Ferry Business - Summer/Spring 2020

1 3 5 to Amsterdam, but I want the ferry experience to be so compelling that I’m going to choose to go even when I don’t have to, just because the ships are so amazing. I think the heart of one of our challenges is that we are a means to an end, but we should be the end as well as the means.” This outcome has countless positive consequences. ”Customers become loyal advocates because they feel an affinity to a brand from a genuine experience, and that becomes part of their way of thinking and influences what they plan in the future,” he says. And Hebblethwaite’s similarly clear about how he forecasts the impact on business performance. “It will be transformational for our company if we can move from people wanting to use our service once or twice a year for travel purposes, to building up a customer base that is sailing with us four or five times a year with some or all of those trips taken just because they want to enjoy what the ships have to offer.” Do all of these initiatives come at a cost to the passenger? “My goal is to keep prices affordable as this is an important factor in retaining customers,” he says. “It’s really important to recognise the importance of value to people and that actually there is a balance to be had between brand and quality and price.” “I am really proud of where we are at the moment, but I do think we have incredible scope to do even better for our team and our customers. Our corporate approach is to transcend the traditional ferry experience so that it sits comfortably alongside the very best experience that hotels or cruise ships can offer. For P&O Ferries on the North Sea, it’s a new look and feel for a new decade,” says Hebblethwaite. CFR “My biggest priority is to work alongside our team to make sure that they have everything they need” Photo: Nigel Howard INTERV IEW