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In early 2014 Ryanair announced that it had increased profits by 152% by focusing on their customer’s main gripes with the business.

Okay, so it is a different industry but they are sales driven and their marketing tactics are similar, but it is their final strategy that is key.

CHEAP FLIGHTS, CHEAP SERVICE

Ryanair was known for selling cheap flights. They didn’t focus on anything else. They believed that their customers were already getting a great deal and nothing but the price mattered. Their reputation for customer service was poor.

Their customers knew that for Ryanair it was all about the sell, which didn’t really sit that well, and although the flights were cheap people started to turn away in search of providers that showed they cared a little bit more about them and a little less about squeezing every last penny out of them.

In 2013 they received two profit warnings. Ryanair’s controversial CEO, Michael O’Leary, admitted that their rival EasyJet had “wiped the floor” with them by introducing significant customer service improvements.

THE SOLUTION

At the beginning of 2014 Ryanair addressed some of the things customers said they hated. The following were the main issues:

  • not being able to take a handbag on, in addition to hand luggage
  • not having allocated seats
  • a complicated website

Ryanair made some changes, and addressed the issues highlighted above. From Easter weekend 2014 to the 30th June 2014 they saw a 4% increase in the amount of customers using their service and more importantly, profits rose to £197m compared with £78m for the same period in 2013.

CAN THE MOTOR INDUSTRY LEARN FROM RYANAIR?

When selling add-on products it is often easy to focus simply on what a great deal it is for the consumer. Unfortunately you aren’t informing the customer of the benefits to them and they will just view your effort as a hard sell.

Add-on products can hold real value for the customer. Listening to your customer’s worries and helping them resolve those problems really does make a difference to your bottom line.

Read more in our eBook: Putting customers at the heart of your business.

 

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