Since Social Media Marketing started to make an impact on the Hotel Industry we have started to see some important shifts in customer behaviors. And today these shifts bring on new changes in the Hotel Industry. Going forward Hotels will have to start to focus on design your brand for a Customer Experience first future.
As part of the Customer Experience’s first future, we have to identify the micro-moments where the hidden pain points lay. These pain points represent opportunities to grow your business, and also help identify value drivers where micro-moments becomes part of the delightful customer experience.
The six stages of Customer Experience
The customer experience can be broken into six stages. And the experiences follow a sequence in the customer journey that takes us from purchase to delivery, use, supplements (add-ons), maintenance, and disposal.
Customer Productivity
Customer Productivity is anything that deals with efficiency, less time, effort, and/or money in fulfilling customer’s needs.
Simplicity
Simplicity is anything that eliminates or minimizes complexity or hassle.
Convenience
Convenience is about when and where you want something, like 24/7, 365 days a year.
Risk Reduction
Risk reduction may be financial, physical, and emotional, including reputation.
Fun and Image
This is the tangible and intangible aesthetic look, feel and attitude, and style your Hotels offerings convey.
Environmental Friendliness
This is about “green” matters. Are your Hotel offerings environmentally friendly? Or do customers prefer your Hotel brand’s strong reputation for environmental friendliness?
Reputation
A unique and distinctive cognitive evaluation of a Hotel only has value if this results in a positive affective evaluation and positive consequences of reputation.
How to identify valuable Customer Experience micro-moments
There is one simple rule that comes with implementing effective Customer Experience Frameworks.
“You have to go out in the field to identify the valuable Customer Experience micro-moments!”
The six stages of customer experience represent how Hotel unlock the secrets of their product or service for their customers.
The simplicity of use, the level of fun and the image associated, and the environmental friendliness needs little explanation.
A product or service offers convenience simply by being easy to obtain and or use.
The most commonly used stage for Hotels is that of customer productivity.
Innovations can increase productivity by helping customers do things faster, better, or in different ways through new innovative offerings.
Use the Customer Experience Framework to unlock 42 different creative blocks where new ideas and journeys are born.
With the Customer Experience Framework plot maps that help categorize each micro-moment and the reason behind these moments.
Customer Productivity
What is the biggest customer productivity in each stage?
What are the key reasons for this block?
- How long does it take for customers to find your Hotel service when there is a need?
- Is the arena for booking attractable and accessible?
- How secure is the transaction environment?
- How fast can the customer make a booking?
Implement new experience factors that support doing things faster, better, and in a different manner.
Simplicity
What is the biggest block to simplicity to each stage?
What are the key reasons for this block?
- How long time does it take access to relevant booking information?
- How easy is the pricing structure to understand?
- Which processes can be made more effective with automation?
Allow customers to make simple and effective decisions, don’t add unnecessary distractions.
Remove all complexity!
Convenience
What is the biggest block to convenience for each stage?
What are the key reasons for this block?
Does the service require training or expert assistance?
Make it easy to find exciting bookings and make changes if required. Make sure to also reduce and simplifying additional efforts.
Risk Reduction
What is the biggest block to risk reduction for each stage?
What are the key reasons for this block?
Does the booked service require other services for a fee on top of the original price?
Complexity and hidden fees are among the most common triggers for negative customer service.
Be proactive to avoid the potential loss of value.
Fun and Image
What is the biggest block to fun and image for each stage?
What are the key reasons for this block?
- How are you representing your Hotel image and personality now that you have the customer’s attention?
- How are you encouraging customers to share information about your Hotel with others?
Make the Hotel Experience enjoyable at every micro-moment.
Environmental Friendliness
What is the biggest block to environmental friendliness in each stage?
What are the key reasons for this block?
- Are you providing customers with tools and information that make it easy to energy-efficient and environmentally friendly?
Pay attention to the small details that matter for the customers and is simple for the Hotel team to follow up on.
Reputation
What is the biggest block to reputation in each stage?
What are the key reasons for this block?
- What do customers think about the initial booking process?
- What are the most common triggers for customer concerns?
- What are the most common triggers for customers raving about their Hotel experience?
Introduce Hotel Experience Ambassadors to your team, and start building new service alternatives to a team that really understand how to unlock new uncontested markets.
Conclusion
I believe the Customer Experience Framework presented here brings innovation to the Hotel business.
It will generate new ideas and open new opportunities for your Hotel.
And it will help identify micro-moments and recognize pain points and values utilizing Hotel Experience Ambassadors that knows where to look for them.
I have loved with all of my heart and soul serving customers, guests, and Hoteliers. As a Hotel Experience Ambassador, I gained a new passion for being a representative and messenger delivering new profound and delightful experiences.
If your Hotel wants to implement new effective success factors then now is the time to be part of a new initiative.
When your Hotel serves your community they will reward you back with serving you.
From a Hotel and Social Media Consultant’s standpoint, the Social Media Community can offer Hotels a one-stop-shop for managing their Social Media marketing such as the community infrastructure, database, listening functionality, profile management, collaboration, content marketing and management, and of course, the analytics.
A Social Media Community will help your Hotel to grow smarter and faster when you focus on the value proposition and collaborate in effective ways.
If your Hotel needs help to put it all together then make sure to let us know.
With the right team behind your Social Media efforts, it can become cost-effective and generate a new revenue stream for your Hotel.
We are in this together!
I need to let you all know that we are in on this together. If you need to vent, talk, cry, or just have some to talk with then I am here listening. Since I am working part-time at the local Kroger, I will to the best of my ability to work it out around my schedule.
But you can reach me here:
Email: hotelblogger@aremorch.com
Also, join us at our Facebook Group – Hotel Social Media Community
We will get through this unprecedented event together! #hotelstrong #hospitalitystrong
For any specific information on COVID-19, I recommend go to CDC, WHO, AHLA, AAHOA, and HSMAI. Also, follow information from your local authorities.
NOTE
We are starting to reopen some hotels again (Yay!!!). Make sure you follow their guidelines and say THANK YOU to those that now show a unique spirit to serve, and helps us all get through this!! #hotelstrong #hospitalitystrong
About Are Morch
Hi, I am Are Morch. Your Digital Marketing Coach and Customer Experience Expert that specializes in creating effective digital customer experience offer for hotels while growing and scale customer acquisition and revenue.
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