How Do You Communicate With Customers?

Above: Another great cartoon drawn on the back of a business card by Hugh MacLeod.

How Do You Communicate With Customers?

I love this Josh Bernoff quote from “Why Marketers Have Trouble with Full-Duplex Social Technology” (June 30th 2009):

“The people in charge of talking are in the marketing department. The people in charge of listening are in the research or service or sales department. They hardly ever talk to each other, let alone have full-duplex conversations with customers.”

No truer word has ever been said. And it’s the companies and marketers who have realised this and are making changes in order to bridge this gap that are booming, often thanks to social media.

Have you ever received a marketing email from a company telling you how important you are and how much they value your opinions; only to discover that the email is ‘do not reply’?… Unless of course you want to place a huge order with us right away, in which case, click here.

Companies like Threadless have bridged the gap between supplier, customer, and marketer by allowing the customer to converse with the supplier in order to get the exact t-shirt design they want. You often see comments asking for a different colour t-shirt or for the designer to move the image an inch to the left and half an inch up. Potential customers then get to vote on the design and whether they would actually purchase it… This message then goes straight to the marketers who have the most popular designs printed.

That is full-duplex social technology at its best.

So how do you communicate with your customers? Are you asking for their opinions but not really listening? Is it a one way communication? Are the messages of your customers getting to the right people within your organisation? In fact, are the right people within your organisation having the right conversations with the right people?

Whether you’re a hotel manager, a motel owner, or a hotel booking system supplier, you need to be having full-duplex conversations using social media. That means using Facebook, Linked In, Twitter, Flickr, etc, and actually engaging in meaningful conversations with the people that matter… Your customers!

For a great explanation of social media, take a look at THIS presentation called “What the F*ck is Social Media: One Year Later” by Marta Kagan from Brand Infiltration

Thanks once again for reading,

Emma

For more information on hotel booking systems or corporate training for the hospitality industry, don't hesitate to leave a comment here or email me on eharradine@hotmail.co.uk

How Often Are You Told What You Want?

The cartoon above is an absolute favourite of mine from the cartoonist/creative genius, Hugh MacLeod. Take a look at his artwork and musings on the website: Gaping Void

How Often Are You TOLD What You Want?

As a customer, how often are you told, rather than asked, what you want or need? It’s not something that you ask yourself very often; however, if you think about it, we are told what we want every day.

Microsoft tries to insist that we need auto correct. Record shop chains tell us that we want to buy the top 40 hits; hits which are decided upon by twelve to fifteen year olds. Would you let a twelve year old decide what you watch on television or what clothes to wear? And every day, in hotels around the world, guests are being told that they want breakfast included or that they want a complimentary drink in the hotel bar.

Do these companies ever stop to question whether they are giving their customers what they truly want?

I read an article on ehotelier.com today about this subject. Yeoh Siew Hoon’s article discusses the idea that hotels shouldn’t offer a free breakfast and assume that this adds value to the guest’s stay; in fact, the free breakfast may actually cause more frustration than satisfaction. A better idea would be to offer guests a choice; do they want a free breakfast in the morning or would they prefer free internet access.

I’ve experiences many similar situations in hotels around the world. The constantly irritating example is when inedible food is placed in front of you; a smiling waitress delivers a freezing cold burger surrounded by a centimeter of oil and burnt fries. You politely explain that you will not accept it, and the response you receive is, “I will exchange it for you.” A complaining customer hates to be TOLD what will happen in response to their complaint; they want to be in control.

Customer service staff need to be trained to ask the right questions and then offer the customer choices. “I’m sorry, sir. Do you have time to wait for a replacement?” Followed by, “Thank you, sir; and would you like us to remake the same dish or would you prefer to change your order?”

They shouldn’t be saying, “I’ll bring you a free drink with your meal, I’m sorry for the wait.” They should be asking whether the guest would like a free drink or a free dessert. When a customer is given options they are far more likely to leave satisfied with the result.

I agree with Steve Jobs, who said, “You can't just ask customers what they want and then try to give that to them. By the time you get it built, they'll want something new.” However, you can, and SHOULD, give your customers choices.

The concept is the same if you are providing a booking system to hotels, motels, or guest houses...

Don’t tell the customer what they want… Ask them!

Obviously, full customization has to come with a price tag, but offering simple choices in date layout, taxation standards, and room names or numbers is a simple and effective way to give the client what they actually want rather than what you think they .need

Ask yourself this: when did you last ask a client what they needed? If you can’t remember, do it today.

