FBC UPFRONT » Conference
12th Annual IHRSA European Congress
November 1-4, Hilton Vienna Vienna, Austria
KEYNOTE SPEAKER: Shaun Smith, Former Head of Customer Service, Sales and Marketing Training, British Airways; founder & partner of smith+co
SHAUN SMITH: One headline at the time said that BA stood for “bloody awful.” It takes a whole lot of money and time to reposition an airline, because of all the capital costs and complex infrastructure involved. So we started by focusing on the one thing that was easiest to influ- ence quickly, and that customers notice first—and that was our people. So, ini- tially, we focused on trying to improve the service. We took a look at the complete life cy-
cle of our employees—how we recruited, trained, rewarded, and promoted them. Our goal was to make sure that the way we treated our people was completely aligned with the way we wanted them to treat our customers. Within 18 months, we’d won an award for having the best cabin crew. The next headline said that BA stood for “bloody awesome.”
JF: What parallels do you see to the club business?
The European Congress features presentations delivered by executives from both inside and outside the health club industry, providing thought- provoking commentary on trends shaping business and the fitness industry. Networking icebreakers, focus group discussions and evening and lunch receptions provide the opportunity to build relationships with colleagues from throughout Europe.
INTERVIEW: Shaun Smith
The best-selling author and world-renowned consultant will redefine “customer experience” at the 12th Annual IHRSA European Congress
BY JON FELD
JON FELD: To begin, let’s talk about product differentiation—something that many clubs have to do in their markets in order to survive and thrive, particularly today. You helped British Airways differentiate itself from its competitors during its well-publicized turnaround. How?
12 Fitness Business Canada September/October 2012
SS: For one, they both have perishable products. Once an airplane takes off, and it’s half empty, you’re never going to sell those seats again. Similarly, with a health club, if you’ve got a half-empty club in the morning, you’re never going to sell that space again. Secondly, both industries are frag-
mented and highly competitive, so you have a number of players in the market, each competing for very similar custom- ers with very similar products. Finally, both really depend on a “feel
good” factor in order to prosper. With the exception of essential business travel, no- body has to fly. And nobody has to go to a club in order to exercise. So both of them are discretionary purchases, and getting people to voluntarily give their money to a firm in these sectors is based on having them feel good about the brand.
JF: There’s a great deal of talk about “customer service” and the “customer experience.” Is there really a differ- ence between the two? If so, please explain.
SS: A lot of people think that “custom- er experience” is just some consultant jargon, but it’s much more than that. Traditionally, customer service has to do with the interaction between employees and customers, but business has become much more complex. Today, we can in- teract with prospects and clients through a variety of channels, and the processes that we use to do so are very different,
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