As founder of The Huffington Post, Arianna Huffington has long been a thought leader and trailblazer. A recent Quartz article served to remind us of exactly this fact. Because it was way back in 2016 that Huffington created Thrive Global – a company that, as the home page of its website boldly states, is “on a mission to end the burnout epidemic”. Thrive Global’s is working to “debunk the collective delusion that burnout is the price we must pay for success”.

Indeed, in a recent Deloitte survey, 95% of executives agreed they should be responsible for employee wellbeing, while 83 per cent said they would increase their responsibility to it over the next two years.

Yet increase it they must, because there remains a significant gap between appreciation in principle of the value of employee wellbeing versus acting on ensuring wellbeing is embedded at the heart of a business.

Corporate Wellness Is In Everyone’s Best Interest 

The same Deloitte report found that around one in three employees and executives are constantly struggling with fatigue and poor mental health. That 57% of employees and 69%of executives are seriously considering quitting for a more supportive job. That on average 72% would be more likely to stay with their company if it better supported their wellbeing. And that 68% of employees and 81% of the C-suite see improving their wellbeing as more important than advancing their career.

Yet in spite of all this, obstacles still stand in the way of doing things that would help – taking micro-breaks during the day, finishing work at a reasonable hour, taking a proper lunch break and getting good quality sleep, for example. The most commonly quoted issues: having a heavy workload or stressful job (30 per cent) and/or not having enough time because of long working hours (27%).

It doesn’t help that C-suite executives consistently underestimate how much employees are actually struggling with their wellbeing, or that – while 91% of executives believe their employees look positively on their company’s wellbeing efforts – in fact only 56% of employees believe their employer cares about their wellbeing.

Companies must tune in far better to their workforces’ needs, then act on them.

And it really is in everyone’s best interests. Even as long ago as 2016 – before issues were compounded by the pandemic and the challenges of hybrid working – a study by Global Corporate Challenge found that employees may miss an average of four days annually, but that they’re unproductive for almost 58 days a year. This presenteeism was reported to cost businesses 10 times more than absenteeism.

As Huffington explains: “Employee wellbeing and mental health improve business metrics like retention, attrition, productivity and healthcare costs.”

How to Start Corporate Wellness

The 2022 Employee Wellness Industry Trends Report by Wellable Labs highlights some interesting shifts in focus among organisations already striving to deliver corporate wellness.

• On-demand fitness is hot, appreciated for its flexibility and affordability, and is seeing a scaling up of investment
• On-site classes and reimbursement of gym membership are being dialled back
• Mental health is a top priority and an area where more resource is being added, including meditation, mindfulness and stress management
• Companies appreciate the importance of proper sleep, but have yet to find the resources they need to support their employees in this way

It almost reads like a who’s who of the Wexer offering, with our Mobile ecosystem putting world-class wellness content – covering all of these areas and more – in people’s hands wherever and whenever they need it, through any connected device.

Because it’s all very well encouraging micro-breaks and proper lunch hours, but you do also need to hand your employees the tools to turn these into wellness breaks.

That might be as simple as easing and re-mobilising their bodies after sitting at a desk all day. It might be achieving a moment of calm during their commute, re-energising during their lunch hour by getting their heart pumping, or winding down at the end of a busy day.

Whatever they need, they’ll find it in our ever-growing, market-leading corporate wellness library. We have a huge collection of mind-body and meditation classes. We have relaxation sessions and guided stretching. We’ve partnered with Sweat Factor to offer its fantastic Office Fit series, as well as Self-Care by Sweat Factor. Mind123 takes a holistic, educational approach to all facets and contributors to wellbeing. And we even plug the gap identified by Wellable Labs, providing content around sleep in the shape of Sweat Factor’s Sleep Stories.

And that’s without touching on the vast library of health and fitness content – from cardio and strength to dance, cycling, HIIT and far, far more besides – to get those endorphins flowing, stress released and mental focus regained.

Wexer is here to help you create a first-class corporate wellness for to improve employee wellbeing.

Read more here or get in touch at info@wexer.com

The post Corporate Wellness Strategies: How to Take the Leap to ‘Nailing It’ appeared first on Wexer.

The partnership will see Wexer Virtual technology harnessed to make Hanu’s world-class content available for on-demand, 24/7 use in gyms, hotels and residential developments across the American continent. End users will be able to enjoy more than 20 different training disciplines, all automatically programmed and customised for each location.

José Antonio Condell, CEO and co-founder of Hanu, says the company has identified strong opportunities within “off-peak hours in gyms, multi-purpose rooms within residential buildings and hotels, and hotel guestrooms”, with the Wexer-Hanu partnership now set to “enable and make profitable the spaces that are under-used for much of the day”.

