Contributed By: The Travel Institute
Clients come in all shapes and sizes, and we appreciate them all. Gaining a competitive edge is the goal of most businesses, and providing excellent service is the strategy that distinguishes one company or service from all the rest. This has been demonstrated dramatically in the past two months by the entities that failed their clients by leaving them stranded or on hold for hours on end. A big part of that excellent service is showing appreciation for your clients.
Your customer service skills, your education, and your credentials set you apart and prove your worth to your clients a hundred times over. And you always can advance these assets through certification from The Travel Institute.
This month, we encourage you to think about how great your clients are and to think of ways to provide a high level of excellent service.
You should start with the basics. Here are some tips on properly serving your client:
- Be accessible. Answer your phone within the first three rings. Return all phone calls and emails in a timely manner. Leave an out-of-office message with alternate contact information. Always get back to a client with information when you say you will. Nothing shatters trust more than ignoring a client’s needs.
- Be attentive. Always give a client your undivided attention. If you absolutely must put a client on hold, ask permission first. Your concern for the client’s feelings will foster goodwill. When you are speaking to a client, behave as if that person is the only client who matters because, at that moment, it’s true.
- Be social. Social media provides another channel to serve clients. It allows large and small companies to reach customers in a way that feels personal without the need to hire a large pool of workers. Through the use of websites, blogs, and other social media pages, you can give hundreds of clients a one-on-one experience without calling or visiting them individually.
- Be an advocate. Give 110% of your efforts to represent your client even – or especially – when you receive no direct benefit. Make sure every client knows you have his or her best interest at heart at all times.
YOU SAID IT!
We knew you have all sorts of ideas for letting your clients know you appreciate them. So we invited you to share your awesome ideas with the rest of us by answering the following question:
“How do YOU show appreciation for your clients?”
And you responded!
Here is a sample of the creative and supportive ideas you shared with us:
Nanci Cairns, CTA in Albuquerque said, “Cruise gifts, eGift cards from Amazon or Disney, in-room gifts.”
Robin Patterson, CTA in Marietta, Ga. said, “To show gratitude for my clients, I send them a personalized thank you card after they return from a trip. I take a picture from their social media page, and then use the TouchNote app to turn it into a thank you postcard with their vacation photo on front.”
Loulu Lima, CTA in Austin said, “During their trip, I do my best to make sure they have a note from me in their hotel, I contact them during travel and most of all when they get back. Because my business model is to donate to charity through travel, I also send them a handwritten note on the charity they impacted.”
Now that you’ve seen some of the answers our grads have given, we have a question for you: Do you want to demonstrate your value to your clients? Invest in yourself during our Promote Your Professionalism event this month—with 50% scholarships on certification—and break through to your next level of success. And after you’ve earned your certification, you will have a powerful new marketing tool that makes it easier to promote your professionalism. This is the perfect opportunity for you to join the 26,000 colleagues who have realized the tangible benefits of certification from The Travel Institute. Visit www.thetravelinstitute.com to apply for your 50% Scholarship.