Building customer loyalty has become increasingly difficult in the tourism sector, even in the context of Camping Villages, where competition is increasingly fierce and the tendency of tourists to change destinations is widespread. According to various sources, getting a new customer can cost five to eight times more than keeping an existing one. However, a high retention rate can lead to a significant increase in revenue (between 28 and 43% of revenue comes on average from loyal customers). In this article, we’ll explore some effective strategies for growing and managing repeat customers, as well as tips for coping with customers arriving, staying, and checking out.
The importance of arriving at the facility
The arrival experience plays a key role in customer retention. It is undeniable that the aspect of the human relationship must be put first, taking care of the details in each contact with the customer and offering quality services. It is imperative to ensure that staff are welcoming, flexible and able to provide useful advice to customers. In order not to miss any opportunity to contact customers again, at check-in it is advisable to collect data to build a marketing database, which allows the structure to offer special discounts, send information on exclusive promotions or news from the camping Village and invite customers to follow the own social pages to stay updated.
Another way to create a connection with customers is to offer them a small gift, such as a welcome drink, which will help create a warm and welcoming atmosphere from the first moment.
During the stay: create positive emotions and indelible memories
During the customers’ stay, it is essential to create positive emotions and indelible memories. There are several strategies to achieve this, such as:
- Create points inside the campsite where you can take souvenir photos, also mentioning them in the maps, or selfie point frames, making sure that the brand name and logo are always clearly visible. This will stimulate customers to share their experiences on social media, increasing the visibility of the Camping Village and generating a powerful indirect promotional effect.
- Consider introducing a mascot that can interact with customers, especially if they are families with children. A nice and engaging mascot can create an emotional bond with the little ones and help make their stay memorable.
- Offer local food gadgets or gifts as a token of appreciation for customers’ choice. For example, the offer of a special gift on the occasion of a holiday is very welcome, such as a bottle of wine on the night of August 15th. These courtesy gestures will help create a sense of added value for customers.
- Organize a social photo contest of the holiday with a prize up for grabs. This will encourage customers to share their photos on social media and promote the campsite through online word of mouth.
- Furthermore, during the stay, it is advisable to constantly monitor the customer experience and try to identify any areas for improvement. For this purpose, the public relations attention of a customer receptionist may be sufficient, but it is also possible to use tools such as messages, chats, emails, Wi-Fi systems or the camping App, in order to maintain constant communication with customers and prevent any negative reviews. Your promptness in resolving any issues or requests can make all the difference in their overall experience.
At Checkout: Drive loyalty and positive reviews
When checking out, never forget to ask customers if they had a good stay. In the event of a positive response, you can take the opportunity to ask them to leave a review. Social proof is always important, as positive reviews are key to attracting new customers and, at the same time, increasing the retention of existing customers.
Furthermore, you can consider leaving a gadget or gift as a souvenir of your stay. The ideal would also be to offer them a coupon or an incentive to return at another time, with a system that guarantees the traceability of reservations, or a fidelity card, which offers exclusive benefits and discounts to loyal customers.
During the rest of the year: maintain contact and promote the camping village
To keep customers interested, it is good practice to send them a customer satisfaction email with requests for feedback and personalized thanks. At this point, it is necessary to keep the customer’s memory alive and feed it over time, by sending a periodic newsletter that includes information, special promotions, birthday wishes and the sharing of photos or reviews from satisfied customers.
Throughout the rest of the year, we always recommend using social media to share photos and reviews from happy customers, creating a sense of community around the Camping Village.
Therefore, retaining customers during their stay requires a 360-degree approach, which focuses on the customer experience at every stage of their journey. Through careful attention to the human relationship, the proposal of positive emotions, indelible memories and incentives to return, it is possible to increase customer loyalty and generate a positive impact on the campsite’s revenue. Every customer interaction is an opportunity to create a memorable experience and build a long-term relationship.
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