7 Ways to Master Operational Efficiency During the Pandemic (& Get More Time Back for Teaching)

You want to focus on teaching.  

Your passion.  

The reason you opened your martial arts school or fitness gym in the first place.  

But it keeps happening. Again. And again.  

Scheduling. Billing. Marketing. Lead follow-up. They take you off course. Out of the classroom. Off the mat. Away from doing what you love.  

But you can’t neglect them. These tasks must be taken care of. You must take care of business to keep the business going. 

Fortunately, like a superhero that swoops in to save the day, there are tools that can save you from tons of time-draining admin work — and get your school or gym running like clockwork. 

1. Add an Online Class Schedule to Your Website & Member App

Having a real-time, online class schedule hosted on your website and available through your member app gives your members everything they need on one screen in one place. This translates into less administrative tasks and phone time for you, along with convenience and a better experience for your members.  

Plus, because the schedule is online and dynamic — not static — when you need to make updates to your class schedule, doing so doesn’t require tons of time on your part to get the word out.  

When using a software like Member Manager software, schedule changes are automatically reflected on your school or gym’s website — and in the member mobile app — as soon as you make them. 

That means your members always have the most current info on classes, dates, times, and instructors at their fingertips — and can easily book their spot in class through the app and through your website. It’s easy for you. Simple for members. 

2. Activate Class Capacity to Manage Class Limits

In this pandemic world, you’re running more classes than ever. On top of that, you need to cap classes at a certain set number based on room size to ensure proper physical distancing. Activating class capacity management ensures you don’t exceed the allowed number of spots in class.  

When setting up a class on the schedule in software like Member Manager software, you simply fill in the number of spots available for the class and that info automatically shows on your online class schedule on your website and in the member app. When a member registers for class, the number of spots left updates automatically in real-time.  

Using software takes care of class capacity management for you, so you don’t have to track it manually, and you can rest easy knowing you’re adhering to COVID-19 class capacity requirements. 

3. Enable Wait Listing to Keep Classes Filled

Automated wait listing is great because it helps to ensure open spots in class get filled.  

In Member Manager software, when setting up a class, you have the option for automatic wait listing. As with class capacity, you simply enter the capacity allowed to be waitlisted into the “Waitlist Capacity” field. 

If a class reaches maximum capacity, members will be shown the option to be added to a waitlist. If a scheduled member cancels their class registration, the software will automatically email everyone on the waitlist to inform them that a spot in class is available on a first-come, first-served basis.

4. Add Automated Text Messaging to Your Marketing Mix

Did you know that text messages have a whopping 97% read rate within 15 minutes of delivery? And over 50% of text campaigns generate a positive return on investment, when combined with email and social media? 

Sending text messages to your members is the perfect companion tool to your email marketing and social media efforts to help strengthen communication and connection with members.  

With Member Manager software, you can send mass text messages to students, members, and leads. Popular uses for text messaging include lead follow-up, exclusive member offers, renewal reminders, and new program notices. 

5. Automate your lead follow-up

You know that fortune lies in the follow-up, but still, you can’t sit by the computer monitoring leads every second. You’ve got classes to teach.  

That’s where automated lead follow-up comes in. With Member Manager software, as soon as a lead enters the software, a workflow is activated. Leads automatically receive follow-up text messages, email communications, or a mix of both set at pre-determined times by you. 

The follow-up is immediate and moves the lead toward a trial or intro class. 

What about getting lead info into the software in the first place? Member Manager software comes with online lead forms that integrate with your website — saving you from entering leads by hand.

6. Give members an app  

An effortless way to keep your members engaged and communication strong is through a member app. The MemberAssist mobile app comes with retention-building tools like in-app notifications for exclusive offers and events, social media integration, and photo galleries.  

On the administrative side, getting the latest class info to members is a cinch. As soon as you make a schedule update in the software, the updated schedule is reflected in the member app where members can easily book a spot in class through their phone.  

Bonus benefit: Check-in is quick, clean, and contactless with the member app. Members scan a barcode on their phone upon check-in. This contactless check-in eliminates the hand-to-hand exchange of membership cards and key tags. 

7. Put a billing team in your corner

If billing and invoicing in-house isn’t working, and is taking up tons of your time, consider outsourcing your payment recovery efforts to a team of managed billing professionals. By outsourcing, you give yourself and your staff more time to focus on your business and its members, all while enjoying a healthier bottom line. (On average, schools and gyms recover up to 15% more revenue and experience significantly lower delinquency rates with Member Solutions billing team in place.)

A statistic you cannot ignore

We crunched the numbers and found that Member Manager software’s automation saves businesses an average of 10 HOURS A WEEK! That’s like gaining a part-time staff member. 

Imagine how much smoother your school or gym would run with these tools in place. How much more relaxed and at ease you’d feel. How excited you’d be about your business and your newfound time to teach more classes and train more students and members. 

If you’re not using Member Manager software, it’s certainly worth taking a quick peek. Grab a 30-minute session with one of our Client Success Managers. We’ll gladly walk you through the software and show you exactly how it’ll add hours back in your day and help your business run more efficiently.