Healthglo Tasmania - Precor Preva Case Study

by Virginia Johnstone (Director VJC)

A self-confessed ‘tech-head’, Andrew Keen, owner of Healthglo in Tasmania was the first gym operator in Australia to install Precor’s networked fitness solution, Preva, in December 2012.

Healthglo is a family owned, full service gym located in Burnie, with a population of just 18,000. Whilst his facility might not be located in a densely populated city, Andrew is committed to delivering innovation to all of his 820 members. And it is paying off.

“The feedback on Preva from members has been exceptional - they love it. We had some good quality treadmills before with the usual exercise programs on them, but nothing like this. Initially they all loved Preva Net, where they could check their Facebook accounts and use the internet, but now it is all about personalisation,” said Andrew.

“I love technology so I started getting everyone excited about Preva Personal Accounts. Members were so keen to get started and it is so intuitive, we didn’t have to actually show them how to use it, they just worked it out for themselves!”

Roughly three quarters of Healthglo’s members are now using Preva Personal Accounts when they complete their cardio workouts. And Andrew reports the business benefits are tangible, with a 70 per cent increase in new membership sales in January and 28 percent in February, but perhaps more telling is his 33 per cent increase in renewals in January and a whopping 95 per cent increase in February (2013 versus 2012). As far as cardio machine usage goes, Andrew estimates he’s had at least a 400% increase in uptake of cardio since December.

“I’ve not changed anything else in the gym or anything in our marketing strategy – all I’ve done is installed Preva, and it is just amazing the effect it has had,” he said.

So what is it that makes Preva such a powerful tool? From Andrew’s perspective, it’s about helping his members make improvements in their fitness tangible and real, but also about helping him run his business more effectively.

“As members achieve their personal milestones they get badges, which seems a bit geeky but members are actually talking a lot about their latest badge – it really is motivating them. It’s not just a random ‘well done’ message at the end of a workout, but something that lets them know what they are achieving towards their goal.

“It’s also great that you can modify the profile of a workout – so rather than just using a pre-programmed workout, you can build your own version of it then replay it next time as a personal workout. It’s not just about personalising records but the actual workout itself, which is extremely powerful.”

From the business perspective, Andrew uses Preva to identify which are his high use machines. He can identify which type of machine is the most popular, which is useful as he currently has plans to add eight new machines, and this functionality will tell him which ones are in the most demand.

“From a servicing point of view Preva is excellent, very quick and easy. We’ve had a couple of minor faults and through a simple email we’ve had communication from Precor to fix the fault as they can dial in via Preva to see what’s going on,” he said.

So why did Andrew choose Preva in the first place? It goes back to his commitment to innovation, but he also wanted to demonstrate to his members that he is committed to them.

“Installing Preva and state-of-the-art cardio equipment shows the community that we are always seeking out the best for them – we are willing to invest in them. We could have put in any old cardio but instead we’ve chosen the latest technology, which is a clear point of difference to our competitors.

“Basically, in terms of the investment we’ve made, I think the important thing is we’re not stuck with 2012 model machines. I’ve already had two software updates in only four months, and the functionality changes and improves over time, so Preva gets more valuable the longer I own it rather than becoming redundant.

“I would call Precor’s cardio line with the P80 consoles ‘evolving cardio’ – not a fixed product. The investment is worthwhile from that point of view – it’s a smart way to buy equipment. At the end of the day mechanically equipment doesn’t change that much, but the thing that improves it is the engagement of the user. I like to think I am investing in the future.”

For more information on Preva, contact Precor Sales