Action Sports: Domain of the Service Industry
We harp on about action sports sitting under the banner of the service industry – and apply tried and true practices from that industry to action sports.
Action Sports, by their nature are an individualistic pursuit. That is, the participant is experiencing the sport, not as a team member, brought into the fold by a team, club or school, but coming at it as an individual. Moreover, they perform and execute the sport as an individual. Their performance is the competitive pursuit. The action sports athlete competess against themself to continuously improve.
None of this is to say that action sports are inherently an introverted passion. Quite the opposite. Action sports participants find their tribe, their camaraderie, their identity in surrounding themselves with like-minded individuals. Action sports, more than traditional sporting, is known-for their established branded identities – look at how well surf brands have infiltrated inland markets.
When it comes to commercializing the passion of the action sports participant, applying principles of the service industry just makes sense. An enterprise is dealing with a discerning consumer who places value on their individual experience. Their experience – each time they pursue their passion at your venue, will dictate their loyalty.
Often the announcement of the chef is lauded at a restaurant, the menu and his offerings heralded as the showpiece. Yet the best restaurants invest heavily in the ambiance, layout, décor and ongoing training of their staff. The food is immutable – the menu may change, but the value offering is the same. The dining experience is what can change. So, the best restaurants constantly revisit this – instilling rigorous training, managers intervening during the inevitable hiccups, and heralding consistency in service – from their diner’s arrival through the dessert course. The menu is what gets the customer to the door. The service is what brings them back.
The showpiece of your action sports enterprise is your venue: the skate ramps designed and built by the best-in-class skaters; the wave machine producing replicas of world-class waves, the well-maintained and graded lines of your mountain biking trails. The facilities are what bring the customer to the door. The user experience will bring them back.
From the greeting your staff will give to the customers when they arrive, to how the venue is mapped out, should all be choreographed ahead of time, and often is. What is lacking in all but the best venues, is revisiting this frequently, as the user experience is dynamic. The best operations will continue to refine their training, signage, even sight layout – competing – just as the action sport athlete does, to continuously improve.
