So today, still on holiday in Fuerteventura, I was impressed by the simple things that the FuerteCharter boat company did to get a full boat, well actually two full boats versus their competitors, who didn’t fare as well.
They all had branded uniforms, their sales hut was subtlely more prominent than the other companies with much better imagery, and right at the top they advertised that they were ‘No1 on Trip Advisor’. The sales person was very well trained, the booking was done with ease and then on the day everything was well organised, the staff on the boat were fun and good at getting you all feel special and one in particular was great at creating an atmosphere of enjoyment.
Picking the right people is crucial and the little touches, like being greeted when you arrived back and asked if you enjoyed it and if you need transport back to your accommodation. A speed boat to take you from the catarmaran to the Island, drinks served to you, a simple but good lunch.
Everything on the boat was organised, the tour was run very smoothly and it was great value for money.
At this stage you could say, well that is what they should do, but sales and marketing can be great and then the delivery does not match. They did both very well.
But the cherry on the cake was when we were coming back into the harbour, in front of all their future potential customers, the main guy very cleverly cranked up the music and got us all up on the front of the boat dancing and looking like this was the best boat tour we’d ever had. So onlookers got the message and our last impression was a great feeling of a fun trip.
It was a great trip, I would thoroughly recommend FuerteCharter and a great business lesson to add a little something special for others to see, without it being too cheesy or manipulative.
Business can be plain sailing if you take care of the small details and then put some icing on top.
Philip Dodson 