I’ve been playing squash every Friday for over a year now, and recently played at a different squash club than my usual haunt. The only reason I went somewhere else was due to convenience on the day – I was going to be in a different area, so tried a new place.
And the experience I had there got me thinking about customer experience and customer lifetime value (CLV)…
I arrived at the club, and everything was pretty similar. There was no issue with parking, the courts were the same and the people were welcoming. But there was one small difference.
So there I was, 45 minutes into our session, tied at 3 games each. I was about to return a serve with the perfect volley (ok, probably not) when snap! The lights go out mid-shot. Our allocated time was up.
The message was clear: Time’s up. Get out. Or pay more.
Only then did I realise how good I have it at my usual club, where they let us play until we’re done. This small difference had a huge impact on me, and keeps me coming back to my club. It has earned my loyalty because they are showing me that they care more about us completing our game, than charging us more money.
So this got me thinking: How often do we inadvertently do this to our customers, or even our employees for that matter?
What extra value are we giving our customers that ensures they keep coming back? Are we relieving their pains? Or creating gains for them?
“I think the acquisition of consumers might be on the verge of being mapped. The battlefield is going to be retention and lifetime value.” – Gary Vaynerchuk
I remember going to a talk by Peter Sage, where he spoke about creating those ‘aha’ moments. He had created a system in one of his businesses, where the employees had access to a fund that they could use to solve customer problems. The example he gave was at one of his gyms, where the staff had overheard a customer saying he had just noticed he had a flat tyre as he pulled in, and what a pain it would be to sort it out after his workout. So the staff took the initiative to use the fund to arrange someone to come and repair the tyre. When the customer was ready to leave, they told him not to worry about his car, as it had been sorted, on the house.
Can you imagine how that customer felt? And what he told people about that experience? And lastly, do you think he ever trained at a different gym?
These are the small differences we can make that have a huge impact on people.
Getting back to my squash analogy (and the title of this article), a ‘let’ in squash is when you are in the way and prevent your opponent from getting to the ball in time to make their shot. Meaning the point would need to be played again. We often get one chance to acquire a customer and keep them. We have one opportunity to show value and to start building trust and loyalty. No lets!