Create raving fans through your guest experience

In a recent podcast interview, the host asked me to define a raving fan.? I responded that everyone most likely has their definition of what a raving fan is.? For instance, someone at a football game, screaming at the top of their lungs, with their full body painted with the team colors… that’s a raving fan.?

In business, a raving fan is a loyal advocate.? Someone who is loyal to your business will do business with you again, influence others to do business with you, and come to your defense when necessary.? Those three elements are the business equivalent to the person standing in the bleachers in the freezing cold because they are dedicated to their favorite team’s success.

If they come back, influence, and defend, that means that your raving fans are an extension of your sales, marketing, and public relations.? They do all three of those things, therefore reducing costs in these areas while increasing top-line revenue.

Raving fans expand your profit margins.

When it comes to your guest experience, your number one focus should be on creating raving fans.? Your entire guest experience strategy must be pointed in the direction of making guests want to come back, tell others, and speak up on your behalf.? This can be done at the macro level through your standard operating procedures, yet also at the granular one-on-one level through the individual interactions that your team members have with your guests on a daily basis.

This is where the soft and fuzzy meets tangible metrics.

“Create raving fans through your guest experience” is the tagline of my book, The Hospitality Mentality .? I went through several iterations before coming up with this one, and when I landed on it, I realized it summed up everything that the book is about.? The Hospitality Mentality represents how we intentionally exceed expectations, and creating raving fans is the reason for doing just that.? Going above and beyond leads to business growth.

The investment in your guest experience is more likely to succeed than most other growth-focused investments.? Some organizations have told me that their guest experience is more important than marketing, and others have told me that they focus on guest experience more than they focus on driving profit.? When creating raving fans is at the core of your strategy, it benefits all business initiatives that surround it, and propels your business forward.

Create raving fans through your guest experience, and your business will grow.

-Josh

Josh Liebman specializes in guest experience within attractions, hospitality, and tourism. Josh has worked for some of the top attraction operators in the world, and has been integral to the openings of multiple attractions. Today, parks and attractions hire Josh to ensure that they can exceed every guest's expectations, effectively resolve service failures, and drive loyalty through the guest experience. Over the last decade, thousands of team members across various attractions have participated in Josh's Guest Experience Workshop, gaining the tools and motivation they need to take their guest experience to the next level. Josh is Co-Host of the AttractionPros Podcast , which has been recognized as the leading resource for attractions industry professionals. AttractionPros has published hundreds of interviews with the most influential attractions industry leaders, offering a wide range of insights for those building their careers in the industry. And in December 2023, Josh released his first book, The Hospitality Mentality: Create Raving Fans through Your Guest Experience .