Best Member Solutions Alternative: Exercise.com vs. Member Solutions

Exercise.com: Your Member Solutions Alternative

Why Choose Exercise.com?

Here are five reasons why fitness professionals use Exercise.com vs. Member Solutions.

 

If you’re ready to get started with an easy-to-navigate, all-in-one fitness software, designed to fuel your business, request a demo with Exercise.com today.

And, if you want to see how Member Solutions’s additional features stack up to Exercise.com software features, check out our in-depth guide below.

What is Member Solutions?

Member Solutions is a fitness management software company that focuses on building relationships between facilities and their members. Established in 1991, the company looks to provide service to fitness centers that are new to the industry or have been well-established.

Some of the key features that Member Solutions promotes are their billing, event registration, and payment processing services. These are certainly vital to membership management for any gym, but some users feel that the software falls short in at least one of those categories.

Member Solutions and Exercise.com contain many of the same features, but there are some differences. We will get into the specifics as we go along, but two areas that stand out are workout software and customization. These two aspects are also the root of several other differences, including product offerings, service offerings, and software functions.

Both companies have the same ultimate goal of serving customers in a way that helps facilitate the growth of their business. The question really becomes: which company does it better? Let’s begin to answer that question.

Unless otherwise stated, all images and reviews below are of/about the Exercise.com software platform.

Fitness Business Management Software

There are a lot of moving parts when it comes to your fitness business, and both Members Solutions and Exercise.com have many of those parts represented in their software. A few aspects of management, however, are missing for Member Solutions such as the creation of a website. Business owners need to have an existing website that is then integrated with the Member Solutions software.

Exercise.com has all the tools needed to truly be labeled as all-in-one software. Our customized gym management software allows you to create schedules, run reports, and automatically communicate with your members to help your business run smoothly. If there is anything we have left out, our partnership with Zapier ensures that you can still run your business, at a high level, with all your tools at your disposal.

Client/Class Scheduling

Both companies offer client and class scheduling within their software, but only Exercise.com can be customized to function however you see best. Our users can create schedules and sort them by the instructor, trainer, time, day, class format, or any other category you choose. It is also easy for your customers to view schedules and book appointments through your custom app or website.

Gym/Facility Management

Gathering information is critical in making important decisions for your business. This information is normally gathered and presented as a report. Both Member Solutions and Exercise.com have reporting features, but Member Solutions does not allow you to run custom reports. Instead, they decide which information you will find useful, and report that information.

Exercise.com gives you the liberty to decide which factors are important to you for making a decision, and will then generate an easy-to-read report. These reports can help you analyze group fitness attendance, personal training revenue, membership growth, or anything else you can think of. Since our software is fully customizable, we can craft it to function however you need it to.

Business Dashboard Reports

Both Member Solutions and Exercise.com have a dashboard for viewing reports. Exercise.com’s business dashboard features standard and customizable reports which enable you to keep your finger on the pulse of your business. Our dashboard is easily customizable, giving you free-range to how you want to analyze your business or filter information.

Client Automation

In order to dedicate time to the most important parts of your business, you want to automate whatever other parts of your business that you can. If there are certain parts of your operation that require less attention, you have more time you can spend on important factors like member retention and employee satisfaction. Some of our features include:

• Automatic Emails and Texts
• Automate Workout Delivery
• Automate Resource Delivery
• Automate Assessment Delivery
• Automate Reminders/Alerts via app, text, and email

Dedicated Zapier Support

At Exercise.com, we truly want to offer all-in-one fitness business management software, which is why we provide you with so many built-in integrations. We realize, however, that sometimes you need a bit of a boost or that you might want to use a program that is not organically integrated with our software. Our partnership with Zapier ensures your ability to use whatever tools or programs you want to while still being able to control everything from one place.

Our partnership with Zapier includes dedicated support to help you through every step of the process. With over 2,000 apps to choose from, you can be confident in knowing that Zapier will help your company’s website be as efficient and user-friendly as possible. Our partnership allows you to integrate your web apps so they can share data, automate the passing of information between your apps, and innovate faster and more efficient processes.

Dedicated Account Manager

Part of the Exercise.com commitment to your success is providing you with a dedicated account manager to help you with any need that may arise. This is not just a person to help get you started, this is someone who will be with you for your entire relationship with Exercise.com

If you want to create a fresh look for your website, your account manager will get it done. If you want to set up an ecommerce store to promote your products and services, your account manager won’t have a problem. Our world-class development will come through for you on any project you want to accomplish, from the simple to the complex.

