Did you know there has been a rapid increase in collecting, analyzing, and implementing data in the hotel industry? When it comes to boosting your hotel business, it’s crucial to make the most out of data mining.
Everything happens online, from booking the hotel, conducting transactions to providing feedback about the stay. This information can be used in nurturing relationships and increasing repeat business.
Today, we will walk you through the five most crucial hotel CRM strategies to ensure your data is put to a use that reaps results.
#1 Segmenting and analyzing your customer base
Acquiring and analyzing data about your customer base is crucial for offering them a personalized experience. Another critical area is collecting and segmenting this information in one place.
This includes the needs and expectations of your customers, the most common factors that affect their decisions, etc. These sets of data should be separately analyzed to modify and improve your current customer experience.
When you segment your customers, make sure to check the revenue generated by a certain set. Communication becomes way easier once you know your customer profiles well.
Customer profiling will involve understanding the patterns, including the major channels they use for booking hotels. This strengthens your outreach strategy and reaps better results.
Let’s say you have an efficient hotel chatbot that tackles all conversations on your websites and social profiles. Feeding that chatbot with reliable data and information regarding your customers will help improve communication.
This improved communication with your ideal customers will lead you to an increase in the number of direct bookings. Here are some things you need to keep in mind:
- Note the factors that lead your customers to book a room.
- Look out for any repeated phrases or slang and feed impressive answers.
- Use your existing customers to fill out a questionnaire in return for a discount on your next bookings.
Efforts placed in this analysis will help you create strategies that successfully retain existing customers and gain new ones. There is no point in creating strategies that aren’t directed toward your ideal customers.
Spend enough time creating personas to save yourself from losing some sure deals.
#2 Clear communication irrespective of the language
Language barriers might cost you some of the most high-paying customers. Of course, you cannot expect your reps to know every language possible. But before having a conversation with your reps, customers often come across chatbots on your website.
What happens when the chatbot can only converse in English? You lose the personal touch you require for luring in customers.
Luckily, many hotel owners rely on chatbots like Asksuite’s, designed to have a great conversation with foreign travelers in their native languages. They ensure the message is conveyed without losing its real sense in the process. This will help you expand globally and improve your customer base.
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Conversing in multiple languages is specifically vital in the hotel industry. People love traveling, and your customers will be from different parts of the world. In such a scenario, make sure they are receiving the right information without any delays.
Let’s say your company is equipped with some of the best multilingual staff that provides a great customer experience. But the customer experience begins way before the person enters the hotel.
They’ll have a conversation over the internet to know whether the place is worth investing money in. So having a multilingual website is not enough to lure in foreign customers.
Multilingual chatbots lead to a satisfying first conversation, leading to your expert employees handling the calls later. Language is the one thing that creates comfort among people. Making your ideal customers feel comfortable when they interact with you is crucial in closing deals and for repeat business.
#3 Using automated communication to send instant responses and reminders
One of the biggest disappointments for customers is delayed responses and a lack of effective communication. Remember that people are highly impatient, especially travelers. Automating communication ensures the customers go through a smooth experience.
This includes automated booking confirmation, payment status, and more. It gives your staff time to deal with other crucial tasks instead of handling calls and emails regarding confirmation.
The guests will be kept updated about the changing status at every point. Payment reminders are accurately sent, ensuring no delays or confusion regarding payment status.
Quick and stable communication builds your possibility of getting repeat business. Hotels also send automated thank you letters once the guest vacates the hotel. The intent of staying plays an essential role in the hotel industry.
Let’s say a group of people is staying in your hotel because of an annual event in your city. You can email these guests via automated emails once the event is around the corner again. These little efforts will help you retain your customer base, which helped you make big bucks in the past.
As mentioned above, segmenting customers will help you understand intent, timing, etc., to send the right emails based on changing scenarios.
Another example where automated communication helps is when sending COVID-19 restrictions. You can inform your customers about the restrictions a few days before their arrival at the hotel. Important notifications can be easily sent either through emails or WhatsApp.