Felipe Apablaza, Hanu Co-Founder and CEO of DMOOV Fitness Clubs & RFA Fitness Equipment, adds: “Our extensive research into the innovative, disruptive technologies within the health, fitness and wellness industry brought us to Wexer. We are delighted that this partnership will bring our platform and content to an even broader audience.”

“This unique solution for the Latin American market presents fantastic opportunities for both Wexer and Hanu,” confirms Robert Louw, Chief Growth Officer at Wexer. “Adding Hanu’s full range of high-quality content allows us to even better penetrate and serve Spanish- and Portuguese-speaking markets with content that immediately resonates with local audiences.

“Meanwhile, Hanu benefits from a new distribution channel that brings with it significant growth opportunities, both in terms of verticals and geographical territories.

“It is a win-win for both our companies, but also for gyms, hotels, residential developments and consumers alike as this fantastic content becomes available through our platform.”

For more information, get in touch at info@wexer.com

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You might think of it as a gentler side to fitness – the yin to HIIT’s yang – and it’s all about taking care of your body and mind. It’s about recovering from your workouts and creating some headspace in stressed times.

And it’s a huge growth area, with our Q3 data showing a significant rise in usage of our Stretch and Recover category. We’re seeing high levels of interest in all-round stretching sessions to relax the body, but also in targeted sessions for desk-sitters, for example, who need particular stretches and movements after spending a large portion of their day at the office.

Our Wellness category is also growing in popularity, including the broad range of meditation sessions we offer – a trending content genre. Most users prefer short meditations that provide a quick mental boost during the day or around bedtime, including using some of our dedicated bedtime meditations or sleep stories.

Look After Yourself In 30 minutes – or Less

When it comes to workout time, our data is clear and confirms previously observed trends: short workouts are trending. Indeed, 84% of all workouts selected on our Web Player have a duration of less than 30 minutes.

The most popular workout durations are 10–20 minutes and 20–30 minutes – but that may change soon, as usage of the 0–10-minute category is up almost 8% this quarter. The trend towards shorter and shorter workouts and sessions continues.

In turn, this is casting a spotlight on the value of Wexer’s large, varied workout library:

• You can always find something relevant, wherever you are and whenever you need to squeeze a workout into your busy schedule.
• It’s easier to experiment: You can try things you normally wouldn’t, as you aren’t committing yourself to a long workout.
• Stack and build: 30 minutes available to work out means you can stack 3 x 10-minute workouts to create precisely the session you want.

Top 25 Fitness and Wellness Options = Huge Diversity

As mentioned previously, one of the main advantages of Wexer’s digital library is the huge variety it offers. Certainly, when looking at our top 25 titles, it’s clear you can look after yourself by taking full advantage of the breadth and diversity of our library, with almost all training types and categories represented.

The top 25 includes six yoga classes or yoga-inspired stretch sessions. Another six classes focus on stretching, recovery practices or meditation, confirming the holistic fitness trend. The remainder of the top-ranking classes range from classic cardio workouts to dance moves to a lot of strength and conditioning sessions: HIIT-based, core-focused… you name it, it’s there in the list!

Find out more about Wexer’s unparalleled content library and how it could add value to your customers at info@wexer.com

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“At Yogaia, we therefore go beyond yoga and fitness. Our vision is to inspire and guide every body and mind to build wellbeing and self-care into every day, and we offer simple tools and guided online classes to show you how.”

Founded in Finland in 2013, Yogaia was the brainchild of CEO Mikko Petäjä, who realised he was getting stressed by having rush to a studio for yoga class while also juggling a busy work and personal life. He searched for an online alternative that would offer the in-studio experience, but at the time was unable to find one. So he founded one.

The result is a studio that comes to you, on-demand, 24/7, to put wellbeing at your fingertips. Offering all the guided classes your body and mind need – fitness, yoga and mental practice – there are also tried and tested self-care tools that guarantee ‘aha’ moments and that make minutes matter.

And it’s all now available on the Wexer platform.

“We are thrilled to work with Wexer, whose platform provides an amazing opportunity to reach so many people who are interested in wellbeing,” confirms Petäjä.

Go small, feel better

Yogaia believes people often underestimate how much they can improve their wellbeing in five to 10 minutes, meaning they tend to do nothing if they don’t have a longer period of time available.

Its 10 Minutes or Less class collection addresses exactly this issue, proving that minutes do matter when a class is well-designed. Bringing together a selection of all-time favourites, there are options here whether you want to break a sweat or just gently refresh your mind and body. Across all classes, Yogaia’s expert instructors pack a huge amount of goodness into a short amount of time – all without the class feeling rushed.

