Transcript Owners - Customer Relationship Management

Managing Your Relationship
With Your Guest
Presented By:
Paul Herman, Tom Leddy
And Gordon Jones
What Is “CRM”

Customer Relationship Management
 Becoming a common and important concept
in many industries
 Beyond mere ‘Contact Management’
 Many industries have CRM software to help
sales process, on-going service, and even
accounting
Value of CRM

Gain more control in interaction with
customers
 Manage expectations better
 Understand what customers really want
 Provide products that better serve customers
 Increase trust
 Competitive advantage
A Working Definition…

“The Plan and Practice of managing the
lifetime relationship with your customer.”
– “The Plan”: Every successful endeavor
requires proper planning. Successful
CRM rarely happens by chance. Many
organizations jump to implementation
w/o proper planning.

“The Plan and Practice of managing the
lifetime relationship with your customer.”
– “The Practice”: Systematic
implementation of your plans. Should
produce measurable results. Should be
evaluated and refined over time.
A Few Basic CRM Concepts…

Touch Points
– Each time your company interacts with a customer is a
–
–
–
–
–
touch point.
Can we name a few?
Are they planned? Managed? Documented?
Are all “touchers” properly trained? Enroll your
complete staff in the vision.
Any way to increase the effectiveness of the touch?
Any way to increase the number of touches?
Touch Points:
Opportunities for Building Life
Long Relationships

Lease.
 Six months pre-arrival.
 One week pre- arrival.
 Post stay thank you.
 Newsletters.
A Few Basic CRM Concepts…

Market Segmentation
– Do you treat all of your customers the same?
– Are they?
– Consider the difference between a guest that stays once
ever in a 2 bedroom cottage and a guest that has stayed
each of the last 10 years in a 6 bedroom home


We shouldn’t treat the one-timer badly, they may come back
many more times
We should realize that the higher value guest deserves the best
that we can offer.
Market Segmentation
Examples

Saks Fifth Avenue
– High value customers ($2000/yr) are routed to
special CSR’s.
– The calls are routed such that a high value
customer is connected to a CSR in one second
or less.

Could we coin a new acronym here:
– HVG – High Value Guest?
Segmentation

Can you use your database to see:
–
–
–
–
–
–

Your most valuable repeat guests?
Those who tend to rent last minute?
Those who look for a deal?
Those who like packages?
Those who rent early?
Those who like new construction?
Do you have a way to monitor preferences?
Define Relationship

Relationship:
– The state of being related by kindred, affinity,
or other alliance.

Webster’s revised unabridged dictionary.
How Does CRM Fit in the
Vacation Home Rental World

Our industry actually has 2 major customers
– Both owners and guests

We some quantity of both to thrive
 Customers can choose to go elsewhere
 The happier our customers are, the more
likely they are to stay or come back
How Do You Rank Your
Customers?

Is your owner your primary customer
– Or

Is your guest your primary customer
 You can’t have 2 primary customers
Today We’re Talking About
Guests

Whether the guest is your primary or
secondary customer, he is still you customer
and you can manage your relationship with
him or her!
What Does Your Guest
Relationship Include

You manage his vacation experience.
 You collect his money.
 You are his source for information about the
area.
 The more you know about him the better he
feels about the relationship.
Important Relationship Items

Good communication
– Regular out-going communication
– Easy access to correct people in-coming

Recognition
– More is better, not easy for newer staff

Respect
– VIP treatment in some fashion
– Reasonable deference from all staff

Consistency of actions
 Good follow-through on problems or research
Why Did He Choose You in
the First Place

Most established company
 Oldest company
 Start-up company with lowest fee structure
 Personal relationship or referral
 Yellow pages
 Saw your sign driving by
 Bought the home from you
Be a Guerrilla






Strive for and savor long term relationships.
Know the myriad of benefits of long lasting
connections.
Do all in your power to establish and nourish
them.
Know that it costs you 6 times more to sell to a
new customer.
Know how to listen and ask questions about what
customers want.
Know their individual likes and dislikes.
What Is a Vacation






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An experience.
A state of mind.
A chance to exhale.
A time to reconnect.
A break from life.
Little touch of heaven.
Rest of life just in anticipation of next vacation.
Manage the Dream

Prior to the vacation
– Build the Dream
Manage the Dream

Prior to the vacation
– Build the Dream
 During the vacation
– Fulfill the Dream
Manage the Dream

Prior to the vacation
– Build the Dream
 During the vacation
– Fulfill the Dream
 After the vacation
– Relive the Dream
Guest Services

Basic maintenance.
 Cleaning.
 Handling details of reservation.
 Activities.
All Guests Want

To trust you with his or her vacation.
 To receive timely communication.
 To call your office, be recognized and
treated with respect.
 To get quick, accurate answers to his
questions.
 To arrive for his or her vacation and have it
perfect.
Remember Horst Shultz
from the Ritz?

All customers want:
 No defects.
 Prompt resolution.
 Someone who cares.
Ritz-Carlton
“The Ritz-Carlton experience
enlivens the senses, instills well-being,
and fulfills even the unexpressed wishes
and needs of our guests.”
from the Ritz-Carlton Credo
Many Guests Want

To be self-sufficient- left alone.
 Have more control.
 Recommendations.
 Contact throughout the stay.
 Planned activities.
Tools to Help Manage the
Relationship



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Property management system.
– Current address and contact information.
– Current and past guest history.
– Take full advantage of capabilities.
Newsletters.
– Email or regular mail.
Guest surveys.
– Do them, and publish the results.
Web site.
– General site containing items of owner interest.
– Access to reservation information.
Guest 800 number.
Guest Retention

You want to keep your guests returning.
 It is always less expensive to do more
business with existing customers than to get
new customers
 You invest in each guest through your web
site, photographs, brochures, etc.
Do They Really Know Who
You Are?

“Who’d you stay with?”

“Uh, I wasn’t the one who made the
reservation.”
The Other Side of CRM

Some guests should be let go
 They are too demanding
 Take up too much time and provide too little
profit
 You can only know this if you measure it
Competitive Advantage

The closer your customers feel to you, the
better customers they will be.
 Better customers spend more money.
 Better customers complain less often.
 Better customers are more understanding
when things go wrong.
How to Do It.

Ask your guests.
 Differentiate yourself.
 Simple and sustainable.
 Make it apart of your system.
 Monitor and measure.
Have Fun!!

Need to take the fear out of it!
What Do You Do to Set
Yourself Apart?

It’s your turn to talk……