3 Examples of Using SMS Messaging for Hotel Customer Satisfaction Surveys
Even great hotels sometimes have a mix up or some sort of problem that can affect a guest. And with social media and hotel review sites, chances are a disgruntled guest isn’t going to keep their complaints to themselves for long. In my previous blog I talked about using SMS messaging to ask guests about their stay before they hit the web and write their review. Here are three examples of how to use SMS messaging to gauge customer satisfaction.
- Ask a single question. This is probably the most straightforward and easiest approach to use. Send the guest a message asking them to rate their visit from 1-5 stars. If you don’t get five stars, you may want to follow up with them to get more details. You could follow up with other text messages, but a phone call from management is probably best. If you can understand their issues and relate to them personally, you might make them feel better about your hotel. That might mean the difference between a bad review and a good (but maybe not great) review.
- A short series of questions. If you can put together 3-5 short, easy to answer questions, you might be able to use a series of text messages as a survey. These are a little harder to construct for a number of reasons. The questions need to be short, but clear. The answers need to be short so they’re easy for a guest to type. And the whole survey needs to be short so it doesn’t take up too much of the traveller’s time. As for example number one, if the answers are not as positive as you’d hope, then follow up personally.
- Send a message with a link to a survey. Online surveys are great. They offer the chance to get more detailed feedback than you can in a simple text message. The downside is that the guest needs to click on the link, rather than typing in their response immediately. Fortunately, click through rates in SMS messages are much higher than you’ll find in email. So this method could work for you if you want more feedback than a warm fuzzy star rating.
Whichever method you choose, don’t make it hard or too big. If you send the message out shortly after they leave (before they write their online review), they may still be travelling. With the visit fresh in their mind they’ll probably be willing to answer your questions – as long as it doesn’t take too long.
Once a guest has sent you feedback, definitely send them a thank you. A text message expressing your gratitude is good, but a coupon code or discount for their next visit will certainly leave them feeling appreciated. With each message costing you 3.5p or less you can see how SMS messaging is a massively cost effective way of communicating with your customers.
If you would like more ideas on how SMS messaging can benefit your business download our free “Hotels Guide to SMS Messaging“.
Related Articles
Drive Up Attendance During Festival Season with SMS Messaging Part 2
Festival season is upon us! Experienced festival organisers predict that to be successful you need more than just music. You’ll need to offer an experience to your attendees. In the last blog I covered some of the reasons for that, and ideas on how to start building your SMS marketing list before your festival begins. In part 2, we’ll take a look at how to use SMS to create engaging experiences for attendees while they are at your festival, and even after they leave.
The Art of SMS Marketing for Bars, Pubs and Clubs
SMS marketing can be a double-edged sword, which is why it's crucial to ensure that each one of your campaigns is well thought out, immaculately spelt, financially accurate (i.e., the prices listed are correct), and, perhaps most importantly, the time and date is 100% accurate. Only once you have triple-checked each one of the components should you then consider sending out a batch.
Two Companies Using SMS in Surprising Ways
In many ways, SMS messaging is so commonplace people don’t think about it. They just do it. For example, using SMS for mobile marketing in retail is a fairly standard use case whether you’re a company or the consumer. But there are always exceptions – those who innovate when it seems there’s nothing new to be had. Here are two examples of companies from the US using SMS in ways no one else is – yet.
SMS Marketing: Four Sectors Successfully Using Text Messaging
SMS marketing has seen a huge uplift in popularity in recent years, with big brands investing in the technology to better engage with their customers. There are so many benefits of SMS marketing, from the ability to directly to reach customers with your communications, to the fact that over 80% of SMS texts are read. With over approximately 90% of the world receiving mobile coverage, you’re highly likely to be able to reach your audience, regardless of where they are. SMS marketing is cost effective, and campaigns are quick to develop, in as short a time period as the time it takes to write a text message. This gives you the advantage of being able to communicate quickly, and effectively with customers, reacting to information almost instantaneously. With so many reasons to use SMS marketing, we’ve highlighted four sectors successfully using SMS messaging as case studies to highlight the advantages of investing in the technology.
5 Ways Guest Houses Can Benefit from SMS Marketing
5 Ways the Travel Industry can Make Use of SMS Marketing
In order to appeal to new customers and interact with existing ones, businesses are always looking for new marketing methods. Whilst many companies are using traditional and online marketing techniques, these aren’t always effective. Email filtering, for example, means that many recipients may not even be aware that they’ve received contact from your company. As many email hosts provide in-built spam filters, it’s easy for email marketing content to be overlooked or ignored completely. SMS marketing, however, overcomes many of the obstacles associated with online and email marketing. Whilst potential customers may not see your company emails, SMS messages aren’t filtered in the same way. The delivery rate is, therefore, far higher for SMS messages in comparison to marketing emails.
Travel Agents Should use SMS Messaging During the Off Season
Now that the peak travel season is over, how can travel agents stay top of mind in their customers? If you look around, you’ll notice everyone seems to have a mobile. That means SMS is the perfect way to reach them and make sure you’re not forgotten.
Don’t Believe The Myth of The “Cashless Shopper”
Sometimes bloggers or journalists get a bit carried away. They see some data or fact, and run off to declare there’s a trend you need to know about. The latest one I’ve seen is all about how to reach the generation of “cashless shoppers”. The argument goes that you need to use SMS messaging to reach customers because they are all shopping online – where you obviously can’t pay in cash.
3 Examples of Using SMS Messaging for Hotel Customer Satisfaction Surveys
Even great hotels sometimes have a mix up or some sort of problem that can affect a guest. And with social media and hotel review sites, chances are a disgruntled guest isn’t going to keep their complaints to themselves. Here are three examples of how to use SMS messaging to gauge customer satisfaction.
Hotels Use SMS Messaging to Head Off Bad Reviews
Online travel and review sites are great for travellers. They are good for hotels too, but they offer a double edged sword. User reviews are unfiltered – that is the travellers can say whatever they like both good and bad. And managing a bad review can be difficult, but how can SMS help?