Increase The Average Rate/Spend
This is a very powerful lever to generate extra revenue. Whatever the size of your operation there is always some opportunity to persuade your customers to spend more. They
will not do it unless they want to, and will probably be grateful that you gave them the chance. How many times have you wanted to be persuaded to have that chocolate dessert, only to have the server say, ‘Would you like the bill now?’ Coming up with ideas is a great opportunity for a team exercise.
- Package products together: Put together an in-room movie plus ice cream offer. Offer dinner, bed and breakfast (DBB) rates at weekends.
- ‘Bump up’ the order: Imagine if half your bar customers purchased a bowl of nuts or crisps.
- Reduce low-priced products: On busy nights in a restaurant take off the low-priced items that work at lunchtime.
- Up-sell: Incentivise receptionists to up-sell to an executive room.
- Tailor the product: Fill the mini-bar with items based on previous purchase history.
Improve Customer Retention
It doesn’t really need to be said, but you just cannot afford to lose customers once you have them. Often they leave you through neglect rather than any negative customer experience, but there are a great number of actions that you can take to keep them committed to you.
- Customer service: They won’t stay at all without great customer service, but constant attention to detail will keep them coming back.
- Under promise and over deliver: Always a great philosophy. Give something unexpected such as a bottle of wine in the room for your weekend guests.
- Referrals: Customers who give referrals are more committed to you now that they are your advocates.
- Communicate regularly: Keep in touch with e-mails, newsletters and maybe a hand-written thank you card.
- Ask them for regular feedback: People love it when you ask them for help.
- Tell them about new products: Ask your regular guests for help in defining new elements of your product.
- Follow up and follow up again: Make a plan to contact all your regular bookers and guests.
- Speed stuns: Set some tough standards for your reply to enquiries and your response to orders.
Key Points
- Knowing the proportion of a client’s spend that you get now is a powerful tool for planning future sales activity.
- Establishing the likely lifetime value of all your clients will help you decide how much money and effort to put into relationship building.
- Small improvements in average spend, combined with customers spending more often will have a tremendous impact on the bottom line.
- Making sure that you keep your current customers should be your most important goal.