Never Worry About Getting Another Hospitality Customer Again
By Daniel Zolinski | August 28, 2024
I’ve been in business for two solid years, but many don’t know the excruciating beginning I had. I graduated college and entered the realm of wealth management. I told myself and God that I was moving to Phoenix, Arizona to escape the brutal Michigan winters, but God has a funny way of disrupting your plans. I was offered a position at a private wealth management firm that I simply couldn’t pass up. Michigan it was. Although the pay was great, I was becoming mentally and spiritually drained. I felt like I wasn’t fulfilling my purpose in life. It stemmed from the fact that I didn’t fully enjoy what I was doing. In my free time early in the morning and late at night I was working on launching my own marketing company. It wasn’t easy. With all the time I spent on it, it felt like I was making zero progress. Little did I know I was improving myself as a person with many lessons I learned in that phase of business. Eight months after launching, I finally acquired my first client. A couple weeks later I brought on two more. A month later a fourth.
So, where am I going with this? I want to share with you my 3-part system that helped me acquire clients faster after my first. This will help you move forward in your hospitality business so you never have to worry about where the next customer, guest, or client will come from.
- When and how to ask for testimonials
When is the best time to ask for a testimonial? Immediately after your customer, guest, or client has achieved a significant result or received a request. For example, say you have a customer who is dining at your restaurant. You spark conversation and find out they had a long day of travel. Your customer service is on point, and you give them a small dessert to top off their meal. They are pleasantly surprised and thank you for your service. Don’t hesitate to ask them to leave a review for you. Catch them in this positive mindset and you can gather testimonials like this to share with other prospective customers.
- How to collect case studies
Case studies are in depth testimonials. They share the entire story of one of your customers. Identify your most compelling success stories and reach out to them and schedule an interview to dive deep into their results. People want outcomes, but people relate to people.
- How to use social proof in your marketing
When you talk about how awesome your product or service is, prospects ignore you. When your customers talk about your product or service, prospects listen. The best places to showcase your testimonials are:
- Your website homepage and key sales pages.
- Email marketing and nurture sequences.
- Social media (Instagram, Facebook, TikTok, etc.)
Don’t be afraid to repeatedly share testimonials. Humans can be quick to forget, so the more they see this content, the more they will remember and trust you.
Testimonials were the thing that helped me the most to acquire more clients. I couldn’t have grown my own company without them. Gather as many as you can and share it with the world. You won’t regret it.
