Who is B/SPOKE Studios?
B/SPOKE Studios lives up to its name with a truly unique business model. Based in the Boston area, this boutique fitness studio specializes in indoor cycling, strength, yoga and small group training. Additionally, they also offer personal training, a coffee + juice bar and co-working lounge. We spoke with co-founder Mark Partin to learn more about their business and discover why they made the switch to Xplor Mariana Tek.
“One of the biggest things that makes B/SPOKE kind of different is our multi-modality offering, not necessarily specializing in just one. We have a complex arrangement of spin, yoga and strength training offerings which you don’t normally see.”
But having a bespoke business strategy doesn’t come without its challenges, especially finding a partner who can work with a unique business model.
The Challenge
B/SPOKE’s legacy software provider did not provide a mobile app for their clients, instead they had to rely on clients to book on their website through their mobile devices.
At best they went without additional mobile-friendly features, and at its worst, members couldn’t book at all. According to Mark, it was an iOS update that essentially disabled their booking process and pushed them to find a new provider.
“It was crazy! Around 78% of our clients typically booked on mobile devices, and then after two or three months, it dropped to 15% because people just couldn’t use our site. I think the breaking point was when somebody in customer service said, ‘Just call Apple.’ I was like, ‘What do you mean, like Tim Cook?”
Not only was their site not working on mobile devices, but the response from support was more than disappointing. Mark started to receive feedback and began to worry his clientele would choose to go to another studio if they couldn’t book classes easily. In his words, “If there’s anybody who’s teetering on the fence, they’re going to go somewhere else”.
Additionally, Mark wanted to expand his studio to multiple locations. To do this, he knew he needed a stable platform, with more features and reporting to support his future growth.
The decision was made, B/SPOKE had to make a move and find a group fitness software provider who could deliver on what they wanted:
- An app that was easy for members to book through
- A platform that was easy for staff to use across all their locations
- Detailed data, analytics and reporting
- Open API integrations
- More functionality
The Xplor Mariana Tek Solution
The number one priority for B/SPOKE was to have their own branded app.
“We knew what our clients wanted – a user friendly app to easily book their classes on-the-go. I saw, through other studios I knew, that Mariana Tek had an amazing app, and that’s what I wanted.”
Mariana Tek offers a 5-star rated custom app for studios which are branded with the studio’s colors and logos. The functionality of the app is smooth, easy-to-use and doesn’t showcase any other studios – ensuring B/SPOKE’s clients only see their brand.
Next on Mark’s software platform wish-list was having features that would support his multi-location business aspirations. Having multiple locations requires more layers of management, better access to data and the ability to log in to one management portal to see everything across all his studios.
“Another key reason for moving to Mariana Tek was our plan to become a multi-location brand. We needed better more functionality and a system that made it easy to manage all our locations in one place. I wanted to get deeper on analytics and reporting, plus the marketing automation integration was great bonus.“
After reviewing many fitness studio software platforms, it became clear to Mark that Mariana Tek was the solution to help take B/SPOKE to the next level.
In 2018, they began to migrate off their legacy software. According to Mark, the experience was smooth and easy, and he felt supported every step of the way.
“Migrations aren’t easy, but the Mariana Tek onboarding process was great. Honestly, I think it was pretty smooth and seamless. The team was responsive and really helpful throughout the process. Really a 10/10!”
The Results
After onboarding, Mariana Tek delivered several functions and features all available in one place built-in, or with the help of integrations, including segmented marketing automation, geo-check-in, livestreaming capabilities, and easy membership freezing or renewal.
B/SPOKE integrates Shopify’s point-of-sales capabilities into their Mariana Tek ecosystem, and one of the features the B/SPOKE team loves is the quick sell function for members to buy add-ons like spin shoes and headphones for silent discos. This feature has proven to be a popular one for members to pick up what they need at busy check-ins and speed up the whole process.
Additionally, Mariana Tek has enabled B/SPOKE to delight and celebrate their member’s hard work using class number Milestones and a year-end wrap feature where they can see all their studio stats.
With the client tagging feature B/SPOKE empowered staff with insights to know when to give more guidance for first-timers and provide extra recognition to their die-hard vets.
“We use a lot of tags. We have a 300 club, 500 club and 1000 club. We also tag first-timers and the class type the client has taken (like yoga or spin) so we can try to get them to try other classes at our studios.”
At the onset of Covid-19, B/SPOKE was easily able to pivot to a virtual platform thanks to Mariana Tek’s integration partners. Though they are transitioning back to specialized, in-person studio experiences, Mark is proud of how they handled virtual fitness in the time of Covid.
“I think we did a great job at pivoting to online classes during COVID with the help of Mariana Tek’s integrations. We sold a lot of people on it and introduced a lot of new clients to our brand. We have a lot of focus on the in-studio experience, but I think there’s definitely a place in the future for a hybrid model.”
Making The Switch
If you’re considering Mariana Tek, Mark says he would ‘do it in a heartbeat’.
“If you’re thinking about switching software, I don’t really see why anybody would go anywhere else besides Mariana Tek. The tech is great and so is the support. Overall, the platform is worth the cost and you get a lot for it. We take full advantage of the platform and there’s a lot of really amazing features.”
Thinking about making the switch yourself? Let’s have a chat. Request your demo today to get this conversation started.
Article by Xplor Mariana Tek
First published: 04 May 2023
Last updated: 17 April 2024