The customer experience process does not start only after the sale. It is a continuous process that begins when you first contact a customer, long before the sale, and just like in any company-customer relationship, both sides must mutually benefit from it. So, how do you start and maintain a healthy relationship with your customers? Since we are in an era of automation and technology, choosing an effective Sports Club Management System, or a CRM for Clubs might just give you the necessary tools to deliver a superior customer experience to your clients.

First, I must explain that this is not a step-by-step process to win a customer and convert them into a sale, or how to charm or retain them after the sale is made. We will go through the life cycle of a company-customer relationship and show that in every situation there is a chance to strengthen, renew, and improve this relationship.

Step 1 – Reaching out

Every relationship starts with one side reaching out to another, whether the business has connected to the potential customers through advertisements, cold calls, referrals, or any other way, the initial contact must be made. This is your opportunity to make an incredible first impression with an attractive product showcase, or by offering a memorable conversation with your sales team. This is the beginning and first step to building a healthy relationship with customers, so spend some time to understand what products you are selling, and who are you selling it to. The other possibility happens when customers are looking for a product, and suddenly they have found you as one of the contenders. Thus, we enter the next stage, “the discovery”.

Step 2 – The discovery

The first impression is very important for the beginning of the relationship, but if you are not  interesting and engaging, that customer might just walk away before you get the chance to show what you can provide as a service or before you can display your product’s amazing benefits. They might be very interested in your product or service, but there are many factors that can make a customer give up purchasing, be it the price, bad timing, or even poor service when it comes to want to know more. This is the time to provide a solution to a problem which they had brought to your attention, so keep the information clear, concise, and most importantly, related to what they are seeking.

Step 3 – Commitment

A good relationship is developed when there is no hidden information, and a strong level of commitment is made from both sides. During this period, the potential client will ask you the most diverse questions with the intention to better understand your product and your processes, so present success stories that your product or service has provided before, offer tests and demos, and create an environment where they feel safe to engage in something more seriously. You need to be very confident of what you are offering, with the certainty that you will fulfil everything you promise to deliver.

Step 4 – The sale

At this point both management and clients have accepted the terms, and each side have agreed to provide a certain level of commitment, usually through a written contract, so they must comply with them. Do everything necessary for the sale to be carried out in a pleasant way, from forms of payment that you offer, to small details such as ensuring that your customer fully understand your terms of agreement. If you manage a sports club and offer services to your members, signing documents before every session might be cumbersome and time consuming, so implementing an online booking system, together with a sports club management system, will help you streamline that process and keep the data centralized, accessible, and updated at all times. Ultimately, this will help to improve your customers experience during the sales process.

Step 5 – After sale

So, the potential client has become in fact a customer, and now it is your job to maintain that level of excitement that sparked the interest to purchase from your business in the first place. Basically, we want to live up to the customer’s expectations and go beyond that! Sports clubs, recreational clubs, hotels, and resorts, all have one thing in common, they all must aim to provide an outstanding service to their customers with the intention of making their customers experience as memorable as possible. Implementing an effective communication system that is fast, reliable, and accessible at all times will help avoiding problems like double bookings, missed phone calls, unanswered messages, wrong charges, and many more which might cause a great deal of frustration to your members or guests. The key is to focus on support and customer service after the sale. Use this stage to identify problems happening now and proactively find solutions to potential issues that could happen in the future.

Step 6 – Loyalty

Offer loyalty programs and extra benefits for your members and guests, not just as a treat, but as a way of showing that you value their business. Sports and Recreational Clubs usually have the same clients throughout the year, so their loyalty program should be focused on bringing immediate benefits to members, where they are encouraged to join different activities, and receive discounts to engage and purchase from other departments. Hotels and Resorts must adopt a similar approach when the guest is in their premises but should also stay connected to their clients even when they are away. Many clients would like to stay updated about  promotions, new services offered, and pretty much anything exciting about their favourite Hotel or Resort, so staying in touch with them will not only bring in more sales, but it will also keep a close relationship with your guests and help in building a healthy and long lasting successful customer experience.

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