The rapid spread of COVID-19 has left many business at loss. Companies that rely on physical interaction with their customers like the hospitality, banking, and retail are worst hit, given most governments’ directives to lockdown towns. Even those in operation have to work with smaller teams, which leads to delay in the delivery of services.

Google, for example, warned its Google Store customers to expect longer wait times because it is working with a limited team. Call centers are also getting slammed, not to mention banks that are reporting hold times of 10 hours or longer.

Consequently, many companies are beginning to leverage on AI technology to bridge the gaps in communication. While there’s a need for human contact, the deployment of AI technologies like chatbots is demonstrating how valuable automation can be for brands in a crisis.

Chatbots are tailored to cater to provide curated information. As such, responses to particular questions can be provided interactively and more rapidly in comparison with traditional online search methods. Other ways a company can benefit from integrating chatbot technology include:

Improved Customer Engagement

According to a Havard Business Review, companies that reply to customers within an hour of receiving a query are seven times more likely to generate leads. Chatbots provide a real-time response, thus increasing a company’s conversion rate.

What’s more, chatbots that have voice automation offer more interactive communication as they can also ask questions to understand the customer’s problem and provide a better solution. The devices also provide customers with rich content with blog entries, product pages, and tutorials based on the user’s response.

24/7 Availability

With a chatbot, your business is never out of service, even with the COVID-19 pandemic. As such, you are confident about your customers getting responses at any time. The company creates the ultimate customer experience as a result, by addressing user’s requests at any time.

Ability to Monitor Consumer Data

Chatbots also collect a lot of data through the simple questions they ask. Companies can use the feedback to make improvements in their products and services. They can also use feedback to monitor customers’ purchasing patterns and consumer behavior. This way, a business can identify services or products that need aggressive marketing and those that need relaunching.

Reduced Bounce Rate

With chatbots being available 24/7, businesses reduce the bounce rate significantly. Companies require potential customers to fill out long forms to interact with users. The practice is off-putting for many users causing others to quit halfway.

Chatbots eliminate such procedures by collectong the user’s information more conveniently. What’s more, bots that have been integrated with voice automation allow users to ask queries and get instant feedback, order products, receive payments, among other tasks, without leaving the messaging applications.

Eliminate Repetition

With many companies working with a small number of customer support representatives, it is essential to reduce repetitiveness. Many customer service representatives answer the same questions throughout the day, which can be time-consuming.

Setting up chatbot systems enables businesses to deal with monotonous conversations. As such, customer representatives can deal with more sensitive questions that need more time input. Hybrid solutions consisting of a chatbot and a human agent are even more useful as they increase employee satisfaction and reduce the high turnover in call centers.

Cost Saving

Setting up remote workspaces presents an additional cost in an already struggling global economy. Implementing a fully functioning chatbot is more cost-effective. What’s more, automated solutions allow organizations to handle as many customers at once.

Without a doubt, the COVID-19 pandemic has become an accelerator for the implementation of chatbot technology. It allows brands to retain normalcy even with the continued emphasis on remote contact centers and work from home solutions. Chatbot technology means their communication channels remain open to consumers without routing voice calls in remote locations.

For more information on chatbots or to get a free consultation visit soolisai.com.

As a gym owner or manager, one of the biggest challenges is to make sure you’re using the right marketing strategies to acquire and retain members.

Remarketing has become a very effective marketing strategy for local businesses and here are a few reasons why this strategy is great for gyms:

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Multiply the Power of Local SEO

Most consumers search online when they’re looking for local services. Optimizing for local SEO is the key to getting found but that’s only half the story… what happens after visitors come to your website?

Most people aren’t ready to make a purchasing decision right away and remarketing ads allow you to keep showing up in front of these visitors, who have shown interest in joining a gym, to progress them down your sales funnel.

Engage With Your Email Subscribers

Email remarketing is a tactic that targets subscribers who click on your emails so you can create ad campaigns based on the specific content or offers they have engaged with.

These prospects are already interested in your services and remarketing ads give you the opportunity to accelerate them down the sales funnel by staying top of mind, nurturing the relationships, and directing them back to your website to complete an action.

Establish a Multi-Channel Presence

Remarketing strategies allow you to connect with those who have visited your website on other online touchpoints, such as Facebook, YouTube (as part of the Google platform,) and websites in the Google Display Network.

These ads help you deliver the most relevant content and offers based on the prospects’ prior interactions with your brand and drive traffic back to your site so you can further engage with them.

Improve Client Retention

A membership business model means you have to be constantly “marketing” to your clients so they stay on as members.

