Ferry boss urges tourism businesses to put customers first 13/3/13
Caledonian MacBrayne’s
managing director Martin Dorchester is calling on tourism businesses to “walk in
the shoes” of their customers and to put customers at the heart of everything they
do.
At a major tourism summit on Bute today, Mr Dorchester said that, in order to thrive,
businesses had to understand both their core and prospective customers and make sure
they were meeting and exceeding their expectations.
Mr Dorchester, who held senior roles in a number of top companies including Dixons
Group and Argos before joining CalMac last Spring, said: “There is a well-known proverb
which says that to understand someone best you must walk a mile in their shoes, and
that’s great advice for any business, but especially relevant for tourism businesses
when the experience and level of service you provide is literally, and metaphorically,
part of their journey.
“Any business which does not attempt to walk in the shoes of their customers, and
view their service from that critical angle will never survive.”
He also highlighted the need for everyone in the tourism business to work together
to ensure that visitors were left with a memorable experience and great stories of
their travels that they could share with others
“We are all in the business of delivering exceptional experiences which will make
them want to come back and tell others to come here too,” he said.
Mr Dorchester said: “The holiday and travel market, along with many other industry
sectors, is currently going through some major changes in the way that people choose
and buy their products.
“For example the internet has revolutionised the way customers identify and research
possible destinations; how they purchase accommodation and ferry, air or rail tickets;
and raised expectations of what to expect when they get there. In order to keep up
with the competition tourism businesses must therefore make themselves easy to find,
easy to deal with and the end product must then meet - and wherever possible exceed
- customer expectations,” he said.
“The last of these is particularly important, for the means which people are increasingly
using to find their ideal holiday, that is the internet, social media, are the same
means by which poor service or unpleasant holiday experiences can be exposed and
widely distributed – within seconds and often while the unhappy customer is still
angry and at their most critical. We know that online reviews must always be treated
with caution but no-one can afford to be complacent about the power and reach of
the internet,” he added.
He also highlighted a number of ways in which CalMac was walking in the shoes of
its customers: “We are acutely aware that, for all the positive feedback we receive
and the awards we have received recently, we are not perfect and that there is always
scope for improving our services. This has included revamping Go Explore magazine
to encourage more people to travel to Scotland’s islands and make it easier to plan
and book their ferry travel and we also have big plans to revamp our ticketing systems
and make it even easier to book on line."