You can use customer experience in a profitable marketing plan by paying attention to how customers connect and engage with your brand. Customer engagement can be used effectively by hotels to differentiate themselves from their competitors and build long-term, loyal connections with guests.
A long-term relationship between your brand and potential customers is the ultimate goal of customer engagement. Some of the ways hotel brands are embracing consumer involvement to build long-term relationships are listed below.
Keep Your Fans Up to Date
The purpose of your social media accounts is to keep your fans up to date on your activities. Using images, videos, and customer reviews, show them what a luxurious stay at your hotel will be like. Posts about upcoming or unexpected events should be created. A Fourth of July chilli cook-off or a Halloween pet costume contest might benefit from a live video feed so that those who couldn’t attend could feel a part of the action.
The Hotel Del Coronado in San Diego is an example of this method in action. So that visitors can view what’s going on around the clock, they have a live video feed on their website. If you’re looking to incorporate video into your overall marketing plan, consumers like the authenticity of live recordings, although edited videos can also be effective. Videos give buyers a sense of what to expect from your brand, making them more trusting of you.
Use influencer marketing
Aside from live streaming, there are additional approaches to evoke authenticity and pique client interest. There are several benefits to using social media influencers as real-life spokespeople for your brand. Influencer marketing typically returns $6.50 for every $1 invested. Incorporating influencer marketing into an overall strategy can assist build a brand’s authenticity and bring in more customers.
Santa Monica’s HI Los Angeles hostel has already jumped on the bandwagon. Ana Dominguez, a travel writer on the site The City Sidewalks, has collaborated with them on a campaign to promote their beachfront lodgings. As part of their social media strategy, they created a video together and shared it on several channels, including Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and Snapchat.
Request Customer Feedback
Reviews are an important aspect of customer interaction. When it comes to booking a hotel, prospective guests prefer to rely on reviews from actual guests. Nearly 80% of people check six to twelve reviews before booking a trip. Additionally, hotel businesses can use customer feedback to evaluate their present tactics and make required adjustments.
Engage with your consumers on social media and encourage them to submit reviews on your site. That’s all there is to it. You can get feedback in a variety of ways. Guest reviews are important to Pacific Sands Resort, according to Resort Director Stephen Peters, who staples a business card to all guest folios. With this increase in response comes almost treble the volume. In order to begin the dialogue, Library Hotel Collection’s VP of Sales, Adele Gutman, suggests sending a simple email to guests informing them that you appreciate their support in the form of a review.
Take Last-Minute Bookers Into Account
Customer engagement requires you to think about how you can best serve a wide range of guests, and how you can do so in the most efficient way possible. Some of the most pleasant guests to deal with are those who have made bookings months in advance and have all the proper paperwork on hand when they arrive. Modern travellers, on the other hand, are often more adventurous and willing to book a hotel at the last minute in order to take a trip on the fly.
Because so many clients are cautious about booking directly through a hotel’s website these days, giving promotions on your website for last-minute getaway deals on unsold rooms will help you appeal to that irrational population. Guests who book directly from your hotel will be more likely to return if you provide them with enticing extras like a glass of wine at the lobby bar or a bespoke aromatherapy bubble bath menu.
Syncring Hotel rooms and F&B outlets thro CRM system
Everything you do should be geared toward making your visitors happy, so keep an eye on what you’re serving and how you’re interacting with them on a regular basis. Guests anticipate tailored and convenient experiences thanks to innovative technology like AI (artificial intelligence) and facial recognition. This anticipation can become a reality by implementing CRM (customer relationship management) software across all of your hotel and F&B locations.
It’s a 194-room independent brand in Austin, Texas that relies on a customer relationship management system to provide a unique luxury experience. The use of CRM software enables the hotel to target marketing offers to the best customers and those most likely to book a room. The gathered information and data can then be used to design specific marketing objectives. Hotel Granduca Austin’s Ray DeJohn, Director of Sales and Marketing, claims that the company’s bottom line has improved significantly since implementing CRM software.
The same rules apply to all of your food and beverage establishments. New York City hotel food and beverage director Chris Billioux is using a software system to help staff offer extraordinary experiences that produce more revenue and repeat business for both locals and tourists who are staying at the INNSIDE by Melia Hotel.
In order to make money, you must first invest money.
Conclusion
The Best Ways to Build Relationships with Customers in today’s competitive hotel market, it’s important to be different from the competition. Influencer marketing and CRM software are just two of the ways they’re constantly attempting to connect with customers. There is no fear in asking for criticism and making required adjustments.
A modern customer interaction strategy can help your hotel build stronger ties with current and prospective guests by making it easier for them to communicate with you.