Improve Customer Service at Your Experience Business

As a tour or activity business, you live or die by your customer service.  You are, after all, a service business.  Whether you are a walking tour provider, a zip lining company, or run a boat tour, the experience that your customers have with you will determine whether or not your business is a success. The customer experience will drive new sales through positive reviews, word of mouth advertising, and good will.

To make sure your customer service is as good as it can be, consider these 5 tips to improve customer service at your experience business.

1. Integrate customer service into all aspects of your business.  Think about all the aspects of your business that have customer touch points and integrate customer service into all those aspects.  This potentially goes beyond just tour guides or front-desk staff but includes anyone who may be working on site at your facilities or working on delivering your tours.  Ensure that everyone in the organization understands the importance of your customers and how much they mean to your business.  Get all your employees thinking about customer service and how they can make the customer experience that much better.
2. Greet your guests immediately and courteously.  Make it a policy that all your employees, whether that is just you or not, greet your guests as soon as they arrive.  This sounds like common sense, but it’s not.  You’d be surprised how many guests are left waiting without so much as a simple acknowledgement.  Even if you are business getting things ready, taking a moment to greet your guests and letting them know that you’ll be able to help them in a moment, makes them feel like they have been recognized.
3. Provide a unique customer experience.  Remember that when travellers come to a destination, they do so looking to create memories that will last beyond the life of the vacation.  Focus on providing an experience that your customer will never forget and that they will want to talk about and share with their friends and family.  If your competition offers a similar service to you, look to do something different by offering extra amenities or by bundling additional services such as photos, meals, or promotional gear.
4. Deliver service based on your customer need.  This requires that you understand who your customers are and what they expect.  If you are a luxury wine tour company, then your customers are going to expect expertise in wine and luxury amenities.  If however you are a kayak tour company, then your customers are going to expect clean well maintained equipment and a knowledgable guide.  In both cases however, the customer is going to expect great customer service.
5. Think of every customer as 10 more customers.  In the travel experiences space about 80% of customers are one time travellers who are visiting a destination for the first time.  You therefore only have one opportunity to impress that customer and make them love their experience.  Because of this, word of mouth advertising and reviews are that much more important for your business.  When those customers right a review about your business, and about 30% of them will, they will either help drive more customers to your door or keep new customers away.  Treat your customers as more than a bum in a seat and your customers will become your number one marketing tool.

At the end of the day, your success is directly related to the overall happiness and satisfaction of your customers.  Make them the centre of your business, the hub to which everything else is connected, and your philosophy and attitude towards your customers will shine through.  If you have other recommendations to improve customer service, please share them with us.

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