The Importance of Tour Personalization

When you wake up your morning routine begins. You look at your phone with a personalized home screen. You may look at Facebook which has selected posts they think you want to see. You see ads that are targeted for you in your social media feed. Your commute includes listening to music that is a station tailored for you. You stop for a morning coffee made the way you want it.

We accept personalization without even realizing it. According to a report by Skift, 81% of consumers are willing to switch brand loyalties for a more personalized experience. Thus, the competition to capture the attention of the next generation of travelers is heating up. You want your guests to be brand ambassadors because of service that exceeded their expectations. 

Personal service expectations aren’t reserved for younger generations. According to the 2017 Customer Service Barometer report, 76% of millennials and 96% of baby boomers say that businesses don’t exceed their service expectations. This means your tour business can earn new customers by offering customized services in some way.

Personalized customized services are part of today’s world. It’s not nice to do… it’s expected by consumers. It’s what can set your services apart from competition. It makes them feel like they are connecting with people instead of buying from a corporation. Customers want to support people not companies.

There are stats to support consumer expectations about services that are tailored for them.

• 64% of customers want personalized offers
• 68% of consumers want to work with salespeople who understand their needs
• 49% of customers make impulse purchases due to a personalized recommendation
• 44% of customers say they will return after a personalized experience
• 69% customers would spend more for a better customer experience
• 9 in 10 customers tell others about their service experience

Every successful company declares that they put customers first. A small tour business has an opportunity establish an advantage over larger corporations by excelling in personalized service. If you don’t, you may be losing customers to competitors. My case in point: 66% of consumers who leave a business do so because of poor service.

So, how can you make small personalized updates to your tours or booking process to impress your guests? Tour companies of any size can find ways to make your guests feel special and recognized. Not every idea works for every company but there is always something your team can do.

• Give them the opportunity for a real phone call or video chat with guests
• Find out what they are looking for in order to help them select the perfect experience 
• Guides can learn guest names (or some of the guests) to form a bond with the group
• Make your automatic emails sound personal; it’s how you say it
• Celebrate occasions and give a small gift or greeting card for guest anniversary or birthday tours
• Ask what they want to learn or experience
• Offer private tours as an option
• Add something special based on guest input at booking
• Guides can react to in tour guest comments and adjust sites seen or stories told
• Allow smaller groups on weekdays
• If you have a repeat guest, make sure you have notes to remember them personally
• Add your host picture to emails before their tour so they feel a personal connection
• Guides can know where guests are from; comment on that at start of the tour
• Keep notes on customer conversations. Give connection talking points to guides to greet guests on tour
• Answer or reply quickly; no matter how they contact you
• Allow for some dietary restrictions on food tours
• Adjust the start time of the tour if the majority of the guests request
• Connect after the tour with select guests with special email or phone call
• Adjust the tour itinerary based on guest input

Those companies that have a giant site budget can personalize their home page. Site landing pages can use cookies to present the page based on visitor interests or demographic.

In my January 2019 LinkedIn article, I shared some of the ways that America Tour Company customizes our tour offerings for our guests. I look forward to hearing new ideas you have to personalize and improve your tour offerings to better connect with guests.