As an established Gladstone customer, 1610 had a very clear reason for wanting to be an early adopter for the company’s MobilePro app: by the start of this year, over 60 per cent of hits on our website were already coming through a mobile or tablet device. This equated to about 17,000 visits a month and 204,000 visits a year, and the figures were growing month on month.

Yet despite these impressive statistics, the number of online bookings remained very low, which we put down to the complicated process of booking via a mobile device. It was clear we needed a mobile app of our own if we were going to keep up with our customers’ needs and demands.

What we liked about MobilePro was the fact that it was fully integrated into Gladstone’s Plus2 member management and Connect online booking systems, meaning that customers could access real-time information when booking and paying for group exercise classes online. We were also hopeful the simple navigation would encourage more people to book in this way, easing pressure on our front-of-house team. We launched the app last February in four of our 19 sites across Somerset, Dorset and Devon with fantastic results. So far, there have been over 1,700 downloads and this continues to grow at a steady rate as new customers join our facilities. One site – Trinity Sports and Leisure in Bridgwater – has had an especially enthusiastic response, with almost 50 per cent of its membership database having downloaded MobilePro.

What’s more, since we launched the app, online group exercise bookings have increased by an average of 200 per cent across all four sites. At Castle Sports Centre in Taunton, in particular, online bookings have risen by an incredible 1,000 per cent, and last month 92 per cent of all bookings at that site were made online. Front-ofhouse teams have also reported taking far fewer phone bookings, freeing up their time for other duties.

In addition to the success we’ve had with online bookings, the app’s push notification feature is proving to be an invaluable tool for improving communication with customers, as well as helping centres to promote upcoming events, new offers, new classes or special opening times.

Although it’s not an area we’ve fully utilised yet, there is also some great functionality within the app for customers to share information with family and friends on social media platforms such as Facebook and Twitter. This is certainly a development area for us, as it has great potential for improving retention and brand loyalty with our online audience, as well as generating new custom by social referral. We have found the Web Cockpit content management system very easy to use, and we have trained a nominated person at each centre to keep the app updated. The ability to add global content is a bonus as it means we don’t have to add new content multiple times.

And because Plus2 and Connect are fully integrated into MobilePro, the app automatically updates the class timetable when any changes are made via the main system, saving staff time and reducing the risk of errors.

We’re also big fans of the reporting feature, which has been very useful in identifying what content our customers are engaging with at each site.

We now plan to roll the app out to six more sites by the end of the year, and to all 1610 sites within the next 18 months.

Rebecca Sawtell, 1610’s head of marketing and communications