2010 FLAME Conference - The Little Things Are Now the Big Things

Dave Stalker's assertion that in order to stay relevant in the next decade and beyond, the industry needs to change its DNA, is right on the money.

Having said that, our service standards remain the elephant in the room, and unless we improve them, everything else has that Dave refers to has the potential to become mere window dressing.

Phil Dourado, one of this year's speakers (more from Phil in a few weeks), believes that simply delivering on our core competencies is no longer enough and that the new competitive edge lies in the detail. In short, the little things - the moments of truth - are now the big things. He's right.

What we have done extraordinarily well over the past twenty years is drive the big things - more facilities, better facilities, more members, better programming and so on. But if we want to increase our overall market penetration we have to both explore ways of attracting people who are not turned on by the current fitness model i.e. the majority, and do a much better job of looking after those who are.

While Dave is, quite rightly, looking ahead and talking about change at the macro level, I am still focused on the day-to-day experience of the average club member right now. And one of the questions I have is this: Are our current operating systems designed to suit the needs of the organisation or the needs of the customer?

That's a big question that is probably beyond the scope of this blog, but here are a couple of thoughts:

1. Suffocated by the need to generate an ever increasing amount of management information, I wonder how much time our managers spend getting a feel for their businesses in the old fashioned way i.e. by interacting with customers and staff on a daily basis? It used to be called management by walking about (MBWA). In short, would the average health club member benefit from our managers (who should set the tone for their teams) being much more visible? I know of at least one major operator who thinks they would and is adapting its systems accordingly.

2. Research says that starting the member's visit on a positive note and - even more importantly - ending on an "uptick", significantly enhances the customer experience. Given the technology at our disposal, shouldn't reception staff be able to use my name when I arrive and say goodbye when I leave? This is just one small example of how we miss little opportunities to make a big impression, but I wonder if it is symptomatic of a much broader malaise?

Dave paints an intriguing and exciting vision for the industry going forward - one that we can all buy into - but we should be mindful of the fact that it's what happens to our customers on a day-to-day basis that will determine the size, scope and sustainability of our businesses going forward.

Tim Webster
Consultant
Fitness Professionals