re: Customer Service Revival - by Eric Mitchell

Jim Wheat — Sat, 05 Oct 2013 17:35:31 GMT

I have been a fan of Horse racing all of my life beginning as a child parking cars at my home near Churchill Downs for the Derby. As my professional career developed I have been in position to support horse racing through sponsorship relationships. I have signed on to numerous track sponsorships and race sponsorships including Breeder's Cup. I have also spent more than 40 years in the retail customer service industry and understand the importance of providing an exceptional customer experience in order to attract and retain customer loyalty.

From the customer perspective, for major tracks and industry leaders to acknowledge that they are now going to "RECOMMIT THEMSELVES TO CUSTOMER SERVICE", in itself validates the fact that customer service has not been and is not the top priority in horse racing! But at least there is finally an acknowledgement that horse racing has a problem. Every aspect of the customer interaction and experience at the tracks should be reviewed and addressed in a manner that heightens the awareness of every employee at the track that, "THE CUSTOMER IS KING!" Customer service is nothing more than common courtesy and a sincere respect for those who ultimately pay the bills! Customers, whether the hard core gambler, part time fan or avid horse racing enthusiast, has to feel appreciated and somehow be rewarded for their level of loyalty to the sport!

Times have changed dramatically, particularly in the last 10 years as it relates to the absolute of providing EXCELLENT customer service. In the past, the bar was much lower; if a business or industry could achieve a 90-95% customer satisfaction rating, it was considered acceptable. But in today's world with social media and the ability for a single disgruntled or unsatisfied customer to reach literally thousands of potential customers or fans, customer service must be taken EXTREMELY serious to merely survive. In regards to the customer experience, there are simply too many competing options for the consumer's dollars; Casinos are everywhere and completely understand how to reward their customers and keep their interest. The NFL, NBA and MLB have all repositioned themselves to be a family event with exciting fan interactions and not just another game. Horse racing has to become fun for the masses or it will die! It is about the entertainment value to the fan that will begin putting people in the seats and not necessarily the bloodlines of the horses. The majority of the people attending the Kentucky Derby are going for the fun, the event and the excitement. Most of them have no understanding or knowledge of the horses themselves and most of the attendees could not even tell you who is running in the Derby until they head to the track and see the program. While there is only one Kentucky Derby, there is certainly a need for each track to begin creating their own exciting venues on a consistent basis if they're going to create customer excitement, put people in the seats, and therefore bring loyalty to the sport!

People in the seats will get the attention of business leaders and lead to sponsorship growth, which is the other important customer segment that also needs attention in this sport! Local and national businesses have significant dollars to invest in the sport but they demand being recognized as VIP CUSTOMERS! The horse racing industry needs to begin acknowledging all of the different customer segments. Horse racing customers are not only the owners, breeders, and trainers or those sponsors who's relationship with horse racing is driven through a procurement agreement. In fact, these particular groups are actually partners and constituents of the tracks and industry at large. They obviously have a vested interest in the sport itself. Exactly the same in NASCAR, the team owners, engine builders, car manufactures, concession vendors, etc., derive direct income from the sport. NASCAR realized early on the distinct difference in addressing the fans, sponsors, and constituents and they foster the proper relationship with each segment. That's why you see the significant sponsorship dollars pouring into that sport, fans in the seats, and vendors and manufacturers banging at the door to get in. Horse racing could learn from this example of how to attract and treat their fans, sponsors, and constituents in order to maintain long term relationships. From my experience as both a fan and sponsor, horse racing does a pretty good job in their relationship with their constituents but have a tremendous opportunity in the areas of fan and sponsorship development.

Hopefully, horse racing leaders will get serious about customers and sponsors by developing plans to create an exciting experience worthy of their participation in the sport.