Remarketing allows you to continue engaging your members by sharing the latest news, relevant content, and upgrades or special offers based on their interactions with your website.

By consistently communicating with your members and providing value, you can stay top of mind and improve your customer retention rate.

Ready to use remarketing to get more clients? We’re here to help. Get in touch to get started.

This partnership allows Club Industry, the most trusted media source for fitness business professionals, to utilize soOlis’ detailed commercial product information for Club Industry’s new and improved Buyers’ Guide. Gym owners, managers and anyone else can visit Club Industry’s new and improved Buyers’ Guide to compare commercial fitness equipment while exploring the product information, images, specifications and videos that Club Industry’s Buyers’ Guide also offers on fitness products.
“By adding the compare option to our Buyers’ Guide, we have improved and simplified the buying experience for our audience,” said Marty McCallen, publisher of Club Industry. “Before club operators make any small or large purchasing decisions, they now can turn to Club Industry’s Buyers’ Guide to get a side-by-side comparison of the features of equipment, helping them narrow their search to the products that are most appropriate for their facilities. More people now turn to online resources before making purchasing decisions, so this was the next logical step in the evolution of our Buyers’ Guide.”

Brad Bishop, president of soOlis, said: “We have grown our business over the past four years by managing the fitness equipment dealers’ product information on their websites. Because of the years of experience, we have been able to improve our offerings each year. We’re excited about the strategic partnership with Club Industry, one of the keystones in the fitness industry. We look forward to working with them on their new Buyers’ Guide. It will be the only Buyers’ Guide to show all current products, images, specifications and videos (if available) and give users the ability to request a quote on multiple products. The new Buyers’ Guide will further support Club Industry’s mission of connecting buyers and sellers. We look forward to a long strategic partnership with Club Industry.”

soOlis & Club Industy Video (For best viewing go to full screen)

About soOlis
soOlis is an informational website and does not sell fitness equipment. Its purpose is to provide data, educate end users, provide them with comparisons of equipment, location of clubs, and browse WebMD TM articles and videos. For more information regarding partnership opportunities, visit www.soolis.com/contact.php or contact Tim Sebold at tsebold@soolis.com or 877-789-8773 ext. 705.

About Club Industry
Club Industry, a trusted media source and trade show, is a part of Penton. Club Industry connects buyers and sellers through a portfolio of products that includes a website, Buyers’ Guide, e-newsletters, a mobile app, and a conference and trade show. Club Industry builds communities by providing forums filled with high-quality content, relevant information, dynamic meetings and networking opportunities critical to industry decision-makers. For information about being listed in Club Industry’s Buyers’ Guide, contact Marty McCallen at marty.mccallen@clubindustry.com or Laurie Kerr at laurie.kerr@clubindustry.com

The health club and gym owners are hit on a daily basis to carry many of these add on company’s products, nutritional, clothing, and accessories. They are solicited to carry these items because their members are most likely to purchase these products. But the gym owner / manager has the challenge of the increased staff and carrying the inventory. Examining the staff challenges are easy. First is reliability, second is cost (hourly, taxes, healthcare), finally managing. When it comes to the inventory, the biggest challenge is shrinkage!

Let’s look at nutritional products business. Over 11.5 Billion dollars were sold in 2012, and this number is supposed to grow to 15.5 by 2017. How many gym members purchased products at nutritional stores? Gyms try to get some of that business, but as stated previously, with the constant challenge of staff and inventory, they make a minimum profit with many headaches. Therefore most of the smaller facilities or 24 Hr. facilities don’t even try.

But what if a gym owner / facility operator could increase their top of mind advertising, reduce staff and increase revenue with a piece of the nutritional product sales? The solution is their your own online store. It’s simple. Choose your products you want to sell; soOlis uploads the products into your cart. The owner and facility operators introduce the cart to members. The members are buying products anyway from Amazon, GNC, Vitamin World, and even Walmart. Now their members can buy the products from their website and have the convenience of either picking up the products at the gym or have the product shipped directly to the member. Now the gym has increase brand recognition through more visits to their website and now offers a complete fitness solution; the gym increase revenue from nutritional sales that they were missing before. This cart can also be used for all your services: Day fees, Personal Training, Kids Programs. Again the members can sign up for different programs in the comfort of their homes and you didn’t need a staff member to complete the transaction!

Internet sales are expecting to increase by 17% NEXT year! Don’t miss out on a tremendous opportunity. Contact soOlis.com for more information on your online store at info@soOlis.com or call 877-789-8773. soOlis.com, where quality of life begins.

Instructional Videos for Fitness Equipment