A Customer-Centric Approach to FBO Success

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FBOs that shape their internal employee culture based on a customer-centric approach often outperform their competitors in both retention and revenue.

Customer-centricity is both a savvy business strategy and a shift in cultural mindset which puts the customer at the center of operations and service development.

In order to create a true customer-centric business model, FBOs should coach and train employees to anticipate the customer’s needs, wants and desires. Instead of waiting for the customer to complain, customer-centric FBOs anticipate what customers want before being asked.

This proactive approach puts the line service and CSR employees in front of potential disruptive events. It is a change in outlook, switching off the reactive mode - and flipping on a proactive mindset.

Frontline employees, empowered by FBO management to be proactive in their customer-centric approach, will take ownership of the customer experience by anticipating the service deliverables entrusted to their care.

For instance, an empowered employee will check for any advance service orders prior to an arriving flight. They set in motion seamless service that enhances a timely departure or facilitates a quick turn:

  • Line Tech ready and waiting to usher with proper PPE & wands: Check

  • Fuel truck & GSE at the ready: Check

  • Wing walkers & guide personnel ready: Check

  • Proper chocking & coning of aircraft: Check

  • Welcome mat: Check

  • Limousine arrival: Check

  • Proper handling of luggage: Check

  • Correct fuel ticket: Check

  • 250 gallons of Jet A: Check

  • Prist: Check

  • APU and lavatory service: Check

  • Potable water: Check

  • Fresh hot coffee and ice for the galley: Check

  • Correct catering with a special dietary meal: Check

  • Crew car clean with plenty of gas: Check

  • Accurate invoice: Check

Service anticipation also includes timely and regular checks of bathrooms for cleanliness, lounges for neatness, and beverage/snack areas for low stock items.

For a real-world comparison, think of the best restaurant service you ever received. Chances are you did not have to ask for anything. Your server was in a proactive mode, anticipating your every need. The cheese grinder was in hand, beverage glasses were kept full, bread baskets were replenished, extra napkins were provided, the food arrival was timed perfectly and was fresh and at the right temperature. A dropped fork was quickly replaced with a clean one and the birthday desert arrived without a reminder.

In the customer-centric FBO environment, the anticipation is centered entirely on the customer’s unmet needs. Services, on the other hand, are treated as essential vehicles to deliver value and to fulfill specific requests, whether written or unwritten, spoken or unspoken.

By aligning your FBO to a customer-centric business strategy based on anticipating customer needs, chances are you will reduce churn, add to the bottom line and secure long-term profitable customer relationships.

 Please leave any comments you have about this blog post below. If you have any questions, please send us an email: John Enticknap, jenticknap@bellsouth.net,  Ron Jackson, ronjacksongroup@gmail.com,

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