Building a business requires significant investment.
Countless hours. Innumerable resources.
But eventually, the time comes where all of that hard work pays off and results in a strong, established community of athletes eager to become the best version of themselves.
As a business owner, how do you validate what you’re doing?
For Louis Whitlow, owner of The Compound 256, it began with finding a strong software partner to set his business up for success.
Athletes from youth to professional levels are traveling up to 2 hours to train at The Compound. When Louis was evaluating his technology, he knew a sports management software was an integral part of expanding his business. So, he needed a partner whose ability to scale and innovate aligned with those goals.
This led Louis to Upper Hand.
“It’s a different feeling when you walk into the facility. So, I wanted to make sure that our tools are the same way. I’ve added some technology here over the past few months, and part of that technology is Upper Hand. Now I have an app for my athletes to register and take advantage of these classes.”
Why did The Compound choose Upper Hand over EZ Facility, and other competitors?
Louis outlines 5 reasons why Upper Hand was the best fit for The Compound.
1. An intuitive user interface
First impressions are everything. So, it’s important to establish positive interactions between your business and your clients. One of the initial reasons Louis chose Upper Hand was its intuitive user experience and UI design.
“After looking at various options, I felt Upper Hand was the most user friendly, and provided a good user interface, which is important.”
Clients of The Compound are now able to use the Upper Hand app to register for lessons and memberships. Rather than fielding inquiries via social media, text messages, phone calls, and emails, coaches are able to direct parents to the app, which allows them to spend more time with their athletes.
Positive user experiences are proven to promote repeat booking and decrease client churn. Ultimately, this drives more revenue and business growth. On the back-end of the business, intuitive UI also improves the efficiency of the business. The software has eliminated tedious administrative tasks like managing schedules or sending out communication to clients. Ultimately, a positive user interface helps athletes take advantage of all of the offerings at The Compound.
2. Flexible event and membership configurations
The Compound hosts various events, from private baseball instruction to strength and conditioning classes. In addition, the coaches at The Compound have several membership options. Through Upper Hand, staff members have the ability to configure these options and clearly outline details. Diving deeper, they can also tailor communication to those specific offerings, age groups, or clients — another advantage for the facility.
“I like the flexibility that is customizable from the fact that I can name the memberships and put a graphic with it. When individuals go online, they see these packages, they see a graphic, and they see the details, so they can really make an informed decision of whether or not they want a certain membership or just want to purchase a session.”
The flexibility of these membership options helps Louis streamline and organize his offerings, as well as empower his clients to select the packages that are right for them.
3. Family-friendly account creation
With many families coming in to work out at The Compound 256, Upper Hand’s managed family profile feature has made the platform the best scheduling app for coaches like Louis. Family-based profiles make it easy for parents to schedule training for multiple athletes under a single log-in. Louis believes this will also contribute to a more positive user experience for his clients.
“I really like the fact that a parent can go in and make one family profile, and all they have to do is add their kids to it. Each time they log in, they are able to select one class for one kid and another class for a different kid, instead of having to log in to multiple accounts. It keeps everything user friendly, and it’s very direct.”
4. Demographic mapping and reporting capabilities
Not only did Louis choose Upper Hand because of what it could do for The Compound 256 now, but also how it could support the business in the future. Louis was especially drawn to Upper Hand’s reporting capabilities that will allow him to visualize his impact and value. One report Louis is particularly interested in is the heat map of client demographics.
“The biggest thing I like about the software, coming down to the reporting, is that I can see the demographics of my clients. I can see a map that shows me the true demographics of where they are, so if I need to go out and do camps at high schools, I know where to pilot those programs. If I see that most of our kids are coming from a particular area, I can plan programs in their backyard. I see the advantages of the system and what we have once we start getting our athletes in there.”
The ability to see a quick snapshot of the happenings at the facility has also opened the door to new revenue opportunities. Some of these opportunities may have previously been overlooked. One example includes how to maximize use of the facility.
“When we see open blocks, it opens the door for us to say, ‘okay, this is free for a team to come in and utilize the space.’ Now, I can look at a system and really see how things flow.”
5. A dedicated support team that’s committed to success
From his initial interactions with our solutions team to his training with our onboarding team, Louis was impressed with the presentation and support that he received in getting set up with the software.
“Upper Hand provides great support. There was actually something that came up early in the process, I suggested it, and the team was able to code it into the software so that it works now. That let me know where Upper Hand’s advancement is when it comes to the software and the level of support to grow the software for our processes and clients.”
Louis is confident that each of his coaches will be able to efficiently manage their offerings within the business. Through Upper Hand, he is able to maintain control of his schedule and facility operations while still giving coaches and instructors the autonomy to manage their own schedules and availability.
“Upper Hand fits well for us as we begin to scale. We have multiple instructors in the building, so it allows me to add in all of those instructors and all of our lanes to really be able to look at how we not only monetize, but also make our space more efficient for what we want to do. My goal as an owner was to purchase software to offer each one of the small businesses in the building.”
Related: Read the full story of The Compound’s decision to partner with Upper Hand.
Putting it all together
Louis is confident that he is well-equipped to launch Upper Hand to his clients in the fall of 2021. In the meantime, he has been building out his events and offerings within the software. Similarly, his clients have been creating their Upper Hand accounts.
“The more I looked at the software and looked at what it could do, the more I was confident that this aligns with my business and where we’re looking to go. We want to attract more clients to The Compound 256 and create more productivity. My biggest thing was that if we’re going to do it, we’re going to do it the right way. I know it takes dollars, and I know it takes time, but once it’s all washed out, I know that it’s going to be beneficial.”
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