Customized Software

Customizable features are certainly where Exercise.com begins to put space between itself and its competitors. When you work with a software company that is willing to mold its product to fit your specific needs, you are set up to have your greatest chance at success. Rather than taking a fitness software and making your business work within it, you can partnership with Exercise.com to take your business and develop software built around its needs.

There are sections in this category where Member Solutions share some features with Exercise.com, but they are not customizable. Still, we will mention them so you have the information you need to make a proper comparison.

Custom-Branded

Only Exercise.com offers fully customized branding. This is important because your brand is a representation of your business, so you want your software to be in line with this philosophy. Our software can be customized to include your logo, color scheme, and pictures of your facility so that your members begin to form positive opinions and connections about your business just from the look of the software.

iOS & Android Apps

Both Member Solutions and Exercise.com offer apps to their customers for iOS and Android, but only The Exercise.com branded app for personal trainers is fully customizable in both look and function. Of course, we will help you promote your brand within the app, but we can also customize the way it can be used by your members. From the palm of their hand, your members can book classes, check their schedule with a trainer, or look at products in your ecommerce store.

Websites

As we mentioned before, Member Solutions does not create a website, custom or otherwise, for its customers. Instead, gym owners need to have their own website already in place and then integrate it with the Member Solutions software. This is an extra and unnecessary step that Exercise.com eliminates.

Our development team at Exercise.com will create a high-quality custom-branded SEO-optimized fitness business website for your business that has all the features you need for both your staff and members. Much like your app, your members can use your website to view schedules, book appointments, or make payments. You can also rest easy knowing that your website is:

• Responsive
• Built to convert visitors to leads
• Google Certified Partner

Security Features

When you choose to trust Exercise.com with your business’s information, we want you to feel confident that it will be kept safe and secure. We realize that this also means your members’ information will be kept in the same manner. Some of our security features include:

• SSL Secure
• Privacy Shield Framework
• Google Cloud

Marketing Integrations

Member Solutions promotes marketing features on its website but does not get into the specifics of what they offer. They make mention of communicating regularly with members via text message and email, but there is much more to good marketing than utilizing functions that can be done with any smartphone.

Marketing is important for the growth of your business. This growth occurs with either an increase in membership or an increase in revenue from your services. With this in mind, you can clearly see that communicating with current members is only one part of marketing.

Exercise.com allows you to market to both your current and potential members. We have many integrations in our software that help you do this, but if anything is missing, remember that our partnership with Zapier will bridge that gap.

Some of our more popular integrations include:

• MailChimp
• ConstantContact
• ConvertKit
• Zapier
• Google Analytics
• Facebook Pixel

Workout Software

Workout software is another area in which Exercise.com has an advantage over Member Solutions. Exercise.com contains a workout creator and logger, which helps owners provide certain services that we will touch on later. It also helps enhance current services like personal training so your clients have added value in their sessions.

Member Solutions does not offer a workout platform, so this next section will focus on the features provided by the Exercise.com software platform.

Workout Creator/Logger

With Exercise.com, your trainers can easily create workouts that can be used for their current clients or as part of the product and service offerings you give to members. The clients can then utilize the logging portion of the software to keep track of their accomplishments and reflect on their progress over time. Both the creator and logger help you add a more personalized experience for your clients and help increased engagement with the training program.

Our workout creator/logger provides users with endless possibilities for delivering workouts, tips, and encouragement to clients in any scenario, including:

1-1 Training

Personal training is a large source of revenue for most gyms so, if you want people to pick your facility over another, you have to figure out a way to make the experience better for your clients. Using the Exercise.com software platform, your trainers can make workouts available to clients before the session even starts so they are prepared to work hard when they get to the gym. This can help them get more out of the workout, help them to progress faster, and motivate them to continue using your services.

Group Training

Group training is an especially useful option for those who find more comfort or motivation working out with their friends than they do one-on-one with a trainer. The Exercise.com software platform makes sure that people who participate in group training do not lose out on any of the benefits that people receive when participating in personal training. Group clients can still view and track their workout, as well as communicate with their trainer within the software.

