What Sport Teaches Us About How to Improve Your Customers’ Experience

The Intuitive Customer - Helping You Improve Your Customer Experience To Gain Growth

We want to hear from you. Simply record a video with your thoughts, ideas, reactions, lists, or whatever else you have to offer, and we might discuss it on the podcast. It’s called None of Us Are As Clever As All Of Us. To learn more, click here.

Justin Stafford ([e-mail]), founder of a Customer Smarts shared how sports can teach us how to improve your Customer Experience.

Justin's metaphor holds true in various scenarios. In sports, not every player on the field has an equal chance of scoring, but for the team to succeed, they must collaborate seamlessly.

Similarly, in many organizations, sales teams often occupy the flashiest roles. They wield significant influence due to their role in closing deals. However, just as in sports, the flashy players, like the quarterback in American Football, rely on their team, especially the offensive line, to execute their tasks effectively. Ignoring their support can hinder their performance—and leave them picking turf the out of their helmets.

Justin's sports analogy remains relevant here. While sales teams may clinch deals, departments such as finance, IT, and operations need to align with the sales strategy. Ultimately, all departments should work together to enhance customer value.

As a devoted season ticket holder at Luton Town Football Club, I'm thrilled to share that they have earned a promotion to the English Premier League, where they compete against well-known teams like Tottenham Hotspur, Arsenal, and Manchester City. I've noticed parallels between the dynamics in football and Justin's insights from AFL.

In football, forwards often command higher salaries compared to other positions, such as the left back. The left back's role mainly involves defensive work and may not be as glamorous. In contrast, center forwards often receive double the pay compared to other players on the team.

In this episode, we explore the concept introduced by Justin. Plus, we share our thoughts on the concept, including whether Colin really knows anything about the AFL.

Here are some other key moments in the discussion:

• 02:03 We explain our new feature, None of Us is as Clever as All of Us and how you can be a part of it.

• 04:48 Justin shares his thoughts about how sports teams and their game-winning strategy is a good analogy for an organization that wants to pursue customer centricity in their experiences.

• 13:28 We refer to a past podcast about how departments like Finance affect the experience, and why it is essential to have everybody working together for a common goal.

• 21:56 Colin explains some interesting details about Luton Town Football Club’s field, which might surprise you, particularly if you are in the ladies’ room during halftime.

• 24:17 We both share what we liked best about Justin’s metaphor about the AFL and Customer Experiences.

Did you know we have a YouTube Channel too? Check it out here.

About Colin Shaw

LinkedIn recognizes Colin Shaw as one of the 'World's Top 150 Business Influencers.' As a result, he has over 294,000 followers and 78,000 subscribers to his LinkedIn newsletter ‘Why Customers Buy’. The Financial Times selected Beyond Philosophy as one of the best management consultancies for four years.

Colin is a renown keynote speaker and undertakes consultancy work and educational workshops to help organizations improve their Customer Experience.

Click here to learn more about Professor Ryan Hamilton of Emory University.

How can we help?

Click here to learn more about Beyond Philosophy's Suite of Services.

Please tell us how we are doing! Complete this short survey.