Give your clients more than they expect
In a recent team meeting, the topic of conversation was about new and exciting ways to wow their travel customer. When the subject of ‘giving’ arose, one of the consultants raised an interesting viewpoint – she felt that if you are giving because you are told to, it doesn’t work and it’s manipulative.
It opened up an amazing conversation that led to us all believing that ’giving’ was actually a brilliant behavioural strategy that not only makes you feel good but it also works wonders in building long term loyal customers and team mates.
So how did we change our ‘sceptical’ consultant’s mind? At the end of our meeting she firmly believed that giving is not a manipulative sales technique but IS a positive move and even a winning strategy for life.
Giving is making an investment in a relationship just as exercising is an investment in your physical and mental wellbeing. Think about the times you don’t feel like working out, but you find the energy to exercise anyway. How do you feel afterwards? Great!
In all relationships (romantic, co-worker and client) giving is like exercising. Sometimes we don’t feel like it – but when we do it the benefits are amazing. And the best part is that it does not always require an enormous amount of time and effort to gain significant outcomes. Spontaneous giving such as a kind word, a supportive idea, or a short note can be just as rewarding for both parties.
In fact you’ll often discover when you give more than what is expected, you get more than you give.
It was also agreed that for it to be truly rewarding and genuine you must give broadly, sincerely and consistently. From a customer service perspective, some of the ways you can ’give’ are quite simple.
Here is a list of ideas to inspire:
Pre Departure
· Get your response time down – give them the quote sooner than they expected
· Send a handwritten thank you card for the booking
· Give quality information relevant to their trip like a list of restaurants, shopping tips or diving locations.
During Trip
· Organise complimentary transfers to the airport
· Put a special welcome note or gift in the first hotel
· Text them to check everything is going according to plan.
Post Trip
· Give them a 12 month subscription to the Gourmet Traveller (or other relevant title) to thank them for a booking or a referral
· Have some basic groceries on their doorstep when they get home.
The list of ideas is endless and so simple that you would expect that everybody already does it. The data however, tells a different story.
Forrester Research undertook a study recently that indicated 64% of brands received a rating of ‘OK’, ‘poor’, or ‘very poor’ from their customers…with only 37% of brands receiving ‘good’ or ‘excellent’ customer experience index scores in 2012.
How would you and your agency rate?
For more hints and tips check out our website.
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