You’ve worked hard to build a positive reputation. You serve your customers enthusiastically. Your organization takes pride in the property’s beauty and cleanliness. Whatever it is, you’re doing something right.
But now you need to amplify it. Word-of-mouth may begin to work to your advantage, but that’s not going to happen overnight, and it may not be entirely within your control.
What is within your control is your marketing, and in your marketing, you can demonstrate customer value. There’s one catch: you must know what that value is.
Here’s how to use customer value to grow your business.
Reviews, quotes, testimonials… even social media follower and email subscriber counts, as well as TripAdvisor badges and others awards can be used to build credibility and trust with guests and prospective customers. Display them proudly on your website, and use them in your social media and email marketing too.
You can toot your own horn as much as you want, and there is a time and a place for that, but your customers are your best evangelists, and they can express the value that you offer in an emotional, poignant way that you simply may not be able to.
Get your converts to share about you, because they see beyond the numbers (i.e. bang for buck). They see the human connection.
Track every point of connection you have with your customers, whether it’s an in-person conversation, phone call or an email. What are they requesting? What information are they looking for? Are they looking for tips or suggestions on activities or restaurants?
By tracking these interactions, you can get a better sense of the information your customers and prospective guests need. You can then begin to provide these answers through brochures, emails, blog posts, and other types of content you can send them to.
People love timely and relevant answers to their questions, and if you can offer the information they need, you will build authority in your industry, drive more traffic to your website, and furnish your guests with added value.
It’s common practice for hotels to survey their customers. It gives them a better idea of what they’re doing right, and where improvements can be made.
But this kind of data can also be used in your marketing, whether in an infographic or a pamphlet. For example, a 98% satisfaction rate would be a tremendous accomplishment, and something worth drawing attention to.
Finding the datum that should be used in your marketing might be the tricky part. But you’re already doing something right if you’re thinking about how to use customer value to increase business, so finding a compelling stat should be within reach.
What do you offer that the competition doesn’t? How are you different from them? What value do your customers receive they would be hard-pressed to find elsewhere?
When it comes to referencing competitors, you always need to adhere by relevant regulations and ideally do it in a tactful way. But just knowing the difference between what you offer and what others offer can help you develop a convincing sales pitch.
In benchmarking customer value, don’t forget that value is perceived. Even if you offer more you’re your competitors, if the perception isn’t in alignment with this reality, then there’s going to be dissonance between the offer and your audience.
Customer value is one of the best tools you can use to grow your business. But you do need to be strategic in how you use it.
Acting without thinking has a tendency of getting companies and businesses into trouble, and a negative reputation can be hard to reverse. Be aware not only of what makes you unique, but what your customers say makes you unique.