They come from everywhere... A comment about the restaurant on Facebook. A question on What's up about whether the hotel accepts animals. A location request on Instagram. A less positive comment on LinkedIn. Multichannel that require also multiple and careful attention at all times of the client's journey.

It is indisputable the power that the social media gave to the customers, who quickly became ambassadors of the brands or not... In Tourism, the "recommendation" always had a great weight and influence in the process of selection of the destination, of the hotel, of the restaurant,...

However, social media and the different channels of online communication have played a key role in transferring power to customers, increasing their relevance and ability to influence. And this is true, a gold mine of opportunities for all tourism companies seeking to strengthen their relationships with their public throughout their journey.

71% of consumers who have had a positive experience with a brand on social media are likely to recommend the brand to their friends and family. (Forbes, 2018)

An efficient omnichannel strategy will allow you to interact with customers at various brand touchpoints, online or offline, at different times of the purchase process. However, customer demand is also higher most of the time, they want to get answers in real-time.

ARE WE PREPARED TO GIVE THOSE ANSWERS?

1. Know your persona very well

What are the market segments of your hotel? What is the profile and habits of your restaurant customers? What is the average age of the tourists who book your tours? These are some of the many questions you have to know how to answer in order to have the clearest possible identification of your persona, your customer.

2. Identify all the stages of your persona's purchase journey

In addition to knowing who your customers really are, we need to be aware of how they behave throughout the purchasing process. Each nationality of tourists has different habits and behaviors. For example: if your segment is families, you should consider the dates of school holidays in their main issuing markets and the time they book in advance.

3. Listen to the client

Pay attention to your comments, in the way you behave during the purchase process. Efficient CRM (Customer Relationship Management) is as essential as the quality of service your company provides. Having a 360º view of customer interactions is fundamental for efficient communication. There are already tools that can provide this 360º response, do not underestimate this investment.

4. Data, Data, Data

Information is power. Especially when you also know about the competition. What are the offers that the hotels in the region are promoting? Is the vegetarian cuisine offer appreciated by my competitors? Artificial Intelligence, machine learning algorithms that allow us to predict customer behavior or CEM do not have to be abstract concepts. Hire professionals to help you use the best tools to optimize capture and loyalty.

5. Do not sell! Generate emotions, create relationships

And preferably lasting. Let the tourist wish to be at your hotel. Let the families want to do that activity. Create emotions, do not impose your products and services. Generate needs and the willingness of customers to want to know your brand. Create an emotional relationship that goes beyond the moment of consumption.

6. Never forget the moment after

You have created emotion with the client, managed to generate a positive relationship, and offer a memorable quality service. You do not want to ruin all this effort, with bad communication in a bad after-sales service. Although it is the last stage of the consumer's journey, this will be the final process for loyalty and recommendation. Instruct your teams with this mindset beyond the moment of service/consumption.

And remember that newsletters still get good results.

Summarizing… social media have given each visitor, each tourist, each customer the power to influence company results. As the Portuguese jargon says, “for great evils, great remedies”... In other words, we just have to define an efficient customer-centric business strategy.