Natalie Davies has certainly knocked Welch Fitness into digital shape with the centre showing the stamina for success.
There’s a quote on the family-run business’ website that reads: Leave your ego at the door and challenge your potential to see what you can achieve at the Welch Fitness Centre.
And while it’s crystal clear that there is absolutely no ego, Natalie was keen to challenge her potential, so enlisted the help of Superfast Business Wales to drive the growth of the company she runs with partner and fellow sport and fitness enthusiast, Lewis Welch.
Welch Fitness offers a variety of fitness classes, personal training sessions, and nutritional guidance on top of the open gym facility. It consistently has around 50 members which the pair are looking to increase by boosting the centre’s online presence.
Natalie, an experienced events co-ordinator, kicked off her digital journey with webinars and a one-to-one with business adviser Ian Dunkerley, who provided plenty of valuable tailored advice to help the business.
She said: “The benefits have been much more wide-reaching than I thought. In addition to helping the business grow and thrive, it’s saved money as well as made me more efficient with time.
“Ian guided us on specific changes to make to the website in terms of how it flowed from a customer journey standpoint.
“For example, all information about the classes we offer was only on Facebook and he recommended including it on our website, which made complete sense.
“We also integrated an online booking system into our website. The online payment facility has removed so many elements for me such as constantly checking the bank account and handling cash just before each session.
“It would probably only take five or 10 minutes each class, but that all adds up and now I can spend that time promoting the business on social media or putting together the newsletter.
“Receiving money and providing change also wasn’t ideal with the pandemic ongoing, so it helped improve health and safety, too.
“As well as saving time, it’s also stopped the business losing money. About 90 per cent of people were great in terms of booking on a class and paying when they arrived, but there was always one or two people per week that signed up and didn’t show up. It could cost the business around £500 a year.”
To assist with promoting the brand and build relationships with current and potential clients, Natalie utilises Facebook and Instagram, applying some of what she has learned on Superfast Business Wales’ Advanced Social Media course.
“It was really good,” added Natalie, who runs a voluntary chair exercise class at assisted living facility Maesyffynnon. “I only managed to do part of the recommendations so far, but it has certainly helped me in terms of social media activity, and I am planning to revisit it.
“We have been using features such as Instagram stories more as well as shouting about internal news including the monthly challenges we have in the gym, like the 5km row. It has really sparked an increase in followers and engagement.
“At the moment, all our social media activity is uploaded manually, and the course will hopefully shed some light on scheduling posts and the impact it can have to save precious time.”
In addition to social media and website alterations, Natalie’s digital revamp also included email marketing, which has already led to new sign ups.
Natalie said: “I was putting out a monthly newsletter only to members, but Ian suggested sending it to non-members.
“It sounds simple now, but we’ve had seven sign ups because of it and that really helps. It is seven people, but the impact of word of mouth and recommendations can be fantastic for business with the potential for dozens more people joining off the back of those seven alone.”
Welch Fitness was given a run for its money during a false start, and Natalie is thankful for having the extra support on hand from Superfast Business Wales.
“It was pretty crazy to begin with,” recalls Natalie. “At each stage of getting the fitness centre up and running there were issues and then Covid-19 struck, which meant we were living with a 15ft fitness training rig in our kitchen and the rest of the house rammed with equipment for months.
“Even when we got the keys just before Christmas 2020, we had covid and then once we were out of isolation there was a national lockdown for five months.
“On 3 May, 2021, we were finally up and running and it has been amazing.
“Superfast Business Wales helped make sure we were ready for action as soon as we could open and we had a big influx of members from the outset as a result.”