Thanks for reading,

Emma

If you have any questions or comments regarding corporate training for hotels or hotel booking systems for small to medium sized hotels, motels, and guest houses, please leave your comments here or email me on eharradine@hotmail.co.uk

To Tweet, Blog, or LinkIn... That is the Question!

As a hotel, motel, or guest house owner, it’s becoming more and more difficult to know where to advertise, which social and business networks to join, which message systems to use, which social bookmarking sites to take advantage of, which blogs to follow and which blog platforms to post from.

Business Social Networks

LinkedIn is obviously the number one business social network, but what other business social networking sites should you be using? Facebook and Xing both have a huge number of professionals and industry experts at your fingertips, but how do you turn these numbers into tangible business contacts? Plus, developing leads and creating business opportunities is time consuming on both of these sites.

Twitter on the other hand creates a lot of high quality conversation, produces leads, and encourages information exchange without being time consuming. How long does it take to answer the question “what are you doing?” twice per day, thus informing potential guests of your news, unique selling points, and current promotions?

... And Advertising?

And where should hoteliers advertise nowadays and which online booking websites are the most popular with prospective guests? The choices are growing out of control!

Today, I was reading the 2009 National Travel Monitor by Ypartnership and Yankelovich.

In their report they state that “sixty-six percent of leisure travelers now use the Internet to plan some aspect of their travel (versus 35 percent in 2000), while 56 percent now report making reservations online… Travelers visit search engines such as Google, Yahoo or MSN first when considering vacation destination alternatives. The websites of specific countries or destination boards are visited next, followed by online travel agencies such as Expedia and Travelocity.”

The most popular websites for travel planning (according to the 2009 National Travel Monitor) are as follows:

Visit first when selecting a destination:
Search engine (Google, Yahoo, MSN) 34 percent
Website of national tourist office/CVB 23 percent
Online travel agency like Expedia, Travelocity 22 percent
Website of hotel chain 8 percent
Web site of individual hotel or resort 7 percent
Blog 1 percent

However, search patterns for selecting accommodation are understandably different. Consumers first visit the websites of online travel agencies; brand-specific sites are not the most popular when selecting lodging. Meta search engines that compare room rates are visited first by just over 1-out-of-20 travelers when selecting accommodation:

Visit first when selecting hotel/resort:
Website of online travel agency
(Expedia, Travelocity) 31 percent
Search engine (Google, Yahoo, MSN) 26 percent
Website of specific hotel chain 21 percent
Website of individual hotel/resort 10 percent
Meta search engine that compares rates 5 percent

So, what do I advise my clients?

I recommend that they adopt a selection of the aforementioned networking, advertising, and booking tools in order to optimize their visibility to consumers.

There is no need to waste valuable hours posting from every blog platform, networking in every available social networking site and updating your activities in each and every message system… Your message will get lost and you’ll stop to take a breath and wonder where your life has gone; it’s just too time consuming. So, stick to the tools and the methods that produce proven results:

1) Twitter twice daily to inform your prospective guests of news, great reviews, current promotions, and things that YOU find interesting.

2) Join relevant groups on LinkedIn to ask advice from industry experts.

3) Ensure that your hotel, motel, or guest house website is optimized to guarantee that you are listed within the top three results for your key words on search engines such as Google.

4) Connect with your local tourist information and the national tourist office to make certain that your hotel information is listed on all related websites and in all associated publications. Offer promotions, gifts, and prizes for tourists directed by these sources.

5) Keep your website up-to-date and conduct regular market research to discover what guests think and feel about your accommodation based upon what they see and read.

And finally...

Never underestimate the power of a strong and wide-spread network. Whether the network is physical or purely an online presence, it is and will continue to be invaluable for research, advertising, and producing precious leads.

For further information on the National Travel Monitor, please visit the publications section of YPartnership

Thanks for reading,

Emma

I am still on a search for the best hotel booking system for small to medium sized hotels. If you know of hotel booking software that can beat HotelSystems.co.uk for ease of use and functionality then please contact me on eharradine@hotmail.co.uk

How Do You Build Trust?

How do you convince prospective guests that you are a trustworthy hotelier and that they can believe what they read about your hotel and service? How do you know that you can trust your suppliers? How do you know that you can trust the hotel booking system provider that you’ve found on the website?

No doubt your customers look at dozens of hotels before they choose yours and you search tens, if not hundreds, of suppliers before you choose your booking system or cutlery supplier.