“If you could feel better in minutes, would you click ‘play’ and follow along?” asks Soininen. “Because with Yogaia, that’s all it takes. It’s why we talk about Yogaia as ‘the smallest thing you can do to feel better today’.”

Another great collection available now on Wexer is Relax and Restore, where classes have been designed to recharge our batteries, balancing out active lifestyles with dedicated time for relaxation and the restoration of mind and body. Most classes involve soothing, mindful movement, but there are also deep relaxation classes and mindfulness sessions.

Try our favourites!

With new live and on-demand classes streamed daily from Yogaia’s studios in London, Los Angeles and Finland – catering for three levels, from beginner to advanced – there’s always a fresh new workout to enjoy. Some of our favourites include…

Deep Relaxation – Yoga Nidra

Deep relaxation practice is gaining more and more popularity as a way to soothe the mind and restore the body.

This simple yet effective meditation practice is instructor-guided, meaning no previous experience is required. Practised while laying down in a comfortable position, the idea is to enter a state of complete physical and mental relaxation by reaching a stage where you’re physiologically asleep but still maintaining internal and external awareness.

Benefits include lower stress levels, improved sleep quality, reduced cognitive and physiological symptoms of anxiety, and improved self-regulation – clarity of thought, control over anger, self-confidence and so on.

Refresh & Reset In 5

This simple mindful movement class always delivers what it promises. It’s the perfect pick-me-up to do in the morning – or, indeed, at any time of day when you need some refreshment for the mind and body!

Find out more about Yogaia and Wexer’s other fantastic global content partners at info@wexer.com

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And when it comes to recovery, of course, there’s nothing better than sleep. Sleep gives our bodies time to repair, rest and recover from our efforts and turn our hard work into tangible physical progress.

It doesn’t stop there, either, with research revealing the critical role that sleep plays in our every waking moment and every aspect of our health – from recovery, muscle repair and protein synthesis to weight management, diabetes, immunity and brain health.

Sleep is the new king of wellness!

Sleep-specific content

Yet in today’s fast-paced, always-connected world, a good night’s sleep often eludes us – even though that very same, high-pressure world makes sleep more important now than ever.

Wexer is therefore proud to launch a new sleep channel on its Web Player and mobile platforms, in collaboration with long-term partner Sweat Factor – a company headed up by Mike Donavanik, widely regarded as one of the most innovative, productive personalities in virtual fitness.

“In 2021, we launched Self Care by Sweat Factor – a predominantly audio guide-based series of self-care programmes designed to reset, refuel and restore both body and mind,” Donavanik explains.

“We felt it was important to now build on this with content specifically designed to improve people’s sleep, as the ultimate contributor to our holistic wellbeing.”

The channel – Sleep Stories by Sweat Factor – goes live across all Web Players from 1 June 2022. Featuring more than 15 videos to help you relax and fall asleep, the content falls into two categories:

Sleep Stories
These short, spoken stories are designed to calm a busy mind and help you relax, promoting your transition towards a peaceful sleep. Every story is narrated by a soothing voice and touches on various topics while also guiding you into a relaxed, sleepy state.

Soundscapes
Think of all those calming, sleep-inducing background noises that always help your mind feel at rest, from falling rain to the sound of a campfire. Sweat Factor has put together a collection of these soundscapes for you to listen to, to help your mind switch off.

“Whether you choose a sleep story or a relaxing soundscape, it’s all about getting to sleep faster, sleeping more soundly and recovering more efficiently,” says Donavanik.

Holistic wellbeing support

“Quite simply, sleep is the fuel for peak performance in every aspect of life,” says Morten Andersen, Global Head of Content at Wexer. “If we want to live life to the fullest, whether at the gym, at work or with family and friends, we need good quality sleep.”

He adds: “So many people struggle to switch off at night, and I see great potential in using Sleep Stories by Sweat Factor to help overcome this. I’m thrilled to be adding this fantastic new channel to our growing collection of wellness content on the Wexer Web Player.

“We’re committed to supporting our users in every aspect of their fitness and wellbeing journeys, not only through a huge variety of workouts but also by providing world-class content that supports broader wellbeing, recovery and mental health.”

Find out more about Sleep Stories and the Wexer Web Player, contact us at info@wexer.com

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SH1FT stands for Smart High Intensity & Functional Training, and its workouts are designed to deliver maximum results in minimum time – all of which may sound rather similar to a lot of fitness content out there.

But in fact, SH1FT Fitness does things quite differently…

Waging war on the stereotypical, unrealistic images of what fitness is “meant” to look like, SH1FT Fitness focuses not on how you look but on how you feel – and importantly, how you can continue to feel amazing as you age, in the body you’re in, still doing all the things you love.

