By
Rebecca Gibson |
Scottish ferry operator Caledonian MacBrayne (CalMac) revealed it focuses largely on the customer experience to improve its services and generate future business and is calling for other tourism companies to do the same, to benefit the industry.
During a speech at the Argyll and the Isles Tourism Summit at Mount Stuart on the island of Bute, Martin Dorchester,managing director of CalMac, emphasised the importance of identifying the needs of both core and prospective customers to ensure expectations are fulfilled and exceeded.
“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,” said Dorchester.
The company has already adopted this approach and the plans to increase the scope of its services and improve the passenger experience.
Dorchester said: “We revamped the 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.”
The speech also highlighted the need for all tourism companies to work together to ensure repeat business by understanding the changing factors influencing customers’ purchasing decisions.
“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,” said Dorchester. “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 - wherever possible exceed - customer expectations.”