The wonderful part of writing articles is that it forces me to focus on issues that we often either take for granted or become complacent about setting as priorities. Yet many of these issues are the intangibles that make up the cornerstones of any successful tennis business.
In my own business a certain amount of our customers call in and ask for me to place an order. Generally, I leave the order taking and customer service to our competent office staff. Yet every day I find myself discussing orders with several different tennis pros or managers when, in point of fact, they would be handled more efficiently by any of our fulltime office staff.
It seems illogical. These are very busy people. Yet, with me, they spend more time. Why? They are also friends. They know my family. I know theirs. We care about one another. Ordering equipment is only part of the exchange.
We also get the opposite. I will pick up the phone if the lines are busy, and a teaching professional I know will ask for Dottie, Michael or Dan instead of me. I ask if I can help, but they want to speak with the person with whom they have a relationship.
In fact, in many business surveys, customers are asked about what they value most, relationships, customer service, or price. Price, surprisingly enough, usually finishes in third place.
What are some of the other intangibles that result in customer loyalty?
1. How are your bathrooms? This is a huge category and may be worth a future article in and of itself. Take me to a restaurant and half of my decision to return is based on the cleanliness of the restrooms. Am I unusual? Studies say this is the norm. Extend this principle to the rest of your facility. From trash to grass; staff dress to practice balls; clothing racks to demo racquets. It all matters.
2. How do you look? Call me conservative, but I am a believer that tennis teachers should wear shirts with collars and not t-shirts when teaching. I also believe that the teaching pros and pro shop staff should wear the clothing that is sold in the shop. What's funny is that almost everyone in the industry will agree completely that this is the right way to run a business. The problem is that about half of the industry just doesn't make the effort to make it happen. Invest in your staff's appearance and the business will take better care of itself.
3. How does your store smell? Now you are really thinking I'm weird. But, again, statistics from recognized marketing studies prove me normal. Every place has an odor. It could be pleasant, neutral, or something worse like the combination of ammonia and a dirty mop. Or, how about after a long hot summer day when the staff comes in off the courts? There's a telling odor that needs no further description. The obvious point is to figure out a way to maintain a consistently pleasant smell in your store and office.
4. How do you handle the details? There's a saying from the founder of American Airlines, C.R. Smith: "Worry about the small things…the big things will take care of themselves." In the summer of 2002 I was in Champaign, Illinois, filming a video for Human Kinetics at the University of Illinois. Jim Tressler is the Director of Tennis at their terrific facility. When I was in his office for a brief visit, he received a phone call from a member complaining that she had left repeated phone messages for a pro to call her back about lessons, but no one ever did. I could tell from Jim's response that returning phone calls promptly is at the top of his list. He told me how he stresses to his entire staff that it is essential to return phone calls promptly. How did Jim react to the member? First, he apologized very sincerely. Second, he promised that the person would receive a phone call that very same day. This was a great example of what can happen if the small things are not handled right, and how important it is to handle those small details correctly in the first place.