A new digital interface is being hailed as ‘revolutionary’ for the leisure, health and wellness industry – allowing disparate data from multiple membership systems to be aggregated into one customer journey.

Named Cornerstone Connect, the new API (Application Programming Interface) enables different apps to exchange information with each other in real-time to create a more cohesive and streamlined portrayal of members’ activities, changing exercise habits and preferences.

It has been created by marketing and design agency Cornerstone DM, as a GDPR-compliant solution to a problem that has occupied the thoughts of its founder and MD, David Wadsworth, since his Oldham-based company started working with public and private sector leisure operators 15 years ago.

“This is revolutionary, to the best of our knowledge,” says Wadsworth. “It’s the first system that will actually allow the consumer to engage with a leisure brand holistically and not just an individual part of it.

“We can collect preference and usage data across different platforms like no one's ever been able to before," he added. “That then allows for operational benefits and efficiencies. It leads to customer and commercial improvements in terms of better cross-selling and upselling; we can do timely delivery of certain tasks, activities and promotions direct to the user.

“It’s completely customer centric and it’s proven technology that’s being used by big commercial players across the globe, such as Apple, Amazon, Ikea, Microsoft and Asos.”

Wadsworth says the catalyst for making Cornerstone Connect a reality was the launch of a two-way, more open API by Gladstone, whose leisure management system (LMS) serves 500 health and leisure operators with approximately 40,000 users and eight million members.

Cornerstone and Gladstone have since collaborated to integrate Connect into its interface. 

Wadsworth has shared more thoughts about Cornerstone Connect in a self-penned blog that you can read here.

Alternatively, learn more here: https://cornerstoneconnect.co.uk/