#4 Retaining your existing customer base
Were you aware that the cost of retaining your existing customers is less than the cost of acquiring new ones? This theory varies from hotel to hotel and is based on changing seasons.
People stay in hotels for different purposes, including weddings, corporate work, training, etc. Most hotels analyze the intent of staying and identify the profitable and suitable ones for their property.
As mentioned above, collecting data and creating customer profiles is essential. The next essential thing is to use this data to nurture relationships for returning businesses. Your most high-paying past guests should receive extra attention.
Automated reminders regarding discounts, helpful announcements, etc., will help you keep in touch with these valuable clients.
Make sure you send out information that benefits them. Irrelevant promotion will only drive them away. Here are a few points you must keep in mind:
Make a list of priority guests
Start by assessing your past bookings to make a list of priority guests. There are different criteria for making this list, including revenue generated, frequency of visits, recency, and more.
Your priority guests are generally the ones who visited recently, spent a lot of money, and are frequent visitors to your hotel. Your entire strategy revolves around nurturing relationships with these guests.
Don’t know who your priority guests are? This free template will help you organize data and easily grasp who your VIPs are. Download now.
Personalized outreach to past guests
Reach out to past guests based on their behavior, interests, and types of conversations. For example, did your guests inquire about the nearest sushi places or clubs? In addition, you can send them recommendations for all the new places that opened recently.
Also, did they order a particular dish multiple times during their stay? How about offering them the same dish for free on their next booking? Being creative enough to capture their attention is one of the most important aspects of getting repeat business.
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Offer customized incentives
Your customer loyalty program is all set and in action. But you have to think out of the box and provide customized incentives to develop guest loyalty.
Check out the customer profiles you created, and think about the best way to lure in particular guests. Different people have varied expectations of you. Only by analyzing these areas, will you end up with a strategy that works.
Understand the reasons behind repeat bookings
Why do guests prefer to book your hotel every time they are in the city? Understanding this will help you provide the right experience that leads to repeat bookings in the future.
Sometimes small gestures like sending in soup when a guest is sick go a long way. The way your staff greets your guest plays an important role too.
Your entire motive should be to provide an experience that gives them a sense of comfort, relief, or the feeling of being at home.
Use negative feedback to your advantage
You can try your best, but people still wouldn’t be delighted with your service. But the negative feedback is another great way for sending a personalized email.
For example, let’s say your guests mentioned something bad about the diner experience. What if you improve that and later reach out to the person with the great news? Offering them a free meal wouldn’t be a bad idea, right?
Recommended: In our article, The Impact Of Social Media On The Hotel, Sarah Dandashy talks about how to handle bad comments on social media.
#5 Applying personalization on your website
Personalization is one of the most critical factors to get attention and the desired actions. People get frustrated when they see generalized messages they are least interested in. But personalization is not only limited to the emails you send.
Think about the information your website visitors come across. For example, you have a special offer for people who plan on longer stays. You highlight this on your website to catch the instant attention of your visitors.
However, is it helpful for people planning a two-day visit? In such a scenario, you can ensure your offer appears only when the person selects a specific number of days or more.
Another example is providing special offers to couples on Valentine’s Day. Now, this offer is a big turn-off for people who recently broke up and planned a trip to get their minds off the relationship. Chatbots like Asksuite only mention offers based on the customer’s inquiry to ensure they take the next step.
In our webinar, Master Hotel Website Workshop, you’ll learn how to turn your hotel website into a high-converting booking machine with tips from top experts. Click to watch.
Summing up
Ditch your past ways of bombarding your prospects with generalized messages. It’s time to go through the data and create strategies that provide lasting results.
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About the author: Chaitanya Patel is an ardent writer at SaaS Brothers, who generates best-in-class posts on a wide range of hotel marketing tools and techniques. He also produces well-researched and factual posts on strategic solutions for the hospitality industry.
