Personalization, at Elancia, is not optional. The whole concept of this network of 53 sports halls founded in 2003 is based on the development, for each member, of a tailor-made programme. Concocted by a trainer, this roadmap is saved on a USB key. “Our members must then connect it to the equipment in order to personalize their session”, explains Thierry Vallenet, president of the brand. Speed, inclination of the treadmill… the settings are made automatically. The key records in real time the performances achieved and, if necessary, the program is revised by the coach every six weeks.
It was the closure of cinemas imposed by the Covid that pushed Elancia to make full use of digital resources. “The application we have created allows our subscribers to send their times back to the coach when they jog outside the gym”, explains the business manager. Soon, the brand will launch remote balance sheets from a connected digital scale.
This meticulous exploitation of the data is already bearing fruit. Elancia thus has a customer retention rate of 3.2 years. A more than honorable record, in a fitness sector that loses an average of 40% of its members each year. “We can still improve our results. We are currently working on the predictive to determine when the motivation of our member declines in order to be able to revive it”, indicates Thierry Vallenet.
Anticipate needs
If “customer” data has become essential for networks, so is “sales” data. “This analysis makes it possible to anticipate cinema needs. The head of the network can thus refine the frequency of restocking and optimize stocks”, underlines Julien Siouffi, franchise and digital expert at the firm Franchise Board.
The Répar’stores roller shutter repair brand (260 franchisees) has understood this well. When a part is missing in one of its franchises, the logistics technician checks its availability in the central warehouse, in Montpellier (Hérault), and orders it on his tablet. “We are optimizing this process thanks to the predictive analysis of the data, specifies Julie Tibaudo, supply manager. In a few months, we will anticipate the needs of the associates according to their orders placed. The objective is to automatically send them the number of parts they will need rather than shipping them multiple small packages as they order.” Logistics that should also make it possible to limit the use of cardboard.
An article from the Franchise special issue of L’Express. On sale since March 16.