GymNation accelerates growth with pioneering use of AI and automation

GymNation is the Middle East’s leading gym operator with over 110,000 members in 14 UAE (United Arab Emirates) and six KSA (Kingdom of Saudi Arabia) locations, and 20 more locations planned to open across the UAE and KSA in 2025. GymNation’s vision is to play a lead role as the region’s movement partner, championing healthy and active lifestyles, alongside the importance of mental health and physical wellbeing.

Salesforce supported GymNation’s growth from a single gym in 2018, to the Middle East’s leading gym operator with over 110,000 members in 20 locations.

Growing fast is every business's dream — but with growth comes challenges. GymNation started with a single gym location, six sales agents, and a Google spreadsheet. Although very primitive, this was implemented out of pure necessity. As the business grew, so did the complexities of ensuring the lead and sales conversion process remained efficient.

As GymNation scaled, its basic approach to CRM quickly fell short. It lacked a clear sales funnel and the necessary data visibility to ensure full accountability. Fragmented systems made lead and member data hard to track and nearly impossible to use effectively. Managing marketing initiatives was no exception. The team had to import data into separate SMS and email tools, which was time-consuming and led to manual errors.

GymNation’s founders quickly recognised that they needed a solution to solve these problems in the short term and support their long-term scalability. Enter Salesforce.

AI and automation in Sales Cloud help agents become 3x more productive and boost sales conversion 20%

Salesforce became the game-changer GymNation needed to overcome its scaling challenges. By consolidating fragmented systems into a single, integrated platform, Salesforce provided the visibility and tools required to streamline every aspect of the business.

With Salesforce, GymNation now has a clear sales funnel with end-to-end tracking of leads and conversions, ensuring accountability at every stage of the sales process. It also offers real-time insights into member data, enabling data-driven decisions to improve operations and customer experience. The solution’s Automated workflows eliminate manual tasks like importing data, reducing errors, and saving valuable time for the team.

Salesforce didn’t just solve GymNation’s immediate challenges — it became the foundation for sustainable growth and operational excellence. By empowering the team with cutting-edge tools, GymNation can focus on what matters most: delivering an affordable, world-class fitness experience to its growing community.

In 2024, GymNation took its use of Sales Cloud to an entirely new level. By bringing in a dedicated in-house development team, GymNation developed proprietary AI-powered agents, becoming the first in the fitness industry to implement voice AI for guiding leads through the sign-up process.

With AI now seamlessly supporting human agents, GymNation has achieved an average lead-to-contact time of under 15 seconds. AI-powered agents can make up to 2,000 calls per hour, freeing up human sales agents to focus on more strategic tasks. This innovation has tripled overall productivity while boosting sales conversion rates by over 20%. conversion rates by over 20%.

The customer service team responds to thousands of support cases every month within three hours with Service Cloud.

GymNation implemented Service Cloud to streamline the management of member requests, queries, and issues through automated workflows. For instance, Service Cloud automatically extracts data and enriches the member's profiles to ensure a 360 view of the member, when dealing with tickets and service-related enquiries.

With Salesforce Digital Engagement, service agents can now provide consistent support across WhatsApp and other digital channels, ensuring seamless communication. GymNation’s five strong service team handles thousands of cases every month, with an average response time of less than three hours, boosting both efficiency and member satisfaction.

Service Cloud also automates the distribution of CSAT surveys throughout the member journey — from the moment they join to every ticket resolution or cancellation. The survey results are fed into Tableau for real-time analysis, helping the team identify trends and improve service quality.

Additionally, AI-powered agents now integrate with Service Cloud, offering members enhanced self-service capabilities. From booking classes to creating personalised workout programs, AI ensures every member gets the support they need quickly and conveniently.

Marketing Cloud helps personalise and automate communication throughout the member lifecycle

Marketing Cloud significantly reduces the time required to send out marketing communications while ensuring campaigns are highly segmented and deeply personalised. From automated member onboarding journeys to warming up leads in the sales funnel, Marketing Cloud enables GymNation to deliver targeted, meaningful messages at every stage of the member lifecycle across email, SMS, WhatsApp, and push notifications on the GymNation app.

With this integrated marketing platform, GymNation can now centralise all its marketing activities, track performance in real time, and refine campaigns for maximum impact. This not only enhances member engagement but also drives higher conversion rates and long-term loyalty.

Data insights from Tableau empower GymNation to make smarter, real-time decisions.

Tableau seamlessly integrates with GymNation’s IT environment, from its Salesforce system and SQL databases to third-party software partners like Perfect Gym and EGYM. This integration provides 360-degree visibility into all key performance indicators (KPIs), enabling the management team to visualise data and make informed decisions in real time.

Looking ahead, GymNation plans to expand its use of Tableau analytics across more areas of the business. A dedicated property asset management section is currently in development to manage the company’s extensive property pipeline across the Middle East. Tableau will play a critical role in analysing potential locations and helping GymNation prioritise and select the best opportunities for future expansion.

Customer Quote & Attribution

Salesforce serves as the backbone of our operations, providing a unified ecosystem that drives efficiency and innovation. It’s more than just a platform – it’s the foundation that allows us to lead the way in delivering unmatched member experiences.”

Karl Foster, CTO, GymNation

Salesforce has been a key enabler of GymNation’s rapid growth and operational excellence. From streamlining lead management with Sales Cloud and enhancing member support with Service Cloud to personalising member journeys through Marketing Cloud, and driving data-driven, real-time insights with Tableau, Salesforce powers every aspect of GymNation’s business. By automating workflows, improving efficiency, and leveraging AI, Salesforce has helped GymNation scale while maintaining affordability and innovation, solidifying its position as a global leader in fitness and technology. With Salesforce’s flexibility, GymNation is equipped to manage its current operations while preparing for the opening of 50+ new gym locations in the next two years.