Jaimie Onasch, Author at Public Relations, Advertising & Social Media - Revelation

Five Tips for Better Email Marketing in Hospitality

Posted on September 14, 2017January 9, 2020 by Jaimie Onasch

INTRODUCTION

Ctrl email - keyboard key Effective email marketing campaigns can help your hotel build long-term relationships with guests by making personal connections, understanding their interests and establishing trust. They are also good for your bottom line.

According to a 2016 survey conducted by the Data & Marketing Association (DMA) and Direct Metric, email marketing had a median ROI of 122 percent, which was more than four times higher than social media, direct mail or paid search efforts. As with any strategy, the best email marketing for hotels starts with a well-designed plan.

Following are five tips for successful email marketing in the hotel industry: Continue reading “Five Tips for Better Email Marketing in Hospitality” →

How to Handle Common Guest Complaints

Posted on August 11, 2017 by Jaimie Onasch

INTRODUCTION

free guest services photo (pexels) In hospitality, customer complaints are to some extent, inevitable. While complaints may seem like a burden, you should embrace them as a way to collect direct feedback about how your operation is running. Complaints can provide insight to a problem with facilities, services, staff, training, internal processes or even marketing.

Furthermore, guest complaints offer an opportunity to correct immediate issues, restore goodwill and protect your reputation. You will not always get this chance. Only 1 in 27 customers will voice their concerns to you directly, according to the White House Office of Consumer Affairs. The rest will simply keep quiet and stay with your competitors in the future.

Guest feedback should be encouraged in your hotel or resort, and any problems should be identified and resolved in a prompt and fair manner. Here are some tips on where to start.

DEVELOP A CUSTOMER COMPLAINT HANDLING PROCEDURE

Demonstrate a commitment to complaint management by making it a priority in your hotel. Create policies and procedures for logging, categorizing, tracking and resolving guest complaints for the five main ways complaints are expressed–in person, via email, online (including social media and review sites), over the phone or by mail. A clear, flexible and open plan is best.

Share your strategy with front-of-house and customer service staff and establish incentives for all personnel to strive for guest satisfaction. Emphasize the accountability of individual employees and give them the skills and confidence needed to identify and resolve common issues.

Hilton, for example, has established brand standard documents and service recovery guidelines for each of its brands and regions. One policy specifically focuses on onsite complaint management for elite status guests. It defines what compensation means, establishes a timeline for record-keeping and follow-up and even outlines specific plans of action for various recovery scenarios.

STRATEGIES TO HANDLE CUSTOMER COMPLAINTS

Best practices for handling customer complaints involve prompt acknowledgement, reliable tracking and timely resolution. Your communications staff–especially the people who manage your online presence–should follow these steps:

Monitor online complaint channels. Rather than expressing complaints privately, many guests share their experiences on public social media platforms and online review sites. These should be monitored frequently for guest feedback, as they can have a much larger impact on your hotel’s reputation than more traditional forms of complaint communication. Create email alerts and push notifications to help keep track of this information.

Acknowledge the complaint. Effectively handling customer complaints first requires understanding their foundation. Negative feedback should be shared with the appropriate personnel to gain insight about the underlying issue. Clear up any areas of confusion and respond to the guest in a polite, professional and timely manner. Trip Advisor recommends replying to all reviews within 24 hours, and several social media sites encourage a response within a few hours.

Apologize and take ownership of mistakes. Never underestimate the importance of an apology. Guests are more willing to forgive an establishment that offers an apology as opposed to being compensated alone. Thank the guest for taking the time to voice his or her concerns, recognize that he or she has suffered an inconvenience and take responsibility for shortcomings as an establishment.

Outline a solution and follow up. Explain the steps your hotel plans to take to fix the problem and provide a timeline for resolution. When possible, move the conversation offline and make the guest a partner in the problem-solving process. Monitor the progress of the corrective action and check back with the guest.

Invite the guest back. Once the source of the complaint has been identified and resolved, invite the guest back so he or she can experience the improvements you made. If appropriate, offer an incentive, such as a discounted room rate or a special offer. By taking this next step, you may turn a dissatisfied guest into a loyal customer or even a brand advocate.

FOR MORE INFORMATION

Revelation PR, Advertising & Social Media offers hotels, B&Bs and resorts services related to media relations, community relations, branding, group sales, SEO/SEM and social media management. Please contact Brian Lee, brian [at] experiencerevelation.com or 608-622-7767.

Using Twitter to Promote Healthcare IT Expertise

Posted on June 6, 2017June 8, 2018 by Jaimie Onasch

INTRODUCTION

Twitter can be a useful tool for promoting knowledge and expertise in a particular field, including healthcare IT. An infographic from CDW shows that the role of social media in healthcare is on the rise, with 45 percent of U.S. adults searching health-related topics on those platforms.

Instead of creating a Twitter account for your healthcare IT company, consider using your subject matter experts (SMEs) or leaders to represent your voice. Social media is best used for human-to-human interactions, not corporation-to-corporation.

Here are some tips to brand your team as experts in their respective fields of health tech.

CONNECT WITH OTHERS VIA TWEET CHATS

Twitter chats, or tweet chats, are live, moderated discussions that occur at a set time on a weekly, monthly, bimonthly or one-time basis. Each chat focuses on a specific topic and is associated with a designated hashtag. Have your SMEs or leaders use tweet chats to network and connect with others in healthcare. Many industry experts host tweet chats, and many participants are industry professionals.

For instance, #HITsm brings leaders in health IT together each week to discuss industry trends and how social media influences the outcomes of those initiatives. To participate, users include the #HITsm hashtag in all tweets, comments and replies during the chat.

#HCSM is another popular chat that centers on communication and the use of social media in healthcare. A complete list of healthcare-related tweet chats can be found on Symplur, along with schedules, chat descriptions, topics and transcripts and analytics from previous chats.

Beyond networking, tweet chats can be a powerful way to establish your SMEs as thought leaders, plus they gain exposure to different perspectives and receive advice or guidance from others in the healthcare industry. Regularly engaging in tweet chats can help you convey your points in a concise way, which can also make your day-to-day tweets more impactful.

PITCH REPORTERS ON TWITTER

Twitter is more news centric than other forms of social media and can be an effective means to pitch reporters. Journalists are one of the largest and most active groups on the social media platform today, and many consider their Twitter account to be at least partially professional. A well-styled, 140-character or less pitch is a must, but before pitching a reporter you need to do your research.

Your PR staff should investigate the reporter’s interests/beat, media outlet, past tweets and past articles to make sure they align with your message and field of healthcare. Have your SMEs/leaders follow the appropriate reporters and begin a relationship by commenting on, retweeting and/or favoriting their tweets. The PR team should then help the SMEs/leaders personalize each pitch, especially since tweets are public (the last thing a reporter wants to see is a slew of mass tweets sent to their counterparts). Engaging with journalists and building a standing relationship will go a long way in improving your health tech company’s visibility.

FOR MORE INFORMATION

Revelation PR, Advertising & Social Media offers healthcare IT companies and startups services related to media relations, email marketing, investor relations, tradeshow marketing, content marketing and social media management. Please contact Brian Lee, brian [at] experiencerevelation.com or 608-622-7767.