22% Member Retention Increase Across 3 Locations While Saving $500/mo on Tools
Pulse Fitness replaced Mindbody, Mailchimp, a separate booking system, and WhatsApp groups with Dewx — unifying operations across three studio locations and catching disengaged members before they cancelled.
At a Glance
The Challenge
Pulse Fitness operates three boutique fitness studio locations offering group classes, personal training, and wellness programs. With 45 employees spread across locations and over 800 active members, the business had outgrown its patchwork of tools but had not found a platform that could unify everything without costing a fortune.
The studio chain was paying $400/month for Mindbody for class scheduling and member management, another $100/month for Mailchimp for email campaigns, plus a separate booking system and WhatsApp groups for internal coordination. Despite spending $500+ per month on tools, each location was effectively operating as an independent business with no shared view of member behavior or engagement.
- •Member communication scattered across email, SMS, and WhatsApp with no unified thread
- •Booking system completely disconnected from CRM, making engagement tracking impossible
- •No way to identify disengaged members before they cancelled — churn was reactive, not proactive
- •Each location operating independently with no cross-location visibility into operations or performance
The most painful symptom was member churn. Amanda Ross, Pulse Fitness’s CEO, would only learn about disengaged members when they submitted cancellation requests. By that point, the decision was already made. There was no early warning system, no automated re-engagement, and no data on which members were at risk.
The Solution
Pulse Fitness deployed Dewx across all three locations in just four days. The speed was possible because Dewx replaced multiple tools with one platform, so there was no complex integration work — just data migration and team training.
Portal
Unified member communication across all three locations. Members interact through one channel regardless of which location they visit. Staff at any location can see the full conversation history.
GTM Hub
Member pipeline with retention tracking replaced the disconnected CRM. Each member has an engagement score based on visit frequency, class bookings, and communication activity. Declining scores trigger automated alerts.
OPS Hub
Class scheduling, instructor management, and location coordination in one place. Managers can see availability and utilization across all three locations without switching between tools.
Dew AI
Automated re-engagement campaigns for dormant members. When a member’s engagement score drops below threshold, Dew drafts personalized outreach based on their class preferences and visit history.
The breakthrough was connecting member engagement data to automated re-engagement workflows. Instead of waiting for cancellations and reacting, Pulse Fitness now identifies at-risk members two to three weeks before they would typically cancel and proactively reaches out with relevant offers, class suggestions, or personal check-ins.
The Results
The impact on retention was visible within the first month. Three months in, the numbers told a clear story of a business that had fundamentally changed how it related to its members.
The 22% retention increase translated directly to revenue. In the fitness industry, acquiring a new member costs five to seven times more than retaining an existing one. By keeping members engaged and catching disengagement early, Pulse Fitness effectively boosted their revenue without increasing marketing spend.
The unified operations across three locations also enabled cross-location promotions for the first time. Members at one location can now easily discover classes at sister locations, increasing overall utilization and member satisfaction.
"Members were falling off and we didn’t even know until they cancelled. Now Dew spots disengagement early and re-engages them automatically. We went from losing members silently to having real conversations that keep them coming back."
Implementation Timeline
The four-day rollout was designed to minimize disruption to class schedules and member experience. Each phase built on the previous one.
The Engagement Score System
The most innovative aspect of Pulse Fitness’s Dewx implementation was the member engagement scoring system. Rather than relying on gut feeling or waiting for cancellation requests, the team built a data-driven early warning system.
When a member’s score drops into the “at risk” zone, Dew AI automatically drafts a personalized re-engagement message. The message references the member’s favorite class types, suggests new classes they might enjoy, and can include a special offer if appropriate. Staff review and send with one click.
For “critical” scores, the system alerts the location manager for personal follow-up. This two-tier approach means automated systems handle the volume while humans step in for the cases that need a personal touch.
Cross-Location Benefits
Beyond retention, the unified platform unlocked capabilities that were simply impossible when each location ran independently. These cross-location benefits continue to compound over time.
Instructor Sharing
Popular instructors can now easily be scheduled across locations based on demand data. Members follow their favorite instructors regardless of location.
Class Performance Analytics
Aggregate data across all locations reveals which class types drive the highest retention, enabling smarter scheduling decisions.
Unified Promotions
Marketing campaigns now target members across all locations with consistent messaging and location-aware offers.
Consolidated Reporting
Amanda can now compare performance across locations on a single dashboard instead of pulling reports from three separate Mindbody accounts.
Why It Worked
The fitness industry has a well-documented retention problem. Most studios accept churn as inevitable and focus their energy on acquiring new members to replace the ones who leave. This is expensive and unsustainable, especially for multi-location businesses where acquisition costs multiply.
Dewx changed Pulse Fitness’s approach from reactive to proactive. The engagement scoring system was the key innovation — it turned raw data (visit frequency, class bookings, communication responsiveness) into actionable intelligence that staff could act on before a member decided to leave.
Equally important was the cross-location unification. When each location operates independently, a member who stops visiting one location looks like a churn risk even if they have started visiting a different location. With unified data, Pulse Fitness can see the complete picture and respond appropriately.
The financial math is compelling: retaining just 10 additional members per month at an average membership of $120 adds $14,400 in annual recurring revenue. The 22% retention improvement translated to far more than 10 additional retained members, making the return on investment substantial.
Ready to Boost Member Retention?
Join fitness studios that use Dewx to keep members engaged, unify multi-location operations, and replace expensive tool stacks with one platform.