it through all of the formalities and don’t get discouraged in the middle of filling out the form, you may continue your online shopping. This is what the customer’s online journey is like in many climbing gyms. In most cases, waivers are the biggest challenge.
How to attract more customers to a climbing gym?
If you want to convince:
– an amateur who has never climbed before
– a non-climbing parent who wishes to sign their kid up for climbing lessons
– a person training at the gym, in a fitness club, who decided to add climbing to their training plan
– a climber who cannot stand filling out required formalities
– a customer expecting a quick and easy membership purchase
Ensure that your customers are not discouraged by all the formalities they have to fill out.
Formalities and a climbing gym
Customers of sports facilities are not usually asked to sign the waivers. Gym, swimming pool and even yoga – each activity has its risks and there are contraindications that exclude some people from training in a given discipline. Sports facilities don`t communicate openly about health risks related to, for instance, weightlifting. However, climbing gyms prioritize safety. They want to make sure that customers use the climbing wall consciously and know how to take care of their safety.
Waivers in the customer’s shopping journey create the most difficulties. Forms, fields, a necessity to watch additional videos concerning safe climbing, checkboxes – is that really the way you want to treat your customer, who is trying to buy a membership online?
Signing the waivers at the climbing gym – where is customer service?
The number of declarations, regulations may be overwhelming not only for the climbing gym staff but also for the customers. If the software doesn’t enable you to make adjustments adapted to the business model, you can save the situation by allowing your customers to purchase the membership at the climbing gym. The staff will take good care of the customers there: explain step-by-step the process of membership purchase, ensure that the customers are well informed about all the contraindications, explain what forms are to be urgently filled out and signed, and what declarations may be brought in later. When customers are in good hands – the chances that they will purchase a membership increase.
Surely you agree, however, that the customer service process is quite time-consuming and not the most effective. The only appropriate solution is to incorporate IT tools, which will speed up the customer service process and take the burden of the climbing gym front desk workers. Signing the waivers on tablets seems to be the most common solution. But is it the only answer to making the formalities less of a burden?
From the perspective of software that manages climbing facilities, it is difficult to meet the requirements of different business models and regulations. CLIMBMANAGER provides its services in many countries and we understand that the software must be flexible in order to meet all circumstances.
Some climbing gyms only offer the climbing experience. However, there are also climbing facilities that offer fitness classes. The more the facility has to offer, the more formalities are involved. And more formalities mean a more complicated shopping process.
Signing the waivers online – you remember that your purpose is to sell the membership, don’t you?
It gets even more complicated when we analyse how the required documents are presented to the customer on the website. Climbing gyms aim to facilitate the process of signing declarations, therefore, they upload the documents in pdf files on their websites. Customers are asked to print the declaration, fill it in with personal data, sign and deliver it to the front desk of the facility.
An alternative solution is to use the website extensions which provide an access to online forms. Customers fill in the required fields in the form and sign it online. In some cases, the plug-in forces the customers to scroll through the entire document and watch the attached video – on the safety in climbing gyms. If the restrictions are less onerous, the formalities on the website are displayed as regular text. Customers are solely asked to read it.
We all understand the situation – the formalities and safety rules are important. However, it seems surprising to recreate the same Path-to-Purchase: at the climbing gym and online.
Although the offline membership purchase process most likely is finalized in a single meeting (customers enter the facility, sign waivers and buy the membership), buying the membership online is a process that can be ceased at any point. Do you really want your customer to go through all these formalities before purchasing the membership? Customers want to spend their money on your business – let them do so!
Remember: even though climbing gym provides offline services, acquiring the membership and filling out the formalities must be coherent with the e-commerce approach: first shop, then take care of the required documents.
Win your customers over online – adjust their shopping journey
Internet users are accustomed to comfort and simplicity. Buying with just a few mouse clicks, paying online, having the possibility to return to the previously ceased shopping – online stores are keen to remove all inconveniences from the customer journey. They make it easy for the customers to spend their money. All of the onerous formalities, regulations are placed at the end of the customer journey or when necessary, for example, when there is a need to verify the age.
A climbing gym provides offline services, but customers may purchase a membership online. This means: your customers are not obliged to fill in the formalities which they will only need after entering the climbing gym. The process of purchasing the climbing gym membership online should be as easy and convenient as buying a book or a mascara.
What does CLIMBMANAGER offer?
We aim to:
– obtain the customer’s personal data
– reduce the formalities to the bare minimum
– offer a quick and easy membership purchase
– develop a flexible approach to signing waivers
– adjust the formalities to the climbing gym business model
What does the online CLIMBMANAGER customer journey look like?
1.
Customers who wish to purchase a climbing gym membership must have a CLIMBMANAGER account. They create an account through the Client Panel – enter login (e-mail address) and password.
Good to know:
When customers create an account, they may be asked to accept additional agreements and regulations, for instance, for personal data processing. If your business model allows the possibility of ticking the checkbox to confirm that the client has read the safety rules of climbing gym, you may add the document and make it a required field.
2.
Customer who has already created an account in the Client Panel, but hasn’t signed any waivers yet, may take a look at the full offer, membership options, fill in remaining data (if it is required by a climbing gym), add children to their account – manage the account. Now is the time to advertize your offer. At this stage, the Client Panel displays a message that filling out the formalities, for instance, entering address details, is necessary to buy a membership.
Good to know:
Even if the customer does not purchase a membership – you now have their personal data. Contact them and offer a free climbing session for beginners. Encourage them to buy the membership.
3.
Customer purchases the membership – let’s not disturb them now with the formalities. If they buy it, the Client Panel shall display the following message: If you want to enter the climbing gym and make use of its offer, please sign the waivers. Now is the perfect time to fill out the required documents.
Good to know:
If signing the waivers is not required in your business model, the documents and additional messages will stay hidden.
4.
Customer signs the waivers in the Client Panel. The required and additional documents – for the customer or a minor – are available on their account. A customer has an access to all of the signed documents.
Good to know:
You may include a video, e.g. on safety rules, in the waivers.
5.
What happens if the customer wants to enter the climbing wall area before signing the waivers? CLIMBMANAGER will inform a front desk worker about this. The customer will have an opportunity to sign the waivers in a customer service zone.
Good to know:
CLIMBMANAGER is suitable for different business models. You may prepare different types of waivers, decide which documents are mandatory, what personal data are necessary and whether signing the waivers is required in order to enter the climbing gym.
Summing up: CLIMBMANAGER offers a fresh look at the process of selling the membership online and signing waivers. Online shopping should be simple, also for your customers.