How to create customer Loyalty
I was in Scotland recently with my best friend Angie, we visited the Pershire District with her aunt and uncle and stayed and the most welcoming lodge in Lough Tay. What an amazing and breathtakingly beautiful part of the world.
Now I haven’t turned into a tour guide, but over dinner with Phyllis and Alan (aunt and uncle) they told me about an hotel they visit regularly in Scotland. It’s a small hotel, with lovely views etc, but the real reason they return is because they are reminded about the hotel and invited back by the owners.
I was so impressed with the service that this hotel provides, I thought I would share it with you, so you can use it to keep your clients coming back year after year.
It’s so simple, it doesn’t cost a fortune and really doesn’t take a huge amount of work… so here goes… they write them a letter about 4 times a year.
That’s it! OK the letter is always interesting, it’s never a sales letter, but simply an update about the hotel, the family who runs it, even the pets. They always ask them to look at the web site because they have special offers like theme weekends and would like to know what weekend they would love to come too. These range from Elvis to Murder Mysteries, and the guests choose.
So it’s that simple, stop selling, just keep in touch, make it a letter from someone to someone, something personal. This takes time, but by getting to know you, creates trust and people love to do business with people they trust.
It’s simple, it’s easy, cheap to do and above all else it’s effective!
December 29th, 2008 at 3:36 pm
Personally, as both a consumer and a businesswoman, I am always watchful of both giving and receiving customer service.
I was reading “Grabing the Oyster” over Christmas, an insightful book into the lives, minds and successes of Irish entrepreneurs. I would be a regular reader of articles and books on this subject and it came through in practically all of the stories, just HOW important customer service is, not just to be a good citizen and provide customers with an enjoyable experience with your company, but instead how paramount it is to the crucial survival of your enterprise.
Fergal Quinn has the idea summed up very nicely in his logo of the boomerang - give your custumers the quality of service that will bring them back.
So, as 2009 beckons, why don’t we all join together to bring Ireland to the top of the ranks of customer service and bring back the “Cead Mile Failte”.
My best wishes for the year ahead,
Susan Hayes,
ILTB Stock Market Training