Indeed, its mission is to build a global community that strives for ‘Fitness for Life’ – and that gets a big thumbs-up from us.

Principles worth sticking to

In line with this mission, every SH1FT Fitness workout is designed around four key principles:

Fitness for life, not just for summer!

SH1FT believes fitness is about feeling great in your own skin… for the long term.

Train smarter, not harder

Hard work doesn’t have to be hard on your body, says the team at SH1FT Fitness. “Let’s face it – it’s great to be able to do a tuck-jump right now, but it’s more important to be able to pick yourself up off the floor when you’re in your 70s. That’s why our workouts focus on functional movements that make you feel great now while also allowing you to stay ‘fit for life’.”

Smart, safe, simple progressions ensure all workouts are scalable and suitable for all ages and fitness levels.

For anybody, with any body

Workouts are designed to be non-intimidating, simple, inclusive – and dare we say it, fun.

Out go the fitness models and the beachbody-ready before and afters, in come workout videos featuring real people – of all shapes, sizes, ages, backgrounds and fitness levels – and instructors who are inspiring and motivational but who, in spite of being world-leading, also know how to laugh at themselves and not take themselves too seriously.

There’s also a strong emphasis on working at your own level and using modifications: “It’s not about being the best, it’s about doing your best.”

Have fun!

The unique workouts have themes like 80s aerobics, gridiron, tennis and surfing “because enjoyment and fun are just as important as the physical benefits of exercise. If you’re looking to improve your health and fitness while having fun and maybe even letting out a few laughs, then our classes are the right choice for you.”

A segmented approach

At Wexer, we also love the way SH1FT segments its workouts into distinct, identifiable concepts. As online workout content continues to proliferate, we believe this sort of clarity is key, helping exercisers get exactly what they want, every single time.

In the case of SH1FT Fitness, that means:

SH1FT (HIIT)

Smart HIIT and functional training workouts that use bodyweight as a tool to develop speed, balance, agility and overall athletic fitness. Each unique class takes its theme from the world of sport and movement, including track and field, football and Winter Olympics, alongside some classic bodyweight HIIT and impact-free options.

Who’s it for: Perfect for those who want to get started with exercise at home but lack experience or equipment. All workouts contain modified / low-impact options for beginners, with options to progress and work harder for regular exercisers.

Recommended class: Ultimate HIIT Cardio Ladder Challenge  

Prepare to get a serious sweat on as you race yourself to the finish line in LADDER RACING! With no need for any equipment, this workout stacks six moves in a series of ladders to challenge your cardio fitness, coordination and memory and keep neuromuscular connections firing on all cylinders.

L1FT (strength & conditioning)

Training with weights to build a strong, healthy body, sculpting lean muscle and turning you into a fat-burning machine long after the workout is over. Each session uses smart, safe, progressive movements to ensure no fitness level is left behind, and training protocols that ensure you never get bored.

Who’s it for: Anyone who wants to stay strong and healthy, with programming designed around hand weights to easily accommodate home workouts. Expect simple movement patterns programmed in smart and unique ways, so you get the most out of your workout time but without complex or intimidating lifts.

Recommended class: FULL BODY Strength Challenge

Feel like a challenge? In this full body strength and conditioning workout, you get to compete against the only person that matters: yourself.

R1ZE (Step)

A modern take on a classic piece of kit, in these workouts the step can act as anything from a jump box to an exercise bench to an obstacle, with multi-dimensional functional movements that deliver a full-body interval blast. Forget everything you think you know about the stepper!

Who’s it for: Workouts cover all bases of fitness and are perfect if you like working with bodyweight but want to avoid repetitive impact. The most varied of all SH1FT Fitness formats, workouts range from no-impact strength to speed and agility – but as always, there’s no requirement to move to any beat but your own!

Recommended class: 12 Minute Co-ordination

R1DE (indoor cycling)

A 30-minute, beat-based cardio workout on a bike – any bike – that’s high-intensity but low-impact. Blending the best of boutique cycle and performance riding into a single class, these workouts feature specially created (royalty-free/rights-included) music to simultaneously drive intensity and encourage play.

Who’s it for: Perfect for those who want to lose themselves on the bike for 30 minutes (or less). Every minute is designed to maximise effort, sweat and connection with the music and is a great no-impact way to get in 30 minutes of cardio fitness.

Recommended class: 30 Minute Ride #5

Blend power and pace in this 30-minute HIIT ride, designed to deliver maximum results in minimum time.

M1ND (mind-body)

Designed to complement an active lifestyle, M1ND draws its inspiration from sports, yoga, calisthenics and rehabilitation, with each unique session including elements from one or more of these disciplines – but with a central theme of connection between mind and movement.

