CWA Blog Archive-If Customer Experience Is Important, Why Aren’t We Good At It

If Customer Experience Is Important, Why Aren’t We Good At It

Pdf Summary

This article examines a revealing gap in the fitness and climbing industries: while most clubs consider member engagement important, few feel they do it well. It draws on the Customer Engagement Academy's (CEA) Member Engagement in the Global Health and Fitness Industry Survey Report for 2018, noting that based on the results, a majority of clubs felt member engagement is really important, but not very many felt they were doing a good job at it. Given the many parallels between the fitness industry and indoor climbing, the author suspects some climbing facilities feel the same. The stakes are rising: with the increase in climbing facilities and competition, member experience is going to become a huge competitive advantage, if not the most important one. The article states the imperative bluntly: create a great climbing experience focusing on the entire customer journey and you will win; don't and you will lose. Turning to how, it lets the data guide the answer, reporting the study's top three reasons clubs felt they were falling short: lack of human resources, other priorities taking precedence, and a lack of understanding of what needs to (the text continues into addressing these obstacles). The throughline is that although the industry recognizes member experience as critically important and increasingly the key competitive advantage, most clubs admit they aren't good at it, and overcoming this gap requires confronting the specific obstacles the data identifies. The CEA survey reveals a striking disconnect: clubs know engagement matters but don't feel they deliver it well, a problem the author expects extends to climbing gyms given the industries' parallels. As competition intensifies with more facilities opening, member experience across the entire customer journey becomes decisive, winning or losing gyms their members. The data illuminates why clubs fall short: insufficient human resources, competing priorities crowding out engagement work, and a lack of understanding of what member engagement actually requires. By naming these obstacles, the article points toward solutions, addressing staffing, reprioritizing, and building understanding of engagement. For operators, it argues that closing the gap between valuing member experience and actually delivering it is both urgent (as experience becomes the top competitive advantage) and achievable through honestly addressing the concrete barriers, resources, priorities, and understanding, that the research shows hold clubs back, urging gyms to focus seriously on the entire customer journey to win in an increasingly competitive market.

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This piece examines a gap from the Customer Engagement Academy's 2018 survey: most clubs consider member engagement important but few feel they do it well, a disconnect likely shared by climbing gyms. As competition makes member experience the key advantage, it identifies the top obstacles, lack of human resources, competing priorities, and lack of understanding, to address.