By Alan Shaw, Co-Founder and Head Coach of Rhapsody Fitness in Charleston, SC
Welcome to Box Building! Follow Rhapsody Fitness Co-Founders Alan Shaw and Trinity Wheeler as they continue to build one of the fastest growing gyms in South Carolina. Answer the hard questions, explore various approaches, dive into strategy and share lessons learned that go far beyond fitness to be universal across entrepreneurship and startups.
Walt Disney World Resort in Orlando, Florida.
Want to raise the bar on your brand? Tie it into a magical, memorable customer service experience.
Disney Parks around the world set the gold standard here. The moment you step off the plane with your MagicBand, Disney’s Magical Express team is there to greet you and whisk you away to your resort. Once you arrive onsite, the entire experience – sites, smells and sounds – takes you to another world with a warm “Welcome Home” at check-in.
Each and every cast member you interact with is fully committed to the experience and trained to deliver impeccable, intentional customer care honed to every last detail (ever notice how they give directions?).
Before you even set foot in the parks, you’re immersed in the signature Disney experience – you feel like you’ve been given the keys to the kingdom.
Although they may not leverage classic stories and characters, every successful brand has a signature experience that blends into each client interaction. We follow suit here at Rhapsody Fitness, and I find there are five ways to go about creating a unique and legendary customer experience for your business.
VISUALIZE IT
Put yourself in a client’s shoes and walk through any potential engagement they may have with your business from that first Google search or social media follow to leaving class as a three-year member.
Picture how you want those interactions to look and how you want your client to feel during and after each one. Repeat the exercise across your ideal client types. At Rhapsody, we started with prospective members, new members, OG members, and drop-ins, for example.
Experience is won or lost in the details.
DOUBLE-DOWN ON DETAIL
Experience is won or lost in the details. Now that you’ve visualized the experience you want your clients to have, think through the details that will make it positive and memorable.
For instance, we snail mail handwritten thank you notes to everyone who drops in or tries a free class. This touch point is personal, thoughtful and aims to make the person feel seen and valued.
BUY IN
This initiative will only work if all team members know how to deliver your signature customer experience and are bought into its importance.
From how you recruit and hire to training, feedback and incentives, your standard and distinct approach to customer care has to be at the core. Our goal is for our prime member experience to be a point of pride from check-in to towel service, and Team Rhapsody does not disappoint.
RINGS TRUE
Your member experience must be authentic above all else. At the end of the day, this effort is all about creating that genuine connection from both sides. Simply put, try to be something you’re not and your client will see right through it.
For Rhapsody, we’re about a community for anyone, not everyone. Every member aligns with and exemplifies our core values – being humble, hungry and happy – which is what sets them apart. By tying our core values through our member care, we curate an experience that makes each person feel special and also holds true to who we are.
Team Rhapsody members at Rhapsody Fitness.
INVITE FEEDBACK
Solicit and hold space for feedback from those interacting with your product or service. Good, bad or ugly, this transparency and insight will elevate you to the next level.
At Rhapsody, we ask for feedback through email, phone calls, member check-ins, and more. I’d take it by carrier pigeon if that’s how someone wanted to send it.
From first impressions to ongoing interactions, memories of how we are treated have the most staying power and, therefore, make for the greatest opportunity to stick with someone long after they pass through your doors.
Follow Box Building on Rhapsody News or visit Rhapsody Fitness online to learn more.