Who’s it for: As zero impact workouts, these classes are the ideal entry point for older populations or those brand new to working out. Meanwhile, for regular exercisers, M1ND workouts are perfect for recovery days and to complement other workouts and forms of exercise, making you more mobile and functional.

Recommended class: 30 Minute Mobilise, Stretch & Strengthen

This signature M1ND workout begins with a heat-building mobility section that introduces movement to the muscles and joints, followed by stability work to build confidence and proprioception, and finishes with a relaxing stretch and lengthen.

To find out more about SH1FT Fitness, Wexer, and the many other world-class content providers available through our ecosystem, contact us at info@wexer.com

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That’s a momentous reinvention to sum up in just one paragraph, but at the same time, it’s already been discussed at length. Rather than continuing to reflect on what’s happened and why, we’re keen to now look ahead to what comes next. And at Wexer, our view is unequivocally this: 2022 must see a new, renewed emphasis on content to ensure clubs are delivering a true hybrid experience, not just hybrid technology.

Why content specifically? Because in a hybrid world, where physical and digital are equally important, members need to be able to dive straight in to a familiar experience wherever they are. Clubs must deliver exactly the same user experience across all touchpoints. And of course, where equipment is essentially anchored to the gym, content can be perfectly replicated and disseminated across all channels.

As such, content creation is no longer an adjunct to the business of running a club. It is the cornerstone of hybrid success, underpinning omnichannel delivery of the club experience.

And it isn’t hard to do. Run a live class, film it at the same time, then make it available through your app, to your members’ smart TVs, on-demand in your virtual class studio… All of a sudden, the content you’re already creating has new life, new power, new reach. You can quickly hit the critical mass needed to service member demand.

[And of course, we have all the technology and expertise to help you do this, from the Wexer API to Wexer Connect – the space on our platform where you can stream your own self-produced content, launched originally on our ‘any time, anywhere, any device’ web product and imminently launching on our in-club Wexer Virtual platform too. In short, we can help you get your content everywhere, without giving it away for free via social media platforms.]

In turn, the power of your instructor team skyrockets. Always key drivers of loyalty in-club, your own rockstars are now your USP in a crowded digital fitness marketplace. It is these familiar faces who will help you connect with and retain your members wherever they are, as well as exponentially growing your reach.

But it will only happen if you recognise and reward the value they now represent. Empower and incentivise your superstars to promote the content they create with you. Pay them more for content that drives high usage. Help them grow their profile at the same time as rewarding them for their role in your success, to ensure their ongoing loyalty to your brand even as their reach and appeal grows.

In short, recognise that their success is your success, but work hard to ensure they know the flip side is also true: that they will do better with you than on their own.

This is the virtuous circle that sits at the heart of what we’re calling the Content Marketplace Flywheel, and it will be key to success in 2022 and beyond.

Find out more about the content marketplace, and how Wexer can help your business harness its full power to thrive in a world of digital superstars: info@wexer.com

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Let’s take a look back at what we learned last year, what this means as we move into 2022, and how gyms and health clubs can best implement these learnings.

#1 – Hybrid is here to stay

2021 taught us that clubs will bounce back strongly as people seek out the human connection they’ve missed during lockdown.

Yet omnichannel fitness – a hybrid blend of at-home and in-club – is here to stay. Because fitness consumers aren’t choosing either/or. They’re doing both, almost interchangeably depending on their needs and schedules each day.

The consumer mindset, says Accenture in its new Life Reimagined report, is now: “Are you meeting me where I am, in the digital world, the physical world, and through a blend of the two? Are you able to deliver what I need, when I need it, across all channels?”

The stats back this up. In recent research by Credit Suisse, 76% of all consumers said they now exercise more at home, while 66% said they prefer it. Meanwhile, 62% of active people use a specific online workout service, 57% of club members expect their club to offer them a hybrid physical/digital experience, and 52% of club members would be happy to pay for a digital tier to their membership.

That’s a lot of revenue being left on the table if your gym operation isn’t yet embracing the hybrid model.

#2 – Digital drives purchase behaviours

In its research, Accenture also found that 25% of consumers are now prepared to actively change brands if a competitor allows them to engage digitally – a new purchasing behaviour that’s been born out of lockdown.

Not only that, but a full 50 % of consumers say they’ve totally re-thought their personal purpose and re-evaluated what’s important to them in life. This includes how they choose the brands they want to do business with, with their top priorities now ease, convenience and a personalised service – priorities that inevitably point to digital, with its 24/7 access and vast scope to personalise the experience.

This group of consumers is also surprisingly heterogenous, spanning all ages, genders, locations, employment status, income levels and other demographics; this isn’t some Gen Y / Gen Z trend. All of which means every business is now compelled to adapt. No brand is immune to the new reality.