But why do your guests choose you, and why do you choose your suppliers?

It all comes down to trust.

When I originally researched booking software companies I was bombarded with thousands of badly designed websites, plastered with Google advertising, offering ridiculously low prices, ‘the best’ software available, and free twenty four-hour technical support. Naturally, these elements did little to entice me, in fact, quite the opposite; they sent me running to the hills.

So, what was I looking for?

When I stumbled upon Hotel Booking Systems I was pleasantly surprised by the fresh, clean, and simple website that was easy to navigate; a great start. Refreshingly, the website contained no Google ads and no ‘50% off if you buy today’ incentives; the prices quoted were the actual prices. Instantly, the company earned my trust.

As it turns out, I picked the right hotel systems company; both professional and reliable.

You make the same decisions

As a hotelier, you are faced with the same decisions, and without even knowing, you are making assumptions based upon very similar criteria. I can’t imagine anyone wanting to buy a hotel system from a software developer unable to create a simple and functional website.
These companies don’t appear to be trustworthy, and from experience I can tell you that appearances are not deceptive in this industry; they are not trustworthy companies and they are not run by trustworthy individuals.

... So do your guests!

You need to learn from the lessons you are taught when searching for suppliers because your guests’ minds work in an identical manner. Does your hotel or guesthouse portray your establishment as a trustworthy one and, in turn, are you perceived to be a trustworthy individual.

You don’t tolerate suppliers who ‘lie a little bit’ or ‘or try too hard, so neither will your prospective guests.

Many thanks for reading

Emma

What Does Your Company Logo Say?

I am going to go off on a complete tangent today, purely because I’ve had a day of interesting debates about marketing with business and hospitality peers.

To give you some background…

I am currently developing my own training and marketing focused company here in China. The market research is complete, the business plan is written, and now the brand, logo, and website are being debated and designed. I spent last week talking to a designer who asked lots of questions about the company values and culture. And, it seems that he really listened to the answers, because he presented me with a logo which I believe is all-encompassing and totally captures the image I want for the company.

Guinea Pigs

So, the next step was to find some guinea pigs to gauge their reactions to the logo. I explained the company objectives and services to them, and tried to provide them with some insight into the values we hold. I then showed them the logo and on every occasion was asked, “Should I find some meaning in there?” “Am I missing something?” and “It doesn't conjure any understanding of what your company is about.”

Their reaction has led me to ask myself how much of a story a logo should tell about the products and services of the company it represents.

A Logo Should Embody the Culture

In my opinion, a logo should embody the culture of a company, not the product or service. The first logo that comes to mind is Apple. Apple sells music players, laptops, and mobile phones but is represented by an apple with a bite taken out. The logo is very fresh and clean, which is an honest representation of the company and its culture, but in no way represents actual Apple products and services. The same is true of Coca Cola, McDonalds, BP, and Nike, to name but a few. Nike doesn’t use the image of a trainer and McDonalds doesn’t have a burger in the logo!

The argument offered by my guinea pigs in return has been, “but how will your prospective customers know what you do?”

I had trouble answering this at first, but have come to the conclusion that I don’t need people to know what the company does from the logo alone. How often will they see the logo on its own? The logo will be on business cards, on the website, on posters and flyers, all alongside a greater marketing message displaying the services the company offers.

Represents Values

Take for example the Sheraton logo; a golden S inside a laurel wreath. The Sheraton doesn’t need the logo to show a hotel in order for its guests to know that it is a hotel chain; they need the logo to represent their values. A laurel wreath is known to represent victory, nature, and the continuation of life from year to year.

Despite many debates and opposing opinions, I am still of the firm belief that a great logo portrays aspirational ideas, rather than literal ones!

What Do You Think?

I would be interested to hear which direction you went in for the logo of your hotel or hotel booking system . Does your logo actually show a hotel? Or have you opted for a logo which portrays your company’s visions? If you have any views or comments please email me on eharradine@hotmail.co.uk or leave your comments below.

Many thanks for reading,

Emma

Hospitality Innovation News

As my passion of travel and hospitality grew ten years a go, so did my interest in hotel marketing. My research into hotel marketing then developed until I became fascinated by hotel systems and began working with system developers and delivering training within hotels in Asia.

Slowly, my interest in hotel systems has expanded to encompass all things of a technical nature within the hospitality industry; particularly the nerdy innovations that could be considered superfluous by some but I consider to be ‘funky enticements’.

