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    3 Tips to Get the Most Out of Your Onboarding Experience

    by Jerry Wacholz

    SportsEngine

    March 02, 2023 | 3 minutes, 27 seconds read

    Onboarding article image

    Technology has worked its way into everything we do. We can no longer deny that. Whether you’re running a business, booking a vacation, or managing your daily budget— there is tech that makes it quicker and more efficient.    

    Using technology daily doesn’t mean it’s simple for everyone to pick up immediately, and when it comes to using software to run a sports business, it’s essential to take the time to learn the ins and outs so you can get set up for success. At SportsEngine Motion, you will get a dedicated onboarding representative to walk through each step of setting up your platform. They’ll provide the guardrails to keep you on track to set up your system correctly. Here are some quick tips to get the most out of your new software onboarding experience.  

    Set aside time in the first few weeks to learn the system  

    Immediately after purchasing your new technology, you will be contacted by an onboarding representative or customer success manager to schedule a time to chat. Do them a favor and do not ignore them! They aren’t emailing you for fun; they genuinely want to help you get started.  

    Now, you’re probably purchasing this software because you are already short on time, so carving out extra space to meet with someone to learn new technology may not be high on your priority list. Resist the urge to put it off. If you never properly understand the system, it will be hard for it to save you time down the road.  

    Plan for at least three 30-minute virtual meetings with your onboarding representative. That way, they can break up the learning into digestible pieces and give you small tasks to complete between calls, allowing you to ask questions in the next meeting. Don’t try to be a hero and learn the whole system in a single 90-minute session. Breaking up the onboarding meetings keeps everyone on schedule to get set up right.  

    See how SportsEngine Motion can help you save time >  

    Have examples of your organization’s class structure available  

    Once you’ve scheduled your first onboarding session with the representative, it will be beneficial for you to send them examples of your class or program structure ahead of your first meeting. This will be helpful because your representative should get a chance to strategize the best way to set up your programs within the system. They will be able to show you specifically on your site how to get started with managing your classes.  

    Helpful information to send will be:  

    • Class schedules
    • Lists & descriptions of program offerings  
    • Length of each session  
    • Billing & payment plan structure  
    • Any details that make your classes unique
       

    Prepare the information needed to set up online payment processing  

    Setting up online payment processing with SportsEngine Motion is quick and painless. However, you will still need to provide some of your business information to enable online payments on your new system.  

    Typically, the information you’ll need to provide is:

    • Business type
    • Official business name
    • Tax ID number
    • Bank account information (routing & account number)

    In some cases, you will also need to provide a social security number and government-issued ID in the application for payment processing. This would be necessary to verify your identity as an anti-fraud measure. The bank account information you should provide is the information to whichever account you want money deposited into when your members make payments on your site.  

     The onboarding period is a valuable and exploratory time as you find out how a new system will help make your life easier. Please don’t take it for granted; utilize all of the time offered to you. Here at SportsEngine Motion, there is no cap on the time you spend learning the system with your representative, so use these tips to take full advantage of their knowledge to learn everything you can.

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How to be Successful with your Social Feed

by Kristin Weingarden

SportsEngine

January 31, 2023 | 1 minute, 57 seconds read

how to be successful with your social feed

With so many social channels available, SportsEngine Motion’s Social Feed makes it easy to post to all your social media accounts at once. From a single dashboard, the Social Feed can be used for more than just fun social posts. Here are some creative ways to take advantage of SportsEngine Motion’s Social Feed to stay engaged with your membership.  

Pro Shop Promotions

How often have you purchased a product after it showed up on your Facebook or Instagram feeds? You too can promote items in a similar way on your Social Feed. Give your pro shop a boost by taking pictures of the products and promotions you are offering. Don’t forget to put deadlines on the promotions to create a sense of urgency to purchase.  
 
(Did You Know: you can also manage your pro-shop sales and inventory using SportsEngine Motion’s Point of Sale tool?) 