Whatever industry you’re in, if you aren’t offering a digital service and your competitor is, you’re going to be left behind.

In the fitness sector specifically, if you aren’t embracing the hybrid model, you will struggle to survive.

#3 – Clubs have a huge USP in the digital world

From celebrities to media networks, it seems everyone is looking to become a fitness content provider these days. Yet clubs do still have a major USP: their in-house superstars.

GX instructors have been key to club loyalty for decades, renowned for building communities of enthusiastic followers. But they have become even stronger during lockdown, their personalities, programmes and friendly faces reaching beyond club walls and making us all feel better during the pandemic.

As we continue towards a hybrid future, we need to recognise the true power these instructors and trainers now hold. They are the content creators. They are the faces your members know and the people who, as channels to market proliferate, have the power to reach huge audiences.

The long and short of it is this: if you’re looking for a USP versus the big digital players and the global fitness influencers who try and seduce your members away with their ‘three months for free’ offers and their Hollywood eyes, this – your team of local rockstars – is it.

Implementing the learnings

So, how can gyms and health clubs best take these learnings and use them to shape their businesses – and their bottom lines – for the better over the next 12 months and beyond? Digital expert Wexer is here to help.

#1 – Make hybrid a reality

Digital isn’t, or certainly shouldn’t be, an add-on. To bust a common misconception, hybrid categorically doesn’t mean ‘in-club over here, digital over there’.

What hybrid actually means is embracing digital and in-person equally, adopting an omnichannel approach where a seamless series of touchpoints allows every single customer to consume your product in the way that best suits them on any given day.

Of course, as the number of touchpoints grows, your challenge as an operator is to ensure you deliver the same user experience whatever the access point. And when we say the same, we mean exactly the same, because each customer will use multiple touchpoints and expect to dive straight in to a familiar experience.

Which means you now have to view everything you do as one big customer-centric experience – an experience that’s led by your content, as the element of your offering that can transcend all boundaries and be perfectly replicated through any channel.

And Wexer can facilitate that. With a white labelled digital ecosystem that seamlessly integrates on-site (Wexer Virtual, for in-studio virtual classes on a big screen) and at-home (Wexer Web Player and our SDK and API solutions – more on those in just a minute), we have all the technology you need to create a seamless ecosystem of your own, delivering a seamless experience to your customers, wherever and however they choose to consume it on any given day.

#2 – Maximise digital opportunities

With consumers now willing to switch brands if it means they can enjoy the ease and convenience of a digital service, it’s critical that gyms ensure they’re the brands consumers are switching to, not from.

Yet even now, after a near-universal pivot to online during lockdown, many gym operators remain unsure how to go about digitalising their whole business. Where do you start? Which digital touchpoints do you need? How do you own the experience? How do you charge for it? How do you sustain it when there are physical clubs to be run?

Wexer is here to help, with expert advice, support and an entire digital ecosystem that’s been created to keep clubs at the very heart of the experience. Everything is white labelled – it is your brand your customers are consuming – and our wide range of world-leading products ensures we have the perfect solution for your business, however far along the path to digital transformation you’ve already come.

For on-site experiences, there’s Wexer Virtual, the big screen solution offering 1,600+ virtual classes that can be scheduled or made available on-demand. All classes are led by top instructors from around the world and curated from many of the world’s leading programme creators, including Zumba, CYBEROBICS and Daily Burn, just to give a few examples. You can even upload your own-produced content into Wexer Virtual, for members to do on-demand classes with their in-house favourites. More on that in just a moment…

Meanwhile, Wexer’s at-home product portfolio is hugely flexible.

Want a password-protected web portal for your digital workout content, so customers can log on to it any time, anywhere, through any connected device (and so you can brand, own and monetise it)? Then you might like to explore the Wexer Web Player, which can be embedded into your website or app and which provides an area exclusively for your business to stream its own content alongside all our fantastic third-party content; think of it as your very own TV channel.

Alternatively, if you’re already some way down the line and simply want to source great content to supplement what you’re producing yourself, our SDK and API solutions are great options. These allow you to cherry-pick from the Wexer content library, drawing your chosen content into your own connected ecosystem – whether that’s your own app via the Wexer SDK, or else app, smart TV, interactive mirror or other connected hardware via the Wexer API.

In short, we have all the technology you need. Not only that, but boasting a 99.9% uptime, it’s technology you can rely on.

#3 – Cement a competitive edge

Content is now the key to customer loyalty. It’s what today’s fitness consumer seeks, inside your facility and out. But while every man and his dog is now offering fitness content – just look at YouTube – clubs have an opportunity to stand out in this crowded market courtesy of their local superstars.

