In July I wrote about how to retain loyal guests. Today I’d like to take that one step further and explain how to turn those loyal guests into brand ambassadors who drum up business for you.
Give people a reason to talk about you
I was asked yesterday what type of incentives hoteliers can provide to encourage loyal customers to become ambassadors for their business. As I’ve stated before, they won’t say good things about you unless you meet and exceed their expectations. So first, do something exceptional. Identify things that are of high value to your guests but low cost to you so you can give added value. Give people that reason to talk about you.
If you don’t ask you don’t get
But referrals won’t always happen unless you ask for them. Don’t be afraid to ask people directly who else they know who might be interested in specific packages or services you offer.
Think about other people who know you well enough to recommend you. This might include colleagues, suppliers, local businesses, joint venture partners, your own team and others in your network.
This will be easier the better they know you and when they fully understand the extent of everything you offer. So let them experience this first hand. A prime example is your local tourist office: They won’t want to recommend you unless they’ve experience your hospitality first hand. The same goes for local businesses of joint venture partners who might have customers needing a place to say. Invite them to a showcase event or to a more personalised invitation for dinner, overnight or event.
The same goes for your staff too, they need to experience what your guest experiences. When was the last time any of your team members ate in your restaurant, slept in one of your beds or were pampered in your spa?
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Make the referral process easy
The sooner you do this after they have stayed or visited, the better. This is the time they are likely to be most positive about what you delivered.
The way you ask for referrals is key. If you ask: “Do you know anyone who might be interested in receiving details of our promotions?” you are likely to get “No” or at best “I’ll think about it”.
But if you ask a specific question, for example:
“Who else do you know who is celebrating [their birthday, wedding anniversary, retirement …] in the next few months and may be interested in our [all-inclusive weekend breaks, wine promotion…]”?
Creating a simple referral form that you include with the bill can encourage existing guests to make referrals. Make this prominent and offer incentives for them to give you names.
Maintain relationships with your guests, even if the likelihood of more business with them is limited. They are more likely to refer you to friends, colleagues or others if they have had recent communication from you. Even if a guest only stays with you once they have a network of friends and colleagues who might also be your ideal guests. The lifetime value of one guest can be their connections to other guests, too.
Reward referrals
As an absolute minimum, ensure that you thank anyone who makes referrals to encourage them to continue to do so in future. Don’t wait to see if this actually leads to business, as what you are looking to reward is the referral process. The more referrals you have, the greater the likelihood of gaining new guests.
Consider what other tangible incentives you might give that are of high value to the person making the referral but don’t cost you the earth. Naturally, you’ll want to ensure that the cost of the incentive does not outweigh the lifetime value of the referral. But bear in mind what you give as a thank you might also be a way of adding to the lifetime value of the person making the referral, too.
The nature of this incentive will obviously depend on where the referral came from. For guests they might include such things as a gift, discount off their next meal, a room upgrade, an invitation to an exclusive event. Perhaps team up with one of your joint venture partners; this could be services or maybe branded products—a win–win–win for you, your joint venture partner and the customer.
For corporate users, make the incentive something your guest can benefit from personally. It’s little incentive for them if it is something they’d normally put through business expenses. So can you offer something as a thank you that will encourage them to come back on a personal visit and maybe bring their family and friends too?
For suppliers, joint venture partners or other local businesses, you might want to look at alternate ways to say thank you. This might be an opportunity to get in front of some of your other customers or guests through promotional activities or hosting joint special events. Talk to them directly to see how you can return the favour. Just by asking the question will in itself show you appreciate the referral.
Encourage your staff to make referrals, too. Let them show they are proud of where they work. The reward obviously needs to reflect the value of the business; recommending your restaurant to a friend doesn’t warrant the same level of recognition as inviting a friend or relative for a wedding show round and subsequent wedding booking.
What might appeal to them might be dependent on the profile of your team. A cash bonus might work for some but is soon forgotten whereas a couple of tickets for a show or concert, or a night in a sister hotel or meal with a JV partner will be far more memorable—and visible to other team members to encourage the same from them.
Once you have a referral system in place, keep track of where and how you’re getting successful referrals. This will enable you to find out what works and what doesn’t, so you can continue to refine the process.
Caroline Cooper is a business coach with over 25 years in business and management development. She is the founder of Zeal Coaching, specialising in working with hospitality businesses, and is author of the 'Hotel Success Handbook' For more information on Zeal Coaching see http://www.zealcoaching.com/
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