Choice. The broader it gets for consumers, the more universal the challenge facing businesses of all shapes and sizes becomes: not only how to win customers, but how to keep them.
That’s certainly true in the fitness sector, especially at a time when contracts are becoming ever more flexible – all set against a backdrop of continually rising customer expectations.
But it’s also true in another sector Wexer has recently entered: telecommunications.
The scale may be larger here, with the big mobile telco companies generally boasting many millions of customers. But the fight to recruit new customers, and the battle to then keep them loyal – and their recurring revenue streams flowing – are the same.
Value-add vs commoditisation
So, how are the telco companies addressing this challenge?
In a bid to avoid commoditisation, whereby price is the sole determinant of purchasing decisions, we’re seeing a lot of competition around value-added services in the telecommunications market. We’re talking things like priority access to concert tickets, discounts at restaurants and coffee shops, even on clothing.
But content is a big part of it, too.
So far, a lot of the telcos’ value-adding content has revolved around things like music streaming, premium TV programming and access to sports coverage. But with the surging interest in health and wellbeing as we emerge from the pandemic, fitness content is coming to the fore. And that’s because fitness and wellbeing services represent the highest-value content there is right now – a trend we predict will continue to grow over the next few years.
Optus leading the way
There’s a great example coming out of Australia right now, where Wexer has partnered with telecommunications giant Optus to deliver more than 700 world-class, on-demand workouts into its OS Fitness platform – part of the premium Optus Sport app.
OS Fitness complements an already strong Optus Sport offering, which includes exclusive live rights and on-demand access to some of the world’s best football, including the English Premier League.
But it is interesting to see how OS Fitness specifically is growing, now up to 1,000+ workouts from cherry-picked content providers to ensure a broad choice of high-quality fitness content for all ages and fitness levels.
What this new partnership does is clearly recognise the value of world-class fitness content in retaining and acquiring customers not only within the fitness industry, but across all industries.
Stand out from the crowd
So, how does it all work in practice? What makes Wexer the right choice for companies who want to diversify their value-added content offering to meet a growing consumer demand for fitness and wellbeing?
Because this isn’t just about telcos. It’s about insurance companies. It’s about corporates with their wellbeing programmes. It’s about any business that wants to stand out from the crowd by playing a valued role in helping people – customers or employees – live better, happier, healthier, more fulfilled lives.
Indeed, at Wexer, our vision is for fitness and wellness to be everywhere, positively impacting people’s lives and businesses around the world.
And the way I see it, there are three broad areas of alignment between Wexer and companies – like Optus – who are seeking to bring fitness to the heart of their value-add.
#1 – Practical
Firstly, at a practical level, is the fact that Wexer takes the strain of content aggregation and distribution. We do all the work behind the scenes to deliver a large, world-class, constantly refreshed library of workout content, with a fantastic choice of content partners and a wide variety of programming and classes. We meet the requirement of a verified, trusted partner that can deliver fully-licensed content at scale.
#2 – Technical
Second is technical alignment.
Let’s start with the Wexer API, which is key to delivering content in a complex environment, meeting requirements around content protection and high-level metadata.
The Optus partnership is a great example of our API in action. Optus Sport is available not only via mobile and tablet, but also via compatible smart TVs, laptops, PCs and the latest Xbox One gaming consoles – a flexibility of access that Wexer is able extend to its fitness content thanks to the new Wexer API, which allows Wexer content to be integrated across the full breadth of the Optus digital ecosystem.
Plus let’s not forget that all our content is in HD, making it suitable for large-screen viewing.
Underpinning all of this, of course, is Wexer’s extensive experience of working with large corporates, as well as the expertise of our in-house tech team when it comes to putting together integrations and working with developers.
#3 – Mindset
Finally, it’s about alignment of mindset, and I’m going to spotlight Optus once more as it’s a great example to bring this to life.
In this new partnership, both businesses – Optus and Wexer – are customer-focused, prioritising the customer experience.
Both understand the value of content in driving both direct and indirect value to a business.
Both also understand the value of fitness specifically, and want to develop world-class fitness experiences. Indeed, Optus Fitness OS is offered as part of the Optus Sport package as it helps drive acquisition into a premium layer – and keep them there. It’s a ‘sticky’ service that keeps customers engaged with Optus.
Last but absolutely not least, both companies are ambitious for fitness, wholeheartedly believing in the value it provides to people (and society) – not to mention the value it can generate for businesses.
Get in touch today to find out how we can help your business harness fitness content to drive customer loyalty: info@wexer.com