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9Round

International gym brand 9 Round offers high-intensity workouts using the fundamentals of no contact kickboxing moves

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The brief

As they are a brand with a young audience used to engaging with websites and social via mobile with a frictionless experience, Round 9 were aware they needed to create a dynamic brand experience from the first touchpoint. However, a new website would need to effectively address the challenges of the existing site. The brief clearly outlined the main goals: firstly to put their brand on the map with an influential customer base and secondly to help achieve 9 Round’s ambitious growth plans.

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9Round bespoke website
9Round bespoke website

The problem

Slow loading and difficult to navigate

Restrictive Content Management System (CMS) limiting who and how it is updated

Poor membership/ booking experience

Outdated look and feel

Any Google impact stats (CWV?)

Risk to market share to aggressive competitors to bigger more dominant brands

Double-handling of data and overly complicated data management

Repetitive tasks and too much time required to keep the site up to date

9Round bespoke website

The solution

We took a holistic approach to the project.

We analysed, unpicked and considered each element: redesign, brand, user experience, the growth and expansion and long term strategy for the website.

The website needed to attract new gym users and make it easy to book a free trial workout and sign up for membership. Member retention and satisfaction is critical. Booking sessions at any gym should be quick and easy.

The look, feel and experience was critical; site visitors needed to tap into an aesthetic that reflects and appeals to the Millenial and Gen Z lifestyle and their interests and aspirations.

“Gen Z wants to support and participate in brands that they believe in and that reflect them,” “They are loyal to brands that they feel understand them and reflect their values”.***

Took a mobile-first approach and used mobile data insights to improve the visitor experience

Overhauled the user interface (UI) to reflect the brand

Implemented a content management system (CMS) that allowed multiple user access, giving team members the ability to manage content and choose access levels

Focused on the user experience (UX) to provide a seamless frictionless experience for new and existing customers looking to book a session, join or get a free trial class

Made expansion easier, with the introduction of a multi-site build. New locations can be easily added ‘spun off’ and up and running quickly without compromising the brand aesthetic. Edits are instant and across all locations, reducing hours managing the website and content errors

Integrated the website with the 9 Rounds internal booking system to make membership easier for members to manage. Integration to 9 Rounds sales and CRM systems enables the internal team to create personalised marketing communications, manage payments and automate the data management process

The result

Ricky Crump, Project Lead, Making Websites Better (MWB)
“We knew as soon as we saw the brief, we could technically improve the site, implement software integrations to reduce the time the team spent managing memberships, data, updates etc. We could feel the frustration.

However it was the strategic, planning and user experience we really focused on. We spent time understanding the brand and how the new site would expand in the future, so we could future-proof it.

The gym experience has changed massively in the past few years thanks to apparel brands like GymShark, we wanted to evolve the 9 Rounds website to seamlessly fit into the lifestyle gym aesthetic and be able to tell the brand story, gyms and classes authentically.

The new site is easy to use, we’ve improved the user experience and simplified the management process. What I am most proud of is the little details we’ve sweated over. I know these will make all the difference. For example, visitors can find the nearest clubs based on their location at the moment. We’ve included landing pages that can be used for PPC campaigns based on user intent, rather than brand intent to create a frictionless, personalised experience for 9 Round visitors.

The website is already paying for itself. The first 3 months traffic after launch was double the previous. We will continue to work with 9 Rounds on their site. This is just the start”.

Next

9round.co.uk

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^ Source: https://www.idsmedia.co.uk/news/demographics-of-gym-members

** https://runrepeat.com/gym-membership-statistics#gym-attendance-statistics

*** https://www.businessinsider.com/gen-z-shopping-habits-kill-brands-2019-7?r=US&IR=T

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