FBO Operations Tip of the Week: Differentiate Your FBO on Customer Service, Not on Price
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By John L. Enticknap and Ron R. Jackson, Principals of Aviation Business Strategies Group
- Facilitators of NATA’s FBO Success Seminar and Authors of the forthcoming book: FBO Survival: 10 Tips to Keep Your Operations Lean, Mean & Profitable
Note: Join John and Ron at NBAA Schedulers & Dispatchers Conference. Full details.
Many FBOs have gone out of business by lowering their prices during prolonged periods of time. Yes, FBOs need to be price-competitive, but they must maintain healthy margins and find other ways to compete through differentiation.
One of the best ways we find to differentiate one FBO from another is to offer an outstanding and memorable customer service experience. This is a fundamental shift in the FBO industry away from a price-sensitive business model to one based on providing exceptional customer service.
More and more FBOs are taking customer service training very seriously. Just as FBOs don’t tolerate mishaps on the ramp, they are becoming more conscious of eliminating miscues with the way they deliver customer service.
Research indicates that loyal customers don’t stop doing business with a company solely because of price, but rather because of a poor customer service experience. However, most will return if you recognize and fix the problem.
One of the ways to improve the customer service experience is to standardize training and look for ways to motivate employees in a way where they take ownership of problems when they arise. An example of a standardized training system is the Don't Forget the Cheese! customer service training program written specifically for the FBO industry.
About the bloggers:
John Enticknap
John Enticknap has more than 35 years of aviation fueling and FBO services industry experience and has served as president/CEO of Mercury Air Centers, a network of FBOs he grew from four facilities to 21 locations. He has international FBO experience including opening the Royal Aviation Terminal in Kuwait. John has held executive management positions with DynAir Fueling and CSX Becket Aviation and holds a Bachelor of Science in industrial management from Northeastern University. He teaches the acclaimed FBO Success Seminar for the National Aviation Transportation Association (NATA) and is an NATA certified safety auditor. John is the co-author of the forthcoming book FBO Survival! Keeping Your Operation Lean, Mean & Profitable. He also writes an industry blog titled FBO Connection for Penton‘s B&CA Digest. He is an active ATP and CFI rated pilot with more than 8,100 flight hours; certified in both fixed and rotary wing aircraft. jenticknap@bellsouth.net, Ph: 404-867-5518, www.absggroup.com
Ron Jackson
Ron Jackson is co-founder of Aviation Business Strategies Group and president of The Jackson Group, a PR agency specializing in FBO marketing and customer service training. He has held management positions with Cessna Aircraft, Fairchild Aircraft and Bozell Advertising. Ron developed the strategic marketing communication plan and programs for Mercury Air Centers and consults with numerous FBOs in areas of marketing, promotions and customer service training. He is the author of Don’t Forget the Cheese! The Ultimate FBO Customer Service Experience. and co-author of the forthcoming book FBO Survival! Keeping Your Operation Lean, Mean & Profitable. He is a journalist and co-developed NATA’s acclaimed FBO Success Seminar Series. Ron writes an industry blog for Penton’s B&CA Digest titled: The FBO Connection. Ron@thejacksongroup.biz, Ph: 972-979-6566, www.absggroup.com