Online Training

Online training has become an increasingly important part of the fitness industry and will likely continue to grow. You want your business to be able to capitalize on this growth, and you can use the Exercise.com software platform to do so. Using our workout creator and logger, you can craft workout programs for clients who may not train in person, but can still utilize the expertise or your trainers. It is especially easy, for your trainers, to create these workouts because of the exercise library.

Exercise Library

The pre-built exercise library included in the Exercise.com software platform makes it easy for trainers to drag and drop exercises into workout programs for their clients. With the ability to search by name or muscle group, trainers have no trouble finding what they need to in our database. The video demonstrations associated with the exercises help make sure that your clients have proper form, which helps them to gain the most benefit from the program.

As an added bonus, Exercise.com gives businesses a chance to connect, on a more personal level, with their clients by uploading custom videos.

Custom Exercises

Whether you want to personalize your interactions with your clients or you have a business that focuses on more non-traditional fitness, uploading customized videos can add value to your training services. By uploading your own videos, you can make sure that your clients are always seeing a familiar face and that the video demonstration is exactly what you want. Pre-built exercise libraries can be extremely useful and definitely have their place, but customized videos are a helpful supplement.

TV Workouts

Gyms can use both the pre-built and customized video demonstrations for more than just online training or product sales. Using the Exercise.com software platform, you can cast the video demonstrations onto a TV screen during a training session or a group class. This is very helpful for participants because they can constantly see proper form. It is also useful for trainers and instructors because they can refer to a visual display when they are explaining an exercise.

Gym Ecommerce Software

The Member Solutions software platform has the capabilities to make an in-personal sale, however, it is not clear as to whether or not purchases can be made from an ecommerce platform.

Exercise.com sets up its gym ecommerce software so that your clients have the choice to make a purchase either by themselves, through ecommerce, or in-person at your facility. Your members can purchase products, single group classes, class packages, personal training, or other workout services.

Payment Processing

Exercise.com uses Stripe for safe and secure payment processing so that your members can confidently make their purchases. Our software can accept payments for products, classes, personal training, monthly membership fees, or combine all fees into one bill that is automatically collected at the frequency you choose.

Sell Products

Selling products can be a fun and effective way to market your brand. Exercise.com and Member Solutions both offer this capability in their software.

Members often enjoy wearing a shirt with their gym’s logo while they workout or find it convenient to be able to purchase a water bottle when they’ve left theirs at home. You can choose to offer whatever products you’d like and easily manage the sale through the Exercise.com software platform.

Sell Workout Plans

Due to our workout creator and logger, Exercise.com customers are able to offer workout-based products and services, like workout plans, in their ecommerce platform. You can sell an array of different workout plans that will appeal to members of all different types. You can create endurance workouts for runners, strength workouts for bodybuilders, or weight-loss workouts for people who would like to lose a few pounds.

These pre-built workouts offer a high value for both you and your members. From a business standpoint, you are investing a relatively small amount of time to create a product that can be purchased many times over without needing to be updated or re-stocked. For your members, they can purchase a professionally designed workout without needing to sign-up with a trainer.

Offer Online Workout Memberships

Once people start to see the value of purchasing pre-built workouts, they may decide to do so on a more regular basis. This customer base could see great value from an online workout membership. They would receive workouts, at regular intervals, so they always have professional guidance without the worry of hitting a plateau.

Your business would benefit from the consistent revenue, and there would not be a large time investment due to the pre-built nature of the workout plans and automated delivery.

Sell Workout Challenges

Successful gyms are normally built on a foundation of a strong member community. One way to strengthen the community aspect of your membership, and simultaneously increase revenue, is to sell workout challenges. Whether your members are working toward a common goal of competing against each other, the camaraderie developed is good for your business.

You can even promote the service you offer by giving away free trials as a prize to the winner of the challenge. Getting people excited about joining is your goal. Not only will you motivate people to join, but they will motivate their friends to join as well.

Fitness Assessment Software

Members and clients are less likely to continue using your services if they cannot see that they are making progress. It is reasonable to conclude that progress tracking is one of the most valuable tools you have to promote client retention in your facility. This starts by establishing a baseline of information about someone’s fitness level, and then performing follow-up assessments and comparing the results to the baseline.

Using Exercise.com fitness assessment software, this can be easily accomplished. Start with an initial assessment, perform a follow-up assessment down the line, and then show the results to your client. This will show them how they have progressed from the starting point and will motivate them to continue their program, or alter it to make better use of your services.

