News for the Hospitality Executive |
Have You Listened To What Your Hotel Team Is Saying To Real Callers?
By
Doug Kennedy
July 19, 2012 In the busy world that hotel marketing and
revenue managers
live in these days, there are many distribution channels calling out
for our
attention. It’s a constant effort to
stay on top of the latest trends and new opportunities especially
regarding
electronic channel management. Yet one
often forgotten distribution channel is for many hotels still
the one
that hand-delivers the best sales inquiry opportunities every day. No, it’s not the latest OTA funded by an
IPO; nor is it really a new channel at all. We
are of course talking about the good old fashioned
hotel voice
channel. My regular readers know well
that I have often said “The Telephone Is Your Hotel’s Storefront
Window,” which
is as true today as ever. The good news for all hoteliers is
that it’s easier
than ever to manage this important, first-impression making channel. Step
One:
Find A Way
To Access Recordings Of Inbound Calls. Due to emerging technologies, hotels and
call centers of all
sizes and market segments can take advantage of affordable tools for
listening-in to what real-world callers hear daily. Mega call centers, such as those with
upwards of 50+ agents,
have had this technology in place for over a decade now, with equipment
based call
monitoring and tracking solutions. These
solutions usually provide the most detailed tracking and sorting of
calls, such
as on a “by agent” basis. In recent
years the cost of these systems has come down, but price can still
sometimes be
a barrier for mid-size and smaller call centers. Now in recent years new emerging
technologies have provided
a way for hotels and resorts of all sizes and market segments to be
able to
record inquiry calls. One example is the
growing number of options for purchasing a unique 800 number from a
pay-per-click advertising provider, most of which provide the option of
recording the inbound calls. This option
at least provides some access to real-world inquiries, however it can
become
cost prohibitive at US $1 per call or more. More recently, there are now options for
using inbound 800
providers that provide call tracking and recording features as part of
their
service. Since hotels are already
incurring a per-minute cost on their inbound 800 lines, the additional
cost can
be nominal. Although the costs vary
greatly, a quick Google search will turn up companies that both track
and record
all inbound 800 calls for under US $.10 per minute.
Besides recording all calls, some of these
systems also provide data on the geographic origin of the calls, the
phone
numbers of the caller (for follow-up purposes if needed),
useful call traffic data such as time of day,
day of week, lost calls, etc… The call
tracking data and recordings can be accessed online. Step
Two:
Make The
Time To Listen To Calls Regularly These call monitoring tools won’t change
performance
alone. Despite how busy it gets as a
hotel marketing or distribution manager, it is critical to schedule-in
time on
a regular basis to listen to a random mix of calls.
There is much marketing intelligence to be
gained from listening to how real-world callers are reacting to
pricing,
promotions, or operational procedures as they are being explained. Step
Three:
Score and
Assess Guest Services and Sales Calls On A Regular Basis Once you have access to real world call
recordings, you can
assign an in-house manager or supervisor to score both guest services
and sales
calls. Create a scoring criteria that
ensures consistency, yet still allows for a conversational sales style
and is
not so rigid that it creates scripted, transactional sales and service
exchanges. Make sure that all sales and service staff
receive regular
monitoring assessment, including the “superstars.”
Too many managers spend most of their time
monitoring and coaching the lowest performers; the reality is that
associates
of all levels can benefit from the feedback. Aside from just reviewing the written
report, make sure
associates have the opportunity to listen to their call recordings to
that they
can hear how they really sound on the phone. Step
Four:
Use An
Unbiased Third Party To Calibrate In-House Results It is important to avoid one potential
pitfall of in-house
call monitoring assessment, which is that those doing the monitoring
can often
become biased due to their personal relationship with the person being
monitored. As a result a poor call
performance might be overlooked because “She was having a bad day that
day; she
usually does better” or “That’s just how he sounds on the phone.” There our outside companies that
will score
and assess a sampling of your in-house calls to ensure that the scores
are calibrated
with the in-house results. By implementing an ongoing call monitoring
assessment
process at your hotel, resort, or call center, you will be assuring
that your
sales prospects and guests receive an excellence call experience every
time
they pass by the “storefront window” of your hotel.
|
Contact:
Doug Kennedy
|