Quite simply, clubs have to maximise every opportunity to put their superstars – the local faces their members know and love – in front of their customers both on-site and at-home.

We’re talking about live, in-person classes and workouts in your studios. But we’re also talking about filming this live content (and/or creating bespoke digital content) and then uploading it, on-demand, into your app courtesy of our SDK. We’re talking about making it available on all manner of smart devices via the Wexer API; streaming it on your white labelled Wexer Web Player; showing it off-peak on the big screen of your in-club Wexer Virtual GX studio.

We’re talking about making the most of your studio space, as well as giving members easy, convenient access to their favourite faces 24/7.

We’re talking about maximising the power and reach of your superstars to create a USP for your club brand.

To discuss these trends in more detail, and how Wexer can help you embrace them to futureproof your business, get in touch now at info@wexer.com

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O’Rourke pointed to a recent report by Accenture – Life Reimagined – which surveyed more than 25,000 consumers across 22 countries and included follow-up focus groups in five countries.

The topline finding: a full 50% of consumers say the pandemic has caused them to totally rethink their personal purpose and re-evaluate what’s important to them in life.

This extends to their expectations of the brands they choose to do business with, too. Quite simply, this large group of consumers – which Accenture dubs the ‘Reimagined’ – will abandon brands that don’t support their new values and pay more to those that do.

And while 17% of all consumers claim to be unchanged by the pandemic in terms of their behaviours and the way they think about brands, 33% acknowledge things have evolved and that they will be making changes – they simply haven’t yet settled on what those changes will be, or how they will impact their day-to-day routines.

That’s a full 83% of the population who either already have reconsidered their priorities post-pandemic, or who fully expect to.

“The pandemic compelled consumers – en masse – to shift their expectations more rapidly and completely than we’ve seen at any other time in history,” say the Accenture authors. “Now, many of them are applying their new mindsets to where, what and how they buy.”

And they’re expecting brands to keep up: almost three-quarters of Reimagined consumers now expect brands to understand and even anticipate their needs.

The new consumer needs

So, what are the new consumer needs? Accenture found the five new, post-pandemic purchasing motivations to be:

1. Ease and convenience
2. Personalised service
3. Trust and reputation
4. Product origin
5. Health and safety

Indeed, for the Reimagined, these five motivations together are more important even than price and quality combined.

Note, too, that the ‘Reimagined Consumers’ group is surprisingly heterogenous, spanning all ages, genders, locations, employment status, income levels and other demographics.

All of which means every business is now compelled to adapt. No brand is immune to the new reality.

A willingness to switch

Ease, convenience, personalisation… it all chimes loudly with everything we’ve been talking about at Wexer for years now, because these are all boxes that can be firmly ticked by digital technology.

As the Accenture report puts it, the consumer mindset is now: “Are you meeting me where I am, in the digital world, the physical world, and through a blend of the two? And are you able to deliver what I need, when I need it, across all channels?”

Indeed, half of all Reimagined customers are prepared to actively change brands if a competitor allows them to engage digitally. There is far more fluidity than ever before in terms of people’s willingness to switch brands if it means a more convenient service.

Whatever industry you’re in, if you aren’t offering a digital service and your competitor is, you’re going to be left behind.

In the fitness sector specifically, if you aren’t embracing the hybrid model, you will struggle to survive.

Be there when I need you

Then there’s the desire for personalisation. “Do you remember me? Are you making my experience with your brand as personal as it can be? Are you there for me when I need you?”

There are lessons here for both the digital and the physical touchpoints of a gym member’s journey. Digitally, of course, the ability to deliver 24/7 – being there absolutely whenever and wherever your customers want you – is clear, as is the opportunity to recognise each individual and personalise the experience based on their data.

But the desire for genuine care is also very strong, with one customer in Spain quoted as saying: “It is important for customer service now to be better than ever. We’re more sensitive” and one Brazilian respondent commenting: “I expect greater consumer care after the pandemic. Brands realised how much they need their consumers.”

That can, of course, be delivered digitally, but it’s also about the personal touch of in-club human interaction.

Are you helping me, or helping yourself?

Trust and reputation – the third most important of the new purchasing motivations – are also key, and a way in which health club operators can stand apart from the proliferation of unknown faces in the increasingly fragmented world of digital fitness provision. “Can I trust you to do the right thing for me and not just for your business? Can I trust you to be who you say you are and stand for the things you say you stand for?”

Our sector has long proclaimed itself to be a people business – one that’s built on helping people lead better, healthier, happier lives. The onus is now on us to really demonstrate this purpose at every touchpoint, ensuring the product and the experiences we deliver are utterly customer-centric, highly personalised and flexible enough to offer a convenient go-to whatever the day has in store.

