Tech Check: How To Integrate Technology into Your Business

Technology makes the world go round by improving efficiency, bolstering communication, streamlining productivity and increasing revenue streams. At Intelivideo, we rely on technology to deliver digital fitness experiences that make it possible for exercise enthusiasts to work out anywhere, at any time and on any device. So, if a gym member wants to attend a boot camp offered by their club in the comfort of their living room at 6 a.m. or pick out a Pilates workout around 10 p.m., we make it possible.

Intelivideo’s innovation and technology enable fitness club operators and gym owners to transform their businesses into a hybrid model to offer both virtual and in-person classes — a critical competitive differentiator, essential in today’s tech-driven world. For any enterprise that’s customer-facing, adding new technology is key to staying relevant. A business can be state-of-the-art in terms of equipment, but discovering new ways to integrate technology and leverage innovation into the operation is how you’ll stay relevant.

Enter New Neighborhoods

In the health and wellness industry, we know that today’s fitness customers want the option to either work out in the club for a dedicated fitness space or at home for flexibility and efficiency, so club operators must find a way to deliver the type of content they want — in the channel that works for them. For example, Intelivideo helps clubs add complementary programming to their digital content strategy so they can continue to expand their customer base. Elevating that digital strategy is not only accomplished through offering new workouts, but it also comes from enhancing their offerings by making them more personalized and easily accessible online, integrating them across channels and communities through social media groups, and more.

Our hybrid model enables fitness businesses to reach customers beyond their local neighborhood, city, and even their state to drive new opportunities for revenue and growth. This same strategy can be applied to any business when considering the addition or expansion of technology. The reality is that even if your competition doesn’t yet have the same tech as you do, they will soon enough. This is why you need the right partner to deploy your tech — and push its capabilities to the max, while differentiating the programming that you offer via this deployment.

Technology is necessary for customer attribution and retention, but don’t leave out your other critical audience: employees. Technology can and should be used to help make your employees more efficient and engaged with what you have to offer them.

Where to Start… and Finish

There are three major areas to consider with any technology addition or transformation: planning, defining goals and expectations, and implementation.

The Plan Starts Here

Whenever you’re at the beginning of a technology or digital transformation, it helps to have a plan. Ask yourself:

• Do I have a team or person who can own this project? The owner of your tech project must have an understanding of the tech you’re trying to incorporate into your business as well as the clear end business goal of what the tech should be accomplishing, or you’ll fail.
• What’s the business case or the benefit in the short- and long-term? Defining what you think will happen will help you focus and stay on track.
• What’s the business goal of investing in the technology? Do you expect the tech to boost customer engagement, drive new revenue, lower operational costs, or improve customer efficiency? If you don’t know why you need it and what the outcome should be, go back to the drawing board and figure it out.

Goal-Defining Moments

You can’t integrate a mirage of technology and see what sticks. Not only do you need a plan, but you also need to set expectations for that plan. So ask yourself and your team:

• What is the expected ROI?
• When should we see an ROI? Not only do you need to define what the ROI is, but you also need a timeline for when you want certain milestones or achievements to happen.
• Will this implementation affect our employees and their roles? Outline how the technology integration will positively, or negatively, affect each employee.

Implementation

Once you know what technology you need and have defined your business case, you’ll move into the actual implementation stage. Ask yourself:

• Do I have the right partner? Gyms, clubs and studios work with Intelivideo because we’re the experts in digital fitness. With the help of our growing roster of ecosystem partners (i.e., ABC Fitness Solutions, Glofox, InnoSoft, Les Mills, etc.), we’re able to integrate Intelivideo technology with a gym’s in-house technology wherever applicable. Remember, technology is only as good as how you deploy it and maintain it. We don’t leave clients once our technology is up and running. We’re there for strategic support and service too.
• Who’s the point of contact and project owner? Every time Intelivideo works with a club, our Customer Services team partners with a client from setup to launch to establish a go-to-market plan and help form a content strategy. This team actively works to ensure continuity of communication in order to keep each project organized.
• What’s the next step? Think of your project in baby steps. If there are multiple modules, release them gradually. Let your employees, customers, and partners get used to the first new thing before introducing the next.
• What are the learnings? You’ll learn something new every time you add or subtract a capability, innovation, or tactic. Apply what you know to the next round.

Technology implementation takes time and commitment. Share the process with your entire team and keep the lines of communication open. When you effectively implement tech, your business will evolve. We see this again and again with Intelivideo customers and our work is helping to transform the fitness industry by allowing customers to workout when, where and how they want. Technology is key to business evolution — and it’s the reason growth has the chance to take root.