Do you have a pleasantly long list of loyal customers who, while they know that they might not be getting the cheapest deal, are content that they are getting the best deal?
Sometimes small is best, as Blackpool-based Swann Tours explains this week. It’s eschewed the lure of expansion and stuck with a successful formula that works.
While it is not alone in running only one coach, mostly on its own holidays with occasional private hire, it’s in a small, though prestigious, league.
Naturally, when you do so well, it’s hard not to expand; many of today’s mid- and large-sized operators started that way.
Once the successful formula is in place, adding another coach is relatively easy – especially when the demand is there and your existing facilities such as maintenance and admin are easily ‘scalable’, to use the jargon.
But how do you know when, maybe, you’ve got a little too big and that personal touch and attention to detail that won your initial customers is starting to lose its gloss?
When you’re inside an organisation, it’s hard to know how others see you. People who are not unhappy, but may be slightly disappointed, don’t say. They just might not book as often, or not at all.
Sometimes it’s helpful to step back, take time out from your business, and then come back with a fresh pair of eyes. It doesn’t hurt to be self-critical and ask “what if?” It’s the detail that remains all-important.
Mel Holley, Editor