And that, inevitably, means adding digital touchpoints to your member journey. We’re here to help.

Download the Accenture report here.

Read more expert insight from the recent IHRSA panel session here.

Find out how Wexer can help your business adapt to meet consumers’ post-pandemic needs: info@wexer.com

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That’s certainly true in the fitness sector, especially at a time when contracts are becoming ever more flexible – all set against a backdrop of continually rising customer expectations.

But it’s also true in another sector Wexer has recently entered: telecommunications.

The scale may be larger here, with the big mobile telco companies generally boasting many millions of customers. But the fight to recruit new customers, and the battle to then keep them loyal – and their recurring revenue streams flowing – are the same.

Value-add vs commoditisation

So, how are the telco companies addressing this challenge?

In a bid to avoid commoditisation, whereby price is the sole determinant of purchasing decisions, we’re seeing a lot of competition around value-added services in the telecommunications market. We’re talking things like priority access to concert tickets, discounts at restaurants and coffee shops, even on clothing.

But content is a big part of it, too.

So far, a lot of the telcos’ value-adding content has revolved around things like music streaming, premium TV programming and access to sports coverage. But with the surging interest in health and wellbeing as we emerge from the pandemic, fitness content is coming to the fore. And that’s because fitness and wellbeing services represent the highest-value content there is right now – a trend we predict will continue to grow over the next few years.

Optus leading the way

There’s a great example coming out of Australia right now, where Wexer has partnered with telecommunications giant Optus to deliver more than 700 world-class, on-demand workouts into its OS Fitness platform – part of the premium Optus Sport app.

OS Fitness complements an already strong Optus Sport offering, which includes exclusive live rights and on-demand access to some of the world’s best football, including the English Premier League.

But it is interesting to see how OS Fitness specifically is growing, now up to 1,000+ workouts from cherry-picked content providers to ensure a broad choice of high-quality fitness content for all ages and fitness levels.

What this new partnership does is clearly recognise the value of world-class fitness content in retaining and acquiring customers not only within the fitness industry, but across all industries.

Stand out from the crowd

So, how does it all work in practice? What makes Wexer the right choice for companies who want to diversify their value-added content offering to meet a growing consumer demand for fitness and wellbeing?

Because this isn’t just about telcos. It’s about insurance companies. It’s about corporates with their wellbeing programmes. It’s about any business that wants to stand out from the crowd by playing a valued role in helping people – customers or employees – live better, happier, healthier, more fulfilled lives.

Indeed, at Wexer, our vision is for fitness and wellness to be everywhere, positively impacting people’s lives and businesses around the world.

And the way I see it, there are three broad areas of alignment between Wexer and companies – like Optus – who are seeking to bring fitness to the heart of their value-add.

#1 – Practical

Firstly, at a practical level, is the fact that Wexer takes the strain of content aggregation and distribution. We do all the work behind the scenes to deliver a large, world-class, constantly refreshed library of workout content, with a fantastic choice of content partners and a wide variety of programming and classes. We meet the requirement of a verified, trusted partner that can deliver fully-licensed content at scale.

#2 – Technical

Second is technical alignment.

Let’s start with the Wexer API, which is key to delivering content in a complex environment, meeting requirements around content protection and high-level metadata.

The Optus partnership is a great example of our API in action. Optus Sport is available not only via mobile and tablet, but also via compatible smart TVs, laptops, PCs and the latest Xbox One gaming consoles – a flexibility of access that Wexer is able extend to its fitness content thanks to the new Wexer API, which allows Wexer content to be integrated across the full breadth of the Optus digital ecosystem.

Plus let’s not forget that all our content is in HD, making it suitable for large-screen viewing.

Underpinning all of this, of course, is Wexer’s extensive experience of working with large corporates, as well as the expertise of our in-house tech team when it comes to putting together integrations and working with developers.

#3 – Mindset

Finally, it’s about alignment of mindset, and I’m going to spotlight Optus once more as it’s a great example to bring this to life.

In this new partnership, both businesses – Optus and Wexer – are customer-focused, prioritising the customer experience.

Both understand the value of content in driving both direct and indirect value to a business.

Both also understand the value of fitness specifically, and want to develop world-class fitness experiences. Indeed, Optus Fitness OS is offered as part of the Optus Sport package as it helps drive acquisition into a premium layer – and keep them there. It’s a ‘sticky’ service that keeps customers engaged with Optus.

Last but absolutely not least, both companies are ambitious for fitness, wholeheartedly believing in the value it provides to people (and society) – not to mention the value it can generate for businesses.

Get in touch today to find out how we can help your business harness fitness content to drive customer loyalty: info@wexer.com

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