By Dr. John Hogan CHE CHA MHS
August 21, 2008
There are only two ways to get a new customer: 1. Solicit a
new customer any way you can. 2. Take good care of your present customers,
so they don't become someone else's new customers. Ed Zeitz
The book �In Search of Excellence� in the early 1980s by Tom Peters and
Robert Waterman presented numerous examples and statistics on the need
to pay real attention to the customer�s needs and wants. This was
a paradigm shift at that time, when customers in many industries were forced
to choose from what was being offered to them, which was not necessarily
what they were seeking.
The hotel industry has made adaptations over the past twenty five years
with market and product variations. Most of the brands are currently
focusing at least one initiative on customer service, but in these days
of economic uncertainty, a reminder of the basics of customer service can
be an amazing refresher for many hotel staff.
The following are offered for consideration in that refresher:
1. Focus on existing customers. This is critical, especially
at a time when demand is lessening in various markets. If a hotel�s
efforts are focused primarily on acquiring new customers, existing customers
will feel that from the staff and consider options. Think of advertisements
for any product that is only offered to �New Customers�. You may
have had that residential cable service at your home for the past five
years and today �new� customers are offered a value or incentive far better
than what you receive. How do you feel about that service?
2. One of the leading causes of the high turnover of hotel sales
managers isn't necessarily the economy - it's often ignored syndrome of
customer attrition. The difference between a satisfied customer and a loyal
customer is the first might return to your hotel again and might refer
others, while the loyal customer will return again and will tell others
about your hotel and its� service. What are the messages that your
sales team is delivering? What does your marketing plan say about existing
customers?
3. Stress value and guarantees. There is no doubt relating
to the success of the Hampton Inn brand industry leading 100% Satisfaction
Guarantee. Every customer has their own preferences or definitions
of value, but when your staff communicates the hotel�s sincere commitment
to meeting those preferences and needs, the customer/guest is impressed
enough to become a repeat guest. I am not suggesting a �me-too�
approach on how to communicate and deliver that commitment, but value and
concerns must be there for sustained success.
4. A key point in training is to calculate and leverage the lifetime
customer value. For example, if a guest stays 3 nights per month @ a rate
of $150 per night, the monthly gross revenue is at least $450 or $5400
annually. While that may not seem like a huge number, when one calculates
the number of existing customers that might be in this category (say 50
customers) , the value of the existing customers is has now grown with
those 50 customers to more than $250,000 annually. These 50 customers do
not need to be wooed or convinced to choose your hotel but they do need
to feel appreciated and valued. Nearly all successful infomercials
and other business models are based on repeat sales and word of mouth testimonials.
5. In an age when the cost or magnitude of mass communications
makes it difficult to attract new customers, keeping the existing customer
is so fundamentally obvious. With the technology available to create
a simple or sophisticated CRM or guest history, there is no reason to ignore
this.
6. Look at your hotel and its operational practices through your
customer's eyes � and you might be shocked at what you see. A simple
illustration is found at every front desk. When someone approaches
the desk, do they hear the question �Checking in??� or something
more hospitable, such as �welcome� or "We've been waiting for your arrival!�
Which sounds more inviting and personal? The approach should be personal,
but it does not require much more than a little bit of creative staff team
brainstorming and paying attention. "Have a Nice Day" tired expressions
don't work anymore.
7. Rebuild all of your operational practices around your customer's
real needs and desires. Your customers have changed over the last ten years.
Have you?
8. Invest in your capital improvements each year to improve loyalty,
not just satisfaction. Assess which aspects of customer satisfaction drive
retention as well as those which do not.
9. Segment your customers for improved retention. Remember
the expression : �different strokes for different folks�, which means as
people may choose their preferred swimming stroke, hotel customers also
have their own preferences. A corporate traveler has different needs
than a youth sports team. The resurgence of women�s� floors is not
the same as the �Lady Sheraton� rooms or suites offered a generation ago,
but are targeting the unique needs of the professional woman traveler today
that has become a major segment. What do your customers want?
Are they receiving it?
10. Make the interaction with your customers real and personal
� after all, people conduct business with people. Stanley
Marcus, the co-founder of luxury stores Neiman � said it very clearly
- Consumers are statistics. Customers are people.
Feel free to share an idea at [email protected]
anytime or contact me regarding consulting, customized workshops or speaking
engagements. Autographed copies of LESSONS FROM THE FIELD � a COMMON
SENSE APPROACH TO EFFECTIVE HOTEL SALES can be obtained from THE ROOMS
CHRONICLE www.roomschronicle.com and other industry sources.
All rights reserved by John Hogan. This column may be included
in an upcoming book on hotel management.
John
Hogan�s professional experience includes over 35 years in hotel operations,
food & beverage, sales & marketing, training, management development
and asset management on both a single and multi-property basis. He
holds a number of industry certifications and is a past recipient of the
American Hotel & Lodging Association�s Pearson Award for Excellence
in Lodging Journalism, as well as operational and marketing awards from
international brands. He has served as President of both city and
state hotel associations.
John�s background includes teaching college level courses
as an adjunct professor at three different colleges and universities over
a 20 year period, while managing with Sheraton, Hilton, Omni and independent
hotels. He was the principal in an independent training & consulting
group for more than 12 years serving associations, management groups, convention
& visitors� bureaus, academic institutions and as an expert witness.
He joined Best Western International in spring of 2000, where over the
next 8 years he created and developed a blended learning system as the
Director of Education & Cultural Diversity for the world�s largest
hotel chain.
He has served on several industry boards that deal with
education and/or cultural diversity and as brand liaison to the NAACP and
the Asian American Hotel Owners� Association with his ongoing involvement
in the Certified Hotel Owner program. He has conducted an estimated
3,100 workshops and seminars in his career. He served as senior vice
president for a client in a specialty hotel brand for six years.
He has published more than 350 articles & columns
on the hotel industry and is co-author (with Howard Feiertag, CHA CMP)
of LESSONS FROM THE FIELD � a COMMON SENSE APPROACH TO EFFECTIVE HOTEL
SALES, which is available from a range of industry sources and AMAZON.com.
He resides in Phoenix, Arizona and is finalizing his 2nd book based on
his dissertation � The Top 100 People of All Time
Who Most Dramatically Affected the Hotel Industry.
|