Tag Archives: Customer Experience
Know Your Numbers: Empowering Tourism and Hospitality Leaders for Informed Decision-Making and Action-Taking
Lisa and I have been talking numbers. It’s not her strength, she loves the people more and she knows she’s got to focus on learning to love the numbers, number-crunching and hitting targets, and driving high performance. In 2024 the team has some big targets to hit. “But, how do we make the non-tangible…
Destination NSW Visitor Economy Forum Takeaways
There were a lot of amazing takeouts from last week’s Destination NSW Visitor Economy Forum. Of particular interest are the insights, trends, and data around what does, might, and will affect people and importantly people leadership. The reminder about the significance of “Intergenerational Understanding” was critical with often up to 4 generations potentially working together.…
Navigating the Path to Authenticity: Communicating Your Tourism Business’s Values to Customers
In the realm of tourism, where choices abound and experiences vary, one vital factor sets exceptional operators apart: clarity in conveying their values to customers. It’s not enough to merely have values; it’s about making those values crystal clear to your audience. Here’s a roadmap for tourism operators on how to communicate their core values…
Harnessing Holiday Longing to Attract Visitors
In the world of tourism, there’s a powerful yet often overlooked concept that can be leveraged to attract more visitors to your business: Vacation Deprivation. This phenomenon, where individuals yearn for a holiday but struggle to take one, presents a unique opportunity for tourism business leaders to stand out and cater to the desires of…
Key Takeaways from the NoVacancy Conference: Insights for Tourism & Hospitality
Last week I attended the NoVacancy Conference held at the ICC in Sydney. With an impressive show floor exhibiting innovative solutions to technology, design and distribution, it certainly had something for everyone. In particular, I was drawn to the range of expert speakers and panels presenting throughout the 2 day across a range of topics…
The Power of Exceptional Customer Service in Venue Selection: Insights for Tourism Leaders
In the ever-evolving landscape of the tourism industry, customer service remains the cornerstone of success. As I find myself in the midst of choosing event locations and finalising arrangements for our upcoming Growth Intensives, the pivotal role of exceptional customer service becomes strikingly apparent. Let’s delve into this journey through venue selection, where the narrative…
Listening for Customer Wants, Desires, Fears and Frustrations
Back in July school holidays, we had the MOST amazing family holiday to Cairns and surrounds. We’ve been before and this time was special. We mixed up the wants and desires of family members. We took care of fears and frustrations. This meant – we had everyone’s needs met. We had rest days / pool…
Little Touches make a Big Difference
It was a simple green blanket. Not sure if it was the choice of green or the texture and warmth it exuded, however, I let out a very large sigh of relief and pleasure walking into this hotel room. In fact, there were many sighs of pleasure during this recent stay in regional NSW,…
Setting Staff Up for Success
Let’s imagine for a minute this is Chris and it’s a Tuesday night. It’s early, only 5:30 pm at the bar, however, suddenly 120 people descend and service is required. There is only 1 bar person on duty….. Chris. Now there are a few scenarios possible. Scenario One: Chris is amazing, and able to look…
“Aloha” … You had me at hello
Made famous by Renee Zellweger and Tom Cruise in the movie Jerry Macguire in ‘96, the expression “you had me at hello” has never been more important for tourism businesses. The initial connection and rapport – a truly genuine and heart-felt hello and welcome is fundamental to the customer’s experience. Whether it’s via telephone, in…
5 Strategies to Address Staff Shortages and Improve Customer Experience
Tourism businesses are weighing up the situation, with seasonal impacts, domestic travellers now loving being back overseas, and our favoured international travellers not returning as quickly as we’d like. It’s easy to hesitate around staffing up, it’s likely that head counts are being reduced because the coming months aren’t what was predicted or hoped for.…
For Tourism Business Leaders feeling Overstretched and Under-resourced
Having faced unprecedented challenges in recent times, the tourism industry is not out of the woods yet. Staff shortages and under-trained staff issues continue to impact tourism operations and have a significant impact on the customer experience. Now labelled across the country as the #1 critical issue to be solved, tourism business owners and leaders…
Enhancing Staff Training in the Tourism Industry: Embracing Visual, Auditory, and Kinesthetic Learning Styles
In the dynamic and customer-centric tourism industry, providing effective staff training is essential for delivering exceptional experiences to visitors. However, not all employees learn in the same way. Recognising and catering to different learning styles can significantly improve the training process, and in turn the customer experience. In this article, we’ll explore how visual, auditory,…
Prioritising Training for Tourism Teams
If I said to you “Your tourism team is going to be entered into Sydney half or marathon in September”! What would you say? Maybe: Weirdly when it comes to sports fitness, people are more knowledgeable around what they should/shouldn’t be eating (not that we follow it). They’re even more aware of what level of…
The Power Duo: Enhancing Business with Customer Journey and Employee Experience
In the world of business, there are two indispensable elements that I am truly passionate about the Customer Journey and the Employee Experience. These two pillars work in harmony to foster engagement, retention, productivity, and overall satisfaction. Furthermore, they’re instrumental in identifying areas for improvement and uncovering untapped opportunities, which may require ongoing attention or…
10 Reasons You Need to Map Your Customer’s Journey
In today’s competitive business landscape, understanding and enhancing the customer journey has become paramount, especially in the tourism industry. By delving into the intricacies of each touchpoint for your customers, we’ll explore the key benefits of having a customer journey map, shedding light on how it can optimise the customer experience, drive engagement, and provide…
Is Expectation v Reality Letting Your Guest Experience Down?
This morning I caught up with one of my nearest and dearest who had ticked off a bucket list world tourism experience. As I’d not personally seen it and been there, I was living vicariously, as we can nowadays with the immediacy of social media, whatsapp and facetime etc. So in conversation as we were…
Success Comes Through Curiosity
My family and I were recently having a mini farm staycation, poop scooping and all, and it got me thinking about your tourism experience. Are there things you don’t offer because you think a customer might not want to do them? Here’s where poop scooping comes into it… my daughter is horse crazy and whenever…
5 Tips To Impress Customers and Attract Great Employees
As we all know Tourism here in Australia and globally is a highly competitive industry, with countless destinations and experiences to choose from. Whether that’s for a customer choosing or staff when looking for a place of employment. As a tourism operator, it’s important to provide a unique and memorable experience that sets you apart…
The Littlest Thing can Make the Biggest Difference
A tourism leader today said “leading is challenging”. And yes it certainly can be, for a variety of reasons. Here were just a few that I came across in the early days of being in tourism; To set the scene, I was barely 20, and the Cruise Director onboard Bounty the Tall Ship, playing pirate…
Case Study:
The training was engaging and we had a great group to work with throughout the program. I feel better equipped to manage my stress at work. I am now more focused and better at setting priorities.
Wildlife Coast Cruises
Jess Patman
and Brett Lacco
Case Study:
I learnt a lot about communication and adaptability. Particularly how to find middle ground with people. I learnt a lot about how to deal with challenging behaviours with external stakeholder relationships.