Customer Experience = Marketing

I know, I know, I wrote about customer service last month. But I recently heard such a fantastic story about creating positive customer experiences that I was inspired to write this article—so read on!

The story comes from a health care industry consultant who has a fitness club as a client. The club’s owner was committed to be the first in her area to specifically target women who were overweight and out of shape. She designed her club with all the appropriate exercise equipment and facilities, and hired gung-ho fitness trainers.

After a few short months in business, she realized to her surprise and disappointment that her customers were predominantly fit women who were there to buff their already better-than-average physiques. So, true to her original intent, she set out to learn why women who were less fit weren’t coming to her club and how she might be able to attract them as customers. Her next steps are ones every business should follow.

Plus-Sized Strategies

The club owner began by talking with women in her target market about why they didn’t belong to a health club, why they didn’t work out, and how they felt if they did visit a health club. Their answers prompted her to make changes in her business to accommodate her target customers’ sensitivities.

She replaced the regular towels in the locker room with larger ones. She put private stalls in the showers and in the clothes-changing area. She removed the mirrors in the aerobics studio and replaced her size-two fitness instructors with “plus-sized” instructors. She also started a unique coaching program to help overweight women overcome barriers to getting started on an exercise routine.

The result? Now the majority of her club members are not-so-fit women who are there to lose weight and get in shape. By tailoring the customer experience at her fitness club to be more favorable to their needs, she is able to attract and keep exactly the customers she set out to serve.

Now, it does not take an IQ of 140 to come up with the idea of asking existing or target-market customers what they want and need. Yet few companies actually do it. If your company is like most, you rely on the gut feelings of your management group, marketing people, or product development department. The harsh reality is that you may have some notion of the wants and needs of your target customers, but only those customers can tell you what you really need to know.