Assessments

Assessments should provide you and your clients with information that is both measurable and relevant. The former can easily be done by counting reps, recording weight, or timing an exercise. The latter, however, means tailoring each assessment to be applicable to the individual being assessed.

If you have a new member join your facility and proceed to explain that he or she is striving to become a competitive triathlete, it would not make sense for you to perform a strength assessment. Instead, you would want to perform one based on endurance activities so that the athlete can measure his or her progress in regard to the overall goal. With Exercise.com, you can fully customize your assessment process for all of your current and prospective clients.

Performance & Measurement Reports

Once you have collected information from an initial and follow-up assessment, you want to be able to share the results with your clients. With Exercise.com, you can automatically deliver easy-to-read performance and measurement reports. These reports can contain statistics, metrics, changes in performance, progress pictures, or whatever else you feel is necessary. Whatever you choose to include, your client will have the benefit of knowing how his or her training program is working.

Nutrition

It is important to appreciate the impact that a proper diet has on fitness goals, which is why Exercise.com has a nutrition tracker included in its software platform. Your clients can easily keep track of their daily food and water intake, without needing third-party integration, so they can keep an eye on how their food and fitness are working together. Trainers can also view these logs and, if it is within their scope of practice, make recommendations to the client.

Member Solutions Pricing

Normally, in our comparisons, this is where we provide our readers with a table that outlines a company’s pricing structures and associated features. Member Solutions, however, requires potential customers to contact them directly for pricing information. We can tell you, though, that the company does offer a free trial and that subsequent purchases are billed on a subscription-based pricing model.

Member Solutions Alternatives

Even though we were not able to obtain pricing for Member Solutions, we still want to provide you with information on competitors and their pricing structures. With the exception of WellnessLiving, each of these companies offers a free trial to potential customers. Please note that all prices are accurate at the time of writing this article.

The Bottom Line: Pros and Cons

Members Solutions and Exercise.com both have similarities in regard to the goals and features of their products. The difference is that Exercise.com offers a few extra features that Member Solutions does not and makes everything fully customizable. We hope that by now we have shown you the value these differences can provide to you as a fitness business owner. Let’s take one more look at some of the key points we’ve gone over.

Member Solutions Cons

While Member Solutions offers many useful features for its customers, the company is lacking a few key features that would facilitate the growth of your fitness business.

For starters, the company’s software lacks a workout platform where your trainers can create workouts and where clients can log their results. This not only takes away from the potential added value you could give to your clients, but it also hinders the possibilities your business has when it comes to selling workout-based products like pre-built plans or workout memberships. It also cripples the potential for online training, which is an area of the fitness industry that deserves attention.

Member Solutions also does not offer a custom website for its customers. While the software does integrate into a website created by a third-party, this is an extra and unnecessary step that customers have to take in order to have a functioning website.

Additionally, Member Solutions is lacking a performance health platform where assessments can be given and performance reports delivered. These two items are especially important for tracking progress and showcasing services to your members, so it is difficult to consider using software that does not contain these features.

Exercise.com Pros

Exercise.com is built for every fitness business because it can be customized to fit any fitness business. Each of the features we offer can be uniquely tailored to suit your needs so that your business can function exactly how you envision it.

Our automated platforms save you time and money by sending invoices and communicating with members so that you can spend time on other areas in your facility. Your trainers can also reach more clients by having workouts delivered automatically and utilizing communication through our software.

Our pre-built exercise library, paired with the ability to add custom videos, makes it easy for your staff to train clients online and create other workout-based products and services. By searching through our database or uploading your own content, you can also add value to existing personal and group training services.

We also make everything extremely convenient for your members and clients. With a fully customized website and app, created just for your gym, your members can view schedules, book appointments, and pay their bills with just a few simple clicks.

At Exercise.com, we also provide you with a dedicated account manager to help you with any issues or changing plans that may arise over the course of our partnership. Combine your account manager with a top-notch development team, and you can be confident that you’re in good hands.

Overall, Exercise.com is the clear choice for your fitness business. Any of our features can be shaped to meet your needs, so you can be sure you will be successful both now and in the future.

How do you see the needs of your business progressing in the future?

If you want to work with a software company that is built for your fitness business, request a demo today.