Relationship Selling – Nantahala Cabins – Part 5 of 5

by JeanetteMarceau
Published on: May 12, 2011
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After the guest makes a reservation we mail or email them a confirmation letter with their itinerary.  This is part of our closing and follow-up.  When guest check in we review the rental contract with them, give them a map of the area and explain where points of interest are located on the map, give them printed directions to hikes, give them a printout from the chamber concerning the week and weekend activities in this area, and if they booked any activities I give them vouchers and directions to their getaway.  We explain how to work the hot tub cover, the satellite TV, wireless internet, and let them know that we live on property and transfer the phone to our cell if they should need anything during their stay.  On the day they check out we ask them if they had an enjoyable stay and tell them to have a safe trip home.  This is part of our follow-up process.

 

With our cabins and vacation planning we strive for customer delight.  This book  states “managing customer expectations is an important part of developing successful long-term relationships.  Customer delight, or exceeding customer expectations to a surprising degree, is a powerful way to gain customer loyalty.” (Relationship Selling, pg 14)

 

The quality of our cabins and hospitality is high.  Our guests agree that our cabins are the better accommodations in this area as per our guest journals.  We make every effort to assure our cabins are exceptional well cleaned and cared for.  Even though some of our cabins are now about ten years old, many guests think they have been just competed in the last few months.  We try to pay attention to detail.  Our cabins are themed; Gone Fishing, Gone Hiking, Gone Hunting, Gone Paddling, Gone Biking, the Wolf Den, Deer Glen, and Bear Den cabin.  We decorate for the different seasons; in the fall we decorate our cabins with fall items.  Near our sign by the highway we build a display of hay and scarecrows celebrating the fall.  We also decorate for Christmas and New Years’.  These small touches help to ensure customer delight.

 

Nantahala Cabins offers a service of clean amenity filled themed cabins along with vacation planning.  We strive for reliability, assurance, empathy and tangibles that are the dimensions of service quality that are mentioned in the book.  The book defines reliability as “providing service in a consistent, accurate, and dependable way.” (Relationship Selling, pg 82)  Clark and Maher also state in the Journal of Vacation Marketing that “repeated consumer experiences with a provider that delivers the service with reliability and integrity may lead to a customer base that is more loyal in both an attitudinal and behavioral sense.” (Clark and Maher, pg61)  Nantahala Cabins strives for consistently clean cabins.  Every year in the spring we perform a detail spring cleaning of the cabins.  We detail clean; windows, floors, stoves, bathroom, nooks and crannies, and more.  We check to make sure there are sufficient pots, pans, dishes, silverware, etc. to ensure an enjoyable cabin stay.  Then as guests check out throughout the season the cleaners will also spend time once a month performing a more detailed cleaning.  We would like our cabins to be reliably clean so guests know that each time they visit their cabin would still look new.  The book states that assurance is “conveyance of trust and confidence that the company will back up the service with a guarantee.” (Relationship Selling, pg 82)  When guests check in we inform them that we live on property and if they need anything we would be happy to help them.  This shows our assurance.  The book also states that empathy is “caring, individualized attention to customers.” (Relationship Selling, pg 82)  Every time a customer calls or drives up on property we are ready to show them individual caring service.  If our cleaners or maintenance men sees a vehicle on property they will stop them to offer a brochure and a tour of an open cabin.  They can even book them into a cabin if I happen to be away from property.  We also try to help them choose a cabin tailored to their needs.  The book defines tangibles as “the physical appearance of the service provider’s business, website, marketing communication materials, and the like.   (Relationship Selling, pg 82)  Our tangibles are our well maintained cabins; our website is informative with pictures and descriptions of the cabins as well as area attractions and activities; and our advertising link our cabins and our value added services.  “These dimensions of service quality often provide added value for the customer.” (Relationship Selling, pg 82)

 

In today’s environment and multitude of lodging facilities in Western North Carolina one needs to stand out.  Our sales message, customer-centric attitude, attention to the dimensions of service quality, education of our guests, and solution selling will help Nantahala Cabins survive today’s economy.  Once the economy improves the relationship selling process will help Nantahala Cabins succeed.

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