Two weeks ago I was in full panic mode. I was searching out restaurants with a private dining room for a 10-person luncheon I was organizing. All the restaurants I was familiar with were unavailable. What to do?
One hundred and forty characters later, Twitter came to the rescue. In fewer than 15 minutes, I had two great options available to me. The problem was solved for me, and one lucky restaurant had just received a group booking worth about $500 in business.
Undoubtedly, in the hospitality and tourism industry, social media is changing how businesses and their customers are interacting. It is now a meaningful two-way conversation. The ability to engage, in real time, with potential and existing customers provides all sorts of opportunities that didn’t exist before.
A valuable lesson I’ve learned is that your customers are talking about your business and now, thanks to social media, you are able to listen and engage in the conversation with them.
Twitter and Facebook are two popular and well-known social media platforms but they are certainly not the only viable options available to businesses. Yelp has created and encourages a vibrant community of consumers writing reviews on restaurants, hotels and more than 20 other categories of businesses across Canada and the United States. In 2012, every consumer is a critic.
Here are four businesses I think do a great job of listening to their customers. They all use a variety of social media tools to enhance their customers’ experiences and drive business.
Tap on Twitter
Chef Dale MacKay, Top Chef Canada winner and owner/chef of Ensemble and Ensemble Tap restaurants successfully uses Twitter and Facebook to get to know his customers before they’ve even been to his restaurants.
It helps to create a community around the restaurant and MacKay. During the busy holiday season, when reservations were cancelled at the last minute, a quick tweet to his followers, and those tables would be scooped up.
Another benefit is the ability to access niche markets without an expensive advertising campaign. MacKay has been able to engage specific beer bloggers through Twitter and invite them to try out the Belgium beer tasting event held at Ensemble Tap.
One stop for information
Mitchell Fawcett, marketing communications manager with Westin Hotels & Resorts says social media complements Westin’s digital presence in many ways. Not unlike using a website, Westin uses it to provide information on services, the city and hotel news.
Having guests ask questions via Facebook and Twitter is one way for the Westin to have conversations with their guests. Engaging in those conversations allows the Westin to solicit feedback, opinions and share success stories from previous guests. Monitoring the brand via Trip Advisor and actively listening to that feedback allows them to correct service challenges and ensure they live up to the expectations of travellers new and old.
Driving visitors
Stacey Klyne, general manager of the Vancouver Lookout at Harbour Centre, uses a combination of Trip Advisor, Twitter, Facebook and their blog to monitor, engage and converse with customers. Updating the blog with relevant information and photos taken from the iconic Vancouver venue has helped drive traffic to the website.
The Vancouver Lookout has seen 2,000 unique visitors to the blog in the last month alone, keeping it on top of the must-do-experiences list for locals and tourists.
Writing on the wall
Chef Brian Fowke of Kits Daily Kitchen invited Yelpers to an exclusive party, just for them.
Fowke insisted on a Twitter wall, encouraged attendees to upload “food porn photography” and worked with a Yelp community manager to curate a “local ingredient” talk thread on the subject prior to the party.
All of these efforts combined to create a sense of community before, during and after the event. Day-to-day, Fowke actively engages his audience by sending out the daily menu to anxiously waiting diners.
These are just four businesses that have demonstrated an ability to harness success from social media interactions. Have I convinced you yet to start taking part in the conversation with your customers? If the answer is yes, but you just don’t know where to start, start with Twitter. It’s well-established, undeniably proven and user-friendly, so sign up and start the conversation. You have nothing to lose and everything to gain. •
