So often, businesses get caught up in doing business and forget what they are really selling to their customers. When you lose sight of what you really provide your customer, you will lose them.
I joined a different gym about a year ago and changed my schedule to working out in the mornings. I go the same time every Monday, Wednesday and Friday and I am greeted by the same personable employee and I see the same people working out. I have my routine – I start on cardio, move to free weights and then to some of the Nautilus machines. At the end of April, my gym made a business decision and closed another location about 5 miles up the road. This resulted in a gym packed with more people than equipment; they also had to transfer to another location the friendly employee that had always greeted me.
Streamlining your business continues to be crucial in today’s economy, we all understand that, but make sure you know what is important to your customers and you don’t change that. Are they simply coming to you for their tools and accessories? No, they are coming to you for the service you provide, the ease of doing business with you and maybe even the layout of your location. They can go somewhere else for the same tools and accessories if they had to, but they like something about the service you provide. I don’t go to this gym for the equipment; most all gyms have the same equipment. I liked going there for the ease of not having to wait for equipment, and I enjoyed the friendly people. With those elements gone, there’s nothing keeping me coming back to this gym.
Make sure you know what sets you apart and why your customers bring their business to you. Do you know what keeps your customers coming back?
-Ashley
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[...] Continuing on my gym saga, I’ll tell you that I told an employee how unhappy I was with the packed gym. Knowing that he is probably just the guy at the counter, I didn’t expect to get any type of answer that would make me happy. So, I went to the web site for the gym and emailed the gym manager – two weeks ago. I have not received any response at all, not even an acknowledgement of my email. [...]
[...] Continuing on my gym saga, I’ll tell you that I told an employee how unhappy I was with the packed gym. Knowing that he is probably just the guy at the counter, I didn’t expect to get any type of answer that would make me happy. So, I went to the web site for the gym and emailed the gym manager – two weeks ago. I have not received any response at all, not even an acknowledgement of my email. [...]