Marissa and I spent a few days last week in Melbourne for business and meetings and eating’s. Yep a lot of our plans, dining out and experiences where also made to cater for our taste buds and stomach. Might I just say, that Marissa when paired with a map and the GPS can find and get your anywhere. Given I’ve such a shit sense of direction her savvy skills saved the day (that and the awesome over saturation of Uber in Melbourne). We’ve now added navigator/ tour guide to Marissa’s client offering’s and services; get in touch.
What it did make us notice – well I noticed was that largely all of our experiences in Melbourne and probably life were based on the use of our devices and social media. Yes, we work in the industry but we’re probably more in tune than it to others, but I really had to wonder. The places we visited, had we not seen them on instagram or advised (word of mouth) we’d never of known about them.
Let us explain to you how before we even stepped foot inside these places, we had already assessed both them and their experience online (and if we’re doing it it’s means others are to your business).
- Accommodation. I stay at the same place and use the likes of Expedia and TripAdvisor. It’s always good to see what’s happened (since you last stayed) and to see what your fellow travelers are saying. I also leave reviews about my experience too. I trust you to do the same and check out peer driven reviews vs what the Hotels tell you (of course they’re not going to tell you about shitty small rooms and ants running around). Would you believe that we had already picked places to eat before we went? We had either found places near us based on personal suggestions, of what we had seen online and also checked out the reviews on Dimmi, Urbanspoon (now Zomato), Time Out and Urban List. Oh and their own facebook page reviews. People be brutal we’re telling you. Do your research.
- We used Google Maps to see the proximity of the venue from us, to decide if it was worth us walking, catching public transport or grabbing an Uber. For the most part we used Uber while in Melbourne and do so here in Sydney too. I don’t even Taxi anymore, and for good reason. I like to know who is coming to collect me, they’re much quicker and far more polite too. No having to deal with payments and it’s heaps cheaper too. If you’re in an Uber area and can use it, I suggest trying it for yourself.
- Yes we took photos of our food before we ate it, and yes we put it on our social media accounts. We linked back to the venues too, using the geo tags. Awesome way to share your experience, credit the venue AND an alibi if ever you need one.
- We left reviews about the good, contacted them directly about the bad. I hate nothing worse than when people have a shitty experience and take to social media about it. Give the venue an opportunity to know about the issue and rectify or discuss it. At our Hotel, we had a great time and everyone was nice except for one rude douche bag bar attendant. We brought this up at check out with the hotel directly as they asked us about our stay AND they addressed the issue there on the spot. They assured us they would address the issue with the team member and their direct manager (which I am sure they did) and even though they didn’t have to, they took the internet off our bill. Unexpected but a nice touch and we’ll be going back.
https://instagram.com/p/81fNbNl6I4/?taken-by=chrissy_sym
Too often too, people only focus on the negatives and that’s when they take to social media. Have a good meal, experience or stay, share that. Credit where credit is due. Everyone we posted to, replied to us, which made us feel valued and welcomed us back. We’ll be back again.
It might seem excessive, that so much of our experience is “online” but this is normal human behaviour now. We’re a generation of feedback, or taking what our peers have to say under advisement, and our spending patterns are based highly on that. We’re all critics and whether you like it or not, you have to embrace it in business and care what people say.
If you’re a business and have accounts where people provide comments and feedback about you, make sure to interact, engage with them and face the music when you need to. Having your head buried in the sand is no bueno and will get you no where. Remember, you can have the best marketing and social media strategy in the land, but if your customer feedback sucks, then it really doesn’t matter.
I can see my Dad now or my Grandma going ” Come on already, put your phone down and eat”, but is the experience we had the social norm now, or are we just the exception? We’d love to hear your feedback..