1.4 Communication Options

Choosing the communication options which fit your business and planning their use to enhance relationships with a focus on the Web is perhaps the most important CRM decision you can make.

Different businesses require different communication channels to establish and maintain relationships.

Rank the following communication channels you already use:

Where do you currently have Face to Face meetings?

How often do you communicate with previous guests over the course of the year?  Which channels do you use most frequently?

Do you have a plan or strategy for for managing communications with new inquiries? 1,2,3... Describe it. 

Do you have an annual plan for communicating with previous guests and/or potential guests in your database?

How is your brand consistently expressed through each communication channel?

Which communication options are most personalized for the potential guest?

Get Them to the Web

With the variety of ways you contact customers, consider how you can use the web to support all off-line marketing / public relations activities.

As well, use distinctive email addresses and Web pages to track the success of all your off line marketing. By having leads contact you through dedicated channels ie:

Distinct Email:

Distinct Web page: www.myweb.com/outdoorspecial

By doing so, tourism businesses can have much better knowledge about the sources of their inquiries and track return on investment!

The internet provides many ways to save time and money by automating communications. Successfully orchestrating these in concert with more personal communications methods is required in a complete CRM plan.

Meet with others in similar businesses and discuss successful strategies for managing customer inquiries and establishing long term relationships.
 

What forms of communication are most effective in your business?  Where can you use the web more effectively?