Sharing

REFLECT, REACT & TALK ABOUT

How you anticipate, encourage and address what your guests share will drive future guests’ perceptions of you. Nurture and build connections with past guests to grow future guests.

Who does this well?

Woodford Folk Festival organisers have established several initiatives to maintain contact with their customer database and build a sense of community around the festival. The festival blog is a regular source of narratives and news for the community. Their social media strategy uses story-telling to drive viewers to their blog and website on a regular basis and encourage the sharing of posts.

They have created a Woodfordia Citizen program to re-enage with their database and through a series of podcasts and livestream interviews with festival organisers, artists, performers, speakers and others they maintain a conversation with existing patrons and reach new audiences via friendly, uplifting conversations. This is a great example on how to keep an annual festival ‘top of mind’ for people throughout the year with the aim of driving strong repeat visitation and advocacy.

Address

basic

Core

guest expectations: Anticipate, encourage and address feedback and sharing:

1. Empower your signature moments: identify your signature moments and empower your guests to capture those moments (e.g. on-site photographer, verbal cue).

2. Encourage your guests to share: create incentives (e.g. upload photos to your Facebook page), make sharing easy (e.g. TripAdvisor link in follow-up email) and ask for feedback (e.g. during the farewell).

3. Address feedback: celebrate and thank your guests for positive feedback. Respond to and try to ameliorate negative feedback.

Appeal to your guests’ emotions:

Check in and continue to engage your guests:

4. Check in with your guests: continue the story. Show how your experience and story have evolved since they’ve been with you (e.g. share specific blog content). Let them know how they have played a role in making that happen.

5. Engage your guests: your guests are a part of your story. Show your guests how your story continues to evolve and how they can continue to be a part of it (e.g. donations, polls, signatures).

6. Create a sense of community for your guests: provide guests – past, present and future – an online space to connect and exchange comments with you and each other through social media and blogs based on your values and passions and leveraging content that creates open, positive dialogue.

Additional Resources: How Tourism Operators can encourage online reviews ; Best of Queensland Experience Program: All operators in BOQEP receive an individual report providing valuable insights on consumer perceptions and how to improve the delivery of customer experiences to drive business performance.