Blog written by Natalie Martin, founder of KitchMedia
Many hospitality businesses are getting it right with the experience they offer their front of house guests. And if there are issues, will up their training to give their teams the skills and tools necessary to deliver the best customer service possible.
But what happens when it comes to online guest service? Do you as a business dip your toe in and try it out, wait for a team member to have a go, or are you steaming ahead with followers and fans that love your brand?
Whatever you have done to date there is still time to change how you engage and the stats are clear that social media isn’t going anywhere…
Facebook has over 800 million users and is perfect for sharing pictures, polls, answering your guest?s questions and hosting events. Fact: 56%?of consumers say that they are more likely to recommend a brand after becoming a fan.*
Twitter has over 100 million active users and can be utilised to monitor what people are saying about your brand, involve creative campaigns and encourage user generated content about your business. Fact: 34% of marketers have generated leads using Twitter.*
LinkedIn has 120 million users and is ideal for B2B communications to enhance the voice of your business, view people for future recruitment and building up a network you can discuss key topics with.
There is also the impact of Google+ to hit how you are represented in searches and how the Google+ button can encourage sharing of information on your website. Location based check-ins, photos posted by guests and foodie apps can also create useful content that others post about you, however its what you do with that information that matters. Youtube is another of the big social media sites that can show people what your brand is, through sharing an experience or guest testimonials, it also helps boost your SEO and where you rank in searches.
So with a brief overview of just some of the networks out there (many to choose from) it is clear that people use social media in many different ways for different reasons.? Consumers are using it far more than brands and so it is the perfect opportunity to deliver another experience to them when they are looking to go somewhere or even after they?ve already visited you. Use social media as a marketing tool to answer questions, gain feedback, enhance booking experience and confirmation. You can even see where they are thinking of going for dinner and offer to book them a table.
In turn these actions will build a relationship, understanding with your guests and create future advocates of your business. It is now time to start building a strategy too.
?Stats taken from www.mediabistro.com last updated 29/12/11