Woven Ushering in a New Age of Franchising, Headlined by Franchisee Support
Partnership
Sponsored By Woven
Woven is setting a new standard in the fitness franchising game with its strong focus on the franchisee and franchisor relationship
There’s no shortage of work that falls onto fitness franchisees, especially those overseeing more than 10 locations. Between managing employees, equipment, training, compliance and more, it’s an understatement to say these operators have a lot on their plates.
But Woven, the all-in-one platform for multi-location fitness businesses, gives these operators a dish-sized utensil, helping them to pick everything up in one swift motion.
“Once you open your doors, you have to hire employees, run a consistent operation, deliver a brand experience, manage equipment and the facility, etc. — the bulk of this falls on the franchisee,” explained Matt Goebel, Founder & CEO of Woven. “The operator is left to cobble together multiple solutions and this creates inefficiencies, which ultimately slows down the growth and profitability of the franchisee and franchisor.”
“Woven consolidates all of that,” Goebel continued. “We are a single platform, with one log-in, that helps franchisees manage their people, day-to-day operations, facility and equipment maintenance, and so much more, all in one place.”
Answering the Call for Unification
The fitness franchise industry has evolved, and Woven is here to support that positive transformation. While expansion is still something franchisors seek, it’s no longer the end-all-be-all. In recent years, the IFA (International Franchise Association) prompted franchise brands to develop a more responsible approach to franchising, focused more on sustainability.
“There’s been enough government activism over the last decade to shake the industry awake to the increasing trend of franchisors not supporting their franchisees,” said Goebel. “The IFA’s recent focus on responsible franchising and franchisee success marks a key moment for the industry and Woven is proud to contribute to this renewed emphasis on sustainable growth for franchisees.”
While Woven admits it doesn’t have the flashiest role in this franchising revolution, it’s a role of the utmost importance and one the company is eager to play.
“Woven plays a fundamental role in franchising, addressing the crucial, often behind-the-scenes needs of franchisees and franchisors — ensuring they have the tools to deliver excellence daily,” said Goebel. “Once the doors are open, direct franchisor support naturally decreases and the day-to-day operational challenges are often managed solely by the franchisee. Our goal is to bridge that gap, providing a system that empowers ongoing franchisor-franchisee support and drives consistency in the brand experience.”
This is of particular importance to note as Woven is built for scaling enterprise-level businesses, often working directly with the franchisor or large multi-location franchisees.
“As Woven works with franchisors to unify operations, we enable a new level of brand consistency and compliance — preserving and enhancing the customer experience,” Goebel continued. “If every franchisee is implementing their own solution to an issue, that starts giving a different brand experience to every customer that walks in the door, which fundamentally starts to erode the value of a franchise system. When franchisees are all operating and rowing different size boats in different directions, it doesn’t work.”
By helping franchisors consolidate all their operations into one consistent platform, Woven turns that clutter of vessels into an organized armada, which is of increased importance to fitness franchisors interested in responsibly scaling their brand.
“We’ve literally built for this moment,” said Goebel. “We’re excited to be having these conversations now, where more franchisors are starting to understand that value. We’re helping franchisors standardize their operations, and then implementing it all the way down to day-to-day franchisee operations.”
Work with Perspire
Perspire Sauna Studio represents just one of these forward-thinking franchise brands that has partnered with Woven. The two companies crossed paths multiple times over the past few years as industry standouts but agreed to a partnership roughly 6 months ago when Perspire Sauna Studio came to Woven looking for help with scaling.
Woven got to work fast, taking in all of Perspire’s training content for employees and revamping it to make sure it was fresh, refined and easy to digest. The Woven team then onboarded franchisees onto the platform, starting with the top and working their way through the entire Perspire network.
“Perspire’s team was excited about Woven. We addressed challenges even franchisees hadn’t fully identified, enabling a smoother, more effective experience,” said Trent Gladis, Woven’s Director of Customer Success. “We’ve worked closely with the corporate team to build a solid plan and recently rolled it out to all of their franchisees with great success.”
Scheduling, labor management and communication are additional areas in which Woven has helped Perspire Sauna Studio make significant strides. This was accomplished through the platform’s scheduling feature, location audit feature, and communications suite, which supports both brand announcements and a modern team chat experience.
One of Woven’s most valued features by Perspire is the platform’s ability to track engagement with educational content for employees across all locations.
“The big thing that the Perspire team likes is that they can look across all their locations at the engagement and see people actually completing the courses,” said Gladis. “They can see the whole network’s performance at a glance. They’ve become big fans of that.”
Woven’s team looks forward to a long-term partnership with Perspire, driving hundreds of thousands of dollars in managerial savings every year like they have for similar concepts like Sun Tan City, Planet Fitness, Massage Heights and more.
Separation From the Pack
While building and maintaining an innovative product remains paramount for Woven, the company also understands the value of a diligent and sharp team working behind the scenes to keep things running — and customers happy.
Woven’s entire team is made up of individuals who formerly worked in fitness or multi-unit franchising. This hands-on experience gives them a natural and unparalleled feel for what Woven customers need.
“We speak the same language as these operators,” said Gladis. “We purposely recruit people from the verticals we serve, particularly gym and fitness, so that we can empathize with our customers’ needs, not just provide lip service.”
This expertise, along with the company’s collective commitment to customer success, and a particular emphasis on gym and fitness operations, makes Woven a top solution for scaling fitness franchise brands.
“While many tech companies focus heavily on marketing and sales, at Woven, we prioritize meaningful support,” said Goebel. “Our team of industry insiders is dedicated to going above and beyond to ensure customer success. Others may sell this beautiful vision of what could be, even if they can’t do it, then they get a signature and just disappear. There’s no human on the other end to help you achieve the value you’re seeking.”
“We’re the opposite,” Goebel continued. “We’re partnered to help you achieve the full value sought. That means customization. It means additional training. It means the customer success team going above and beyond to help our customers achieve their goals. Honestly, that’s our secret sauce that a lot of others either can’t or won’t invest in.”
The results have proven this to be a wise pursuit for Woven. The company celebrates a 99% customer retention rate over the last five years. Goebel also added Woven has never lost a fitness customer who uses its maintenance suite “all because of the people.” They are looking forward to continuing to support franchisee success and responsible fitness franchising in 2025.
This article originally appeared in ATN’s Fitness & Wellness Franchise Outlook Report, which explores the essential questions that can help determine if a franchise aligns with your personal and professional aspirations. Download the free report.