Video Newsletter

No doubt you’re sending newsletters to your families, but have you ever heard, “I never got that email,” or “I get too many emails, so I didn’t see yours?” Providing a video newsletter to supplement an emailed version is a creative way to ensure your important information is being consumed on a platform that works for their family. Your membership could treat your video as a podcast to listen to at anytime.   

Important Dates

Make sure you share important dates happening within your walls. Picture day, registration dates, upcoming competitions, and holiday or weather closures. The more information you can post about what's happening within your walls, the fewer phone calls and emails your staff will receive.  

Registration Links 

Make it easy for your customers (and potential customers!) to register for their next class, clinic, or camp. The easier you can make it for your busy parents to sign up, the faster your rosters will be filled.  Providing the direct URL on your social channels makes their next registration one click away – and can improve your search rankings simultaneously.  

Start using the Social Feed

You have seen the benefits the social feed can get you — more traffic, authority, and a better relationship with your audience. Use SportsEngine Motion’s Social Feed to make it even easier to bring all of this power to the palm of your hand.  

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6 Red Flags to Avoid with Class Management Software

September 06, 2022 | 5 minutes, 1 second read

Young and beautiful girl with a red flag on a pink background. A socially active woman, to protest and fight for rights ,the concept

We get it—change is hard, and nobody wants to learn a new process from scratch when things are going “just fine.” But you deserve to be more than “just fine”—you deserve to be “better than ever.” Which is why it might be time to take another look at your current business software.

When to know it’s time to switch to a new class management solution:

1. You’re spending too much time on administrative duties

Between charges, payments, and credits, handling all your finance tasks can take time and cause lots of stress. Not to mention balancing your calendar, communication, and social media to boot. But when you have the right class management solution, you can stay on top of all your business’ finance and communication needs with ease, in one place—without having to spend all your free time in front of a computer.

When you’re juggling your billing, communications, website, and mobile app on a few different programs, it’s time to consider switching to an all-in-one solution that will shave dollars AND hours off your bottom line.

2. Simple tasks confuse your customers

A good class management software isn’t just designed to help make running your business smoother, but also to make it easier on your customers. It’s supposed to save you time, and save you the trouble of responding to customers who fill your support queue with simple questions like how to sign up for classes or when their payments are due.

If your current provider doesn’t offer a parent portal and mobile app that can address any quick questions, it’s definitely time to reconsider.

3. It’s impossible to communicate with your customers

Effective communication with your customers is essential. It allows you to establish trust and maintain an ongoing relationship with them. Having a relationship built on trust means a customer is more likely to come back, remain satisfied, and recommend others to use your business—ultimately leading to more revenue. Between your website, emails, social media, and even Google—there are several different ways to connect with your customers. But it helps when you can manage all those different places in one central hub.

Website

Your website is the front door to your business—so you need show-stopping curb appeal. Find a solution that includes both slick branding and the functionality to easily direct visitors where to sign up, share important dates and events, and even update them with a newsletter or blog.

Email & Social Media

You need a platform with an email center that serves as the central hub for your email messaging system, separates your customers into specific groups, and includes the ability to manage email opt-outs. And let’s not ignore the fact that people are using social media a lot more these days—sometimes in place of email. With so many different platforms—Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, the list goes on—you need a solution that manages all your social media platforms in one place.

Google

Remember: online reviews can directly increase your revenue stream. The more reviews you have, the higher you appear in Google searches. The better you’re ranked on Google, the less you need to spend on ads, and the quicker your customers can find your programs. Being able to connect your Google My Business account directly into your software is essential in successfully gaining new, positive reviews for your business.

4. The support team is "meh"

Having a support staff that goes above and beyond to give you the utmost care and attention is priceless. After all, this business is not just your day job—you live for encouraging teamwork, skills, and cameraderie with your youth athletes every day. It’s essential that your provider works with you like a partner—making sure you’re heard and acting as an extension of your staff. If you’re not getting that type of support from your provider, it’s time to leave immediately.