Latest Innovative Announcement

The latest techy announcement comes from Starwood , who have entered into a partnership with Zinio , a company that digitally published printed magazines. Starwood will now offer a Digital Newsstand to guests in Four Points, Element, and Aloft hotel properties, for free!

My understanding is that the Digital Newsstand will be accessible in guest rooms and at kiosks in the lobby.

The Starwood press release states:

“The digital newsstand, … will offer participating titles including: Caribbean Travel & Life, Destination Weddings & Honeymoons, Field & Stream, Golf Fitness Magazine, Kiteboarding, Macworld, mental_floss, Outside, Outside's GO, PC World, Saveur, Ski Magazine, Skiing, Spa Magazine, U.S. News & World Report, Wakeboarding and Working Mother.
Also, Starwood will be the first hotel company to offer VIVmag, the first interactive digital women's luxury-lifestyle magazine, conceived and designed exclusively to be read digitally.

To access the digital newsstand during your stay, you click through from the internet portal page (on your laptop in your room or on a lobby kiosk) "to the private-label newsstand where free single issues will be featured," pick the magazine you want to read, register for Zinio, and read mags to your heart's content.”

The digitized magazine titles will include animated graphics, easy to read text, account registration, and simple navigation.

You can expect to see the digital newsstands in Element hotels by the end of May and hopefully we will see them at Aloft and Four Points by Sheraton properties later this year. Whether this includes Asian hotels is not clear, but I do hope to see them in at least large cities by the end of the year.

Yet another example of innovation from the Starwood group of hotels!

If you know of any innovative hotel booking software or hotel technology, I would love to hear your comments and reviews. Please get in touch via the ‘comments’ link below or by emailing me at eharradine@hotmail.co.uk.

Thanks for reading (and for your feedback)

Emma

How to Drive Guests to Review Your Hotel Online

In a previous article I mentioned the importance of encouraging your guests to review your hotel online on Travel Search Engines, such as Trip Advisor or Kayak.

Since writing the article, I have received four or five emails plus a comment on this site asking for more information on exactly HOW to encourage guests to write reviews.

The general trend appears to be that if guests are extremely unhappy then they are more likely to post a negative review on a travel search engine. Guests who have been unhappy with their stay and have not received a suitable outcome after a complaint are the most like to use a bad review to express their emotions, often in a non-factual way. As unfortunate as these occurrences are, and as harmful as they can potentially be for your business, they don’t have to be so.

The Positives of a Negative Review

Not only is a bad review an opportunity to look inwards at the quality of your service and product, and therefore grow and improve, it is also an excellent chance to respond in a professional manner. It is your chance to show empathy and understanding, explain your point of view, and publicly right any wrong doings. Who could ask for better free PR?

Excellent Example

I remember a great example on Trip Advisor in January 2008. A guest wrote a terrible review of the Sofitel Galaxy Hotel in Nanjing, describing the poor service, terrible food, and low quality of the room fixtures. Within four days the GM responded to the criticisms in a delightfully professional manner, apologizing where necessary, whilst politely pointing out that he had video evidence completely contradicting the guest’s unsubstantiated claims. Excellent! His reply filled me with joy and reminded me of how much I love this industry!

However, I digress…

Special Offers and Gifts

My hotel and guest house clients have been successful in getting customers to write reviews by giving a special offer to all those who do. A simple 15% discount or a free bottle of wine on their next stay if they write a review after this stay is enough to encourage your guests.

Reminder Cards

I have suggested to a number of hoteliers that they create inexpensive business cards to hand to their guests at check-out that ask them to review their property at whatever travel search engine they favour. This can, of course, incorporate the idea above by including a coupon on the back of the card. Due to their size guests can easily place them in their wallet and be reminded to write the review at a later date.

Asking your guests for help is, in my experience, usually well received and they are more than willing.

Create a Forum

You should also consider developing a forum for guest to discuss the hotel and surrounding area online; recommending nearby restaurants or sights worth visiting, for example. Again, from experience, I have noticed that people are much more likely to forward websites to friends when they are featured on it.

If you have any further suggestions you’d like to share with me or fellow hoteliers and guest house owners, please add your comments below or email me on eharradine@hotmail.co.uk.

Many thanks for reading,

Emma

I am still on a search for the best hotel booking system for small to medium sized hotels. If you know of hotel booking software that can beat HotelSystems.co.uk for ease of use and functionality then please contact me on eharradine@hotmail.co.uk