The Community Playbook

Plays, not just software.

Local stores don't beat Amazon on price. They win on belonging — the run club, the scan day, the staffer who knows your name and your mile pace. We proved the playbook at our own stores in Melbourne, Florida, and it ships with the platform. Built for supplement stores first. Building for every local counter.

2021Fitness Society founded, Melbourne FL

2+1storefronts + a personal training studio

2weekly free run clubs

850+five-star in-store ratings

01 — The proof

One store, one mission, two run clubs.

Fitness Society Supplements was founded in the summer of 2021 by two fitness entrepreneurs with a mission that fits on a t-shirt: make Melbourne healthier and happier. Five years on it's two storefronts, a personal training studio, free InBody scans, and the most community-focused supplement shop in town — their customers' words, not ours.

The engine is the run clubs. The Fitness Society x Pineapples Run Club meets Mondays at 6:30pm and runs the Eau Gallie Causeway, then hangs at the partner restaurant after — turning Pineapples' slow Monday into a packed community night, and growing into one of the largest, fastest-growing run clubs in Melbourne. The Surfinista Run Club does the same in Melbourne Beach with beach culture, coffee, and recovery. Free events, partner venues, zero ad spend.

Here's the part most stores miss: none of it would compound without the boring infrastructure underneath. QR check-ins at the run club award points and create member records. The kiosk captures the walk-ins the events generate. The event calendar keeps the rhythm. The campaign engine fills the room next Monday. Community builds the crowd; the platform is how the crowd becomes a customer base — and both halves ship together.

02 — The plays

Six plays from the founding store's board.

Named plays, like a coach calls them — what each one is, why it works, and what the platform automates so it happens every week, not just the weeks someone remembers.

Play 01

The Run Club

The play: A free weekly run that meets at a partner venue — Fitness Society runs two: the Fitness Society x Pineapples Run Club (Mondays, 6:30pm, Eau Gallie Causeway route, post-run hangs at the restaurant) and the Surfinista Run Club in Melbourne Beach (beach miles, coffee, recovery).

Why it works: Free events are the top of your funnel, and the partner-venue model makes them free for you too: the restaurant's slow Monday becomes your community night, and everybody's crowd grows. The Pineapples club grew into one of the largest, fastest-growing run clubs in Melbourne on this loop.

The platform's job: QR check-in at the meetup awards points automatically, so every runner becomes a member record — attendance turns into a textable, segmentable community instead of a nice crowd you can't reach on a rainy week. (Community Events module.)

Play 02

Scan Day

The play: A scheduled InBody body-scan event that fills a slow weekday: free scans, booked slots, staff walking every result.

Why it works: A scan is the most honest reason to visit a supplement store — it creates a return date (the 6-week re-scan) and turns "what protein should I get?" into a data-backed conversation. Fitness Society runs free scans at both stores.

The platform's job: Scans land on the member profile, the re-scan reminder fires on schedule, and the Body Scan Studio module handles the history and shareable score reports.

Play 03

The Flash Drop

The play: Shaker Day, sample-day, one-day-only in-store drops — announced by text, gone by close.

Why it works: Scarcity plus a same-day reason to walk in. Flash drops train your list that texts from your store are worth opening — the opposite of coupon fatigue.

The platform's job: The campaign engine drips the blast inside carrier limits with the cost shown before you send, and redemption at the kiosk or POS tells you exactly what the day produced.

Play 04

The Win-Back Text

The play: One message to the member whose ~30-day tub hit day 42: their points balance, a reason, a deadline.

Why it works: It's the highest-ROI message in retail — the regular hasn't left, they've drifted, and they still have half a scoop of goodwill left. This play alone tends to pay the platform fee.

The platform's job: Lifecycle segments compute day-42 per member automatically; the journey fires without anyone remembering. (The full playbook post.)

Play 05

The Review Funnel

The play: A happy visit — a claimed reward, a good scan, a PR at run club — followed by one well-timed Google review ask.

Why it works: Local search is won on review count and recency, and the moment after a genuinely good experience is the only honest time to ask. Fitness Society's 850+ five-star in-store ratings didn't happen by accident.

The platform's job: Post-visit review requests are in early access, running at founding stores — the right ask, at the right moment, automatically.

Play 06

Launch Day

The play: A new flavor or brand lands: the category buyers hear first, the counter has samples, the run club hears it in person.

Why it works: Launches concentrate attention. Aiming them at the people who already buy the category converts instead of annoying — your preworkout list wants to know about preworkout.

The platform's job: Category segments target the blast, the composer shows the cost, and Shopify ties the results to real orders.

03 — Staff & culture

The inside game: your staff are the community.

The run club works because staff run in it. The counter works because staff know the regulars by name. Culture is practiced — the software just keeps score.

  • Every shift knows the planMy Day dashboards put today's events, campaigns, and targets in front of the floor — no morning briefing required.
  • Delegate without losing controlOwner / manager / staff roles with a named audit trail on points and comps. Trust plus receipts.
  • Shift reminders by textSchedules and reminders ride the same SMS rails as your campaigns — running at founding stores in early access.
  • Staff as the facesThe people who pace the run club and pour the samples are the brand. The platform gives them the member's name, history, and points before the conversation starts.
  • Celebrate milestones at the counterTier-ups, point milestones, a member's 50th check-in — the kiosk surfaces them so staff can make the moment. Small ceremony, serious retention.

04 — Done with you

The playbook ships with every plan.

This isn't a paid add-on. Every plan includes the playbook and concierge onboarding — we set up your kiosk, your segments, your win-back journey, and walk your team through the plays that fit your counter. You bring the culture; we bring the plays and the machinery that makes them repeatable.

Want us in deeper — campaign calendars, content days, launch plans, help getting your first run club off the ground? Ask on a demo call. We'll tell you honestly what we can take on, because the people answering are the ones who run these plays every Monday at 6:30.

05 — Your move

Run the first play this month.

Book a demo and we'll map the playbook to your store — which play goes first, what it needs, and what the founding store learned running it.

$200/mo platform · 5,000 texts included · no contracts