Consumer Behavior In Hospitality

'Understanding the Hospitality Consumer' presents a unique perspective on consumer behavior in the hospitality sector. successful marketing demands focusing on the customer, this concentrates on understanding and determining customer needs, relevant factors in consumer buying behavior and the effectiveness of today's marketing techniques..

Working in the service industry, it's all about the customer relations. Who among us does not love our wonderful customers? Now, how can we ever have enough ways to show our customers how special they are? The more that your business puts across the idea that they care about the customer, the more that customer will return. Whether to your restaurant, bar hotel, catering service, or any hospitality business.

The simplest way to make a customer feel important is to greet them. They need to know that you are there, that you are willing to help and that you are available to serve them. If you have a repeat customer, learn their name and use it as soon as possible. Pay full attention. Not only will they be telling you what they need as they place their order or make their reservation, but you will also hear and see clues that will help you further assess their needs without them having to ask. Your being attuned to what they think and feel will show them that you really care about them as a customer. Make them feel like the most important customer you have had all day

A customer with a complaint should be treated as politely as any other customer. Listen to their concerns, allowing them to finish speaking before you begin to answer. Always apologize, because your business has let them down in some way, and a simple apology does go a long way. Let them know that you understand and sympathize and then do everything in your power to remedy the situation for them as soon as possible.

Be sure to focus on what is in your power to do for them, and try to avoid saying there is something you are unable to do for them. If they have a difficult or impossible request, try suggesting the next closest thing you can do for them.

Always thank the customer for their patronage and invite them to come back, particularly while offering them a business card or brochure. Letting a customer know you look forward to seeing them again makes them feel that the transaction went well.

In an extended hospitality scenario such as a banquet or reservation, after your customer's visit, write out a small note on a postcard or letterhead that lets them know you are grateful for the time they spent with you and that you appreciate their business.

If you are in a business that allows you information on customers' birthdays, keep a calendar of these occasions so you can send out a short birthday card to them on this date. Not many people receive birthday cards anymore;

Treat your customers as you think it would be nice to be treated. In a world where business transactions have been made more and more brief and impersonal, what was once a cliché is now a novelty. Your customers will appreciate your classic service practices.

The intangibility property of services makes it difficult for customers to search for information, make a purchase decision, or even evaluate the service experience, service providers need to deliver value added services to their customers to provide them a superior service experience.. The technological advances and globalization of economy make it possible for service providers to design new ways of providing their services.