OPERATOR PERSPECTIVE
“Swimming plays a very important role in health and wellness, in particular for younger and older populations,” says Lawler. “It goes beyond swimming itself, too, to the feelings of empowerment associated with greater freedom of movement in the water, body confidence, and safety and strength in open water. “We have a responsibility as a sector to value that and give more thought to how we bring it to life, starting simply by recognising how intimidating a pool hall is for people – how exposing an environment and how vulnerable swimmers may feel. “Sadly, that isn’t happening: the pool-side experience can be an afterthought. I do recognise why: the swim environment presents a complex set of risks, meaning operational priority is rightly compliance and safeguarding. But what do customers need beyond that – or even before that – and why isn’t this part of the discussion at industry events?
“It’s time to put in some proper thought around the customer, their needs and how they really feel in the pool environment. This is what we’re turning our attention to at Total Fitness.” Recognise the core customer She continues: “We’re at the start of our journey, but our research into sector-wide pool-side experiences – including our own – has been both fascinating and harrowing. Put simply, the customer is being let down, and for swimming particularly it’s compounded by over-demand, under-supply and a shortage of pool-side professionals. “In this sort of landscape, the risk is that scarcity rather than customer appreciation can be the driving force of commercial success. We’re really alive to that in our thinking and are thoughtful about how to make that better for our customers in the future.
The risk is that scarcity rather than customer appreciation can be the driving force of commercial success.
44
STATE OF THE UK SWIMMING INDUSTRY REPORT 2023
Made with FlippingBook interactive PDF creator