TO BUILD OR TO BUY… THAT IS THE QUESTION

When considering the development of a mobile app for your fitness biz, the decision between building a custom solution & purchasing an off-the-shelf product is one that most everyone I work with wrestles with. This choice can significantly impact your gym’s operations, customer experience, and long-term growth; as well as your bottom line. Each option has its own set of advantages and disadvantages. Understanding these factors will help you make an informed decision that aligns with your business goals. We will be tackling this topic at The Fitness Technology Summit, but here is a preview!

Building a Mobile App

Pros:

  • Customization: Tailor the app specifically to your unique needs and branding creating a member differentiator.
  • Control: Full control over features, updates & data.
  • Scalability: Ability to scale & modify the app as your gym evolves.
  • Competitive Advantage: Develop features that differentiate your gym from others.

Cons

  • Cost: High initial development costs, including hiring developers, designers, and project managers.
  • Time: Longer development time, potentially several months to a year or more
  • Maintenance: Ongoing costs & efforts for dev-ops, maintenance, updates, & bug fixes.
  • Risk: Higher risk of project delays & cost overruns
  • Third party issues: Dependencies on member management (or other software) extensibility

Buying a Mobile App

Pros:

  • Cost-Effective: Lower upfront costs compared to building from scratch.
  • Quick Deployment: Faster implementation, allowing you to start using the app almost immediately.
  • Reliability: Established products with proven track records and user reviews.
  • Support: Access to customer support, regular updates, and bug fixes provided by the vendor.
  • Features: Comprehensive set of features that are industry-standard and well-tested.

Cons

  •  Limited Customization: Less flexibility to tailor the app to your gym’s needs.
  • Dependency: Reliance on the vendor for updates, support & feature requests.
  • Integration Issues: Potential challenges integrating with existing systems and hardware.
  • Uniformity: Your app may look and function similarly to those of other gyms.

Evaluating your gym’s specific needs, budget, timeline, and technical capabilities will help determine whether building or buying a mobile app is the best approach.


Managing Partner

Al Noshirvani

202.439.8200

www.getalta.com