5. You’re paying for monthly fees and add-on charges

So maybe you have a solution that can do everything you want—but they’re charging you a monthly fee, plus even more for additional tools. Yeah, they have a mobile app—but you have to pay extra for it. Or maybe instead of getting perks to help grow your business, you’re getting charged more money when you accept more students—which can be even more costly if your inactive or graduated students count in that tally! If you’re not comfortable with your pricing and feel that you’re not getting everything you need for one simple price, then it’s time to look for an new software solution.

Learn how SportsEngine Motion gives you complete control to run your studio

6. You don’t remember the last time your software had a new update

Every day, you work to make your business the best it can be while helping your students improve and introducing them to the world of sport. You need a class management solution that shows the same passion and commitment that you do. When was the last time your software updated their features?

If your provider isn’t listening to your feedback to ensure you’re able to get your job done as seamlessly as possible—and giving you the tools you need to accomplish your goals—it’s time to find a new provider that cares about you, not just their bottom line.

It’s time to switch!

If even one of these red flags resonate with you , it’s time to start exploring new options that meet all your needs. Luckily, SportsEngine Motion can help solve all these problems and more with its all-in-one class management software. The best part? Switching couldn’t be easier—SportsEngine Motion has the best, most friendly support staff that will make the move quick and painless. So, what are you waiting for? Take your business from “just fine” to “better than ever” with the smartest move you’ll ever make.

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Having a Website, App, and Billing in One Place Was a Must-Have for This Studio Owner

by Andie Ostrowski

Guest Author

May 04, 2021 | 2 minutes, 53 seconds read

Starbound Performers Header

Starbound Performers is home to the National, USA, International, and World Dance Team Champions. They offer recreational, on-campus, and studio-based programs for children ages 18 months+.  Clermont, The City of Champions, is honored to be the hometown of Starbound Performers celebrating its 11th year anniversary in 2021.

jennifer-hawkins

Name: Jennifer Hawkins
Organization: Starbound Performers
Position: Owner

What she was up against

Jennifer, the owner of one of Florida’s largest dance studios, Starbound Performers, was growing frustrated with her current software situation. 

She had a billing, calendaring, and communication system, but a separate website and mobile app. Not to mention, a couple of social media profiles to keep updated on a regular basis. 

The amount of work required for her and her staff to keep the website content and design updated, and the amount of duplicate updating within her calendar system and the website was becoming more work than was worth it. 

At the end of the road with her former software set up, Jennifer said “I was spending an entire week completing the monthly billing process for my families”.

With little access to support from her software provider and no hope in sight, Jennifer ambitiously settled on the fact that she would need to develop her own custom app to make her life easier and business running smoother. 

That’s when she saw a SportsEngine Motion ad and all of her troubles were put at ease.

What SportsEngine Motion did to help

Once Jennifer saw the ad, she reached out to SportsEngine Motion and felt it was the perfect match for her studio and that “everything I had been wishing and dreaming for had come true”. With an onboarding process specific to her needs, SportsEngine Motion was able to get her up and running in an all-in-one system with ease.

What the impact was

With a platform that has billing, calendaring, a website, and a mobile app all inter-connected, Jennifer was able to make updates to family info and business info one time and it would populate throughout the entire system. No more multiple updates for the same thing, no more disjointed communication, and a lot more focus put back into the students and families. 

“After jumping on board with SportsEngine Motion and realizing the power of having auto-pay, I now maybe spend an hour on my monthly billing process, and that is only because I am overly particular with it [...] I would much rather give you an hour of my time than a whole week of my time.”

“My families feel so much more connected to us with the included mobile app. They love having everything right at their fingertips, and that they don’t have to ask me as many questions. It’s especially great with the COVID regulations since they aren’t able to be within our facilities, they can stay connected at a distance.”

Jennifer also has felt that the most invaluable part of SportsEngine Motion is the care and attention that the staff and support team has given her throughout her transition to the software. 

"Separate and apart from the tech that has helped me run my business, the one thing that really needs to be talked about is the tremendous value your people are. I have never received such partnership and patience from any group of individuals. I actually feel heard, and I'm so fortunate to consider your team an extension of my staff.”
 

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