How can I grab the attention of potential customers on the web?
There is no doubt that water sports is having great success these days, and this leads to more and more offers and tougher competition. The time has come to take online marketing more seriously and work in this direction to attract the customers looking for activities online. But... how to manage that? Creativity and a high level of services to generate the word-of-mouth that we need. Although there are always some tricks we can use to work on this objective :
# 1 ENCOURAGE YOUR CUSTOMERS TO SHARE THE EXPERIENCE :
According to a study by Dimensional Research, 90% of customers say they end up buying or booking online following the opinions of other customers, so ... Let's start by motivating positive opinions for our school!
The most effective way to do this is to send an email to your clients once the activity is finished, inviting them to share their experience with the rest of the users and with yourselves. You can encourage them to write on websites like TripAdvisor or Google or even share their photos or videos on Facebook or Twitter.
What if they share negative opinions? There is no better way to know how to improve than to listen to your customers. By sharing this type of opinions they give you an opportunity to apologize and turn the negative into positive.
#2 KEEP YOUR CUSTOMERS UPDATED USING EMAILS :
Email is an opportunity to connect with your customers directly and impress them! Take advantage of each email to facilitate the booking process or invite them to connect with you and respond to their questions and doubts.
If you support your messages with strong visuals, such as videos of your activities and services, it will increase their engagement. But always remember that the simpler the better and sometimes a single Welcome message from the owner of the school can be much more efficient than a lengthy email.
#3 PERSONALIZE :
According to a study by The Futures Company forAmerican Express, 83% of millennials value personalization in services and 85% prefer their activities to be tailor-made versus a closed pack. You may not yet have this capability with your clients but surely you can offer them a completely personalized treatment.
If you rely on a CRM (Customer Relationship Marketing) tool and a booking system, you will be able to track all the communications you exchange with your customers and ensure you provide the most personalized treatment possible. If you still do not have these tools, try Bloowatch manager pack for free with which you can automate messages, add personal notes to each client, check the emails you exchange with them and mark their preferences. Make sure that you fulfill all the wishes of your customers.
#4 DESCRIBE ACTIVITIES ON YOUR WEB :
It may seem obvious, but too many schools skip it. Your customers have doubts, even more if it is the first time they are going to practice this type of sport.
You need to include detailed descriptions for each activity: type of activity, level, duration, if they need to bring some specific equipment, etc. Add relevant photos and even real videos from other clients to create good expectations for the new ones.
#5 INCREASE YOUR ACTIVITY IN SOCIAL NETWORKS
We already commented in the post My school in Social Networks, social media has reinvented how we engage with our clients base. Videos, drawings, photos, opinions ... there are hundreds of creative ways to share content with your followers so it's up to you to think a little bit and be more original than the rest!
#6 BUILD YOUR BRAND IMAGE ON GOOGLE:
Do you know Google My Business? It is an online tool to manage the entire identity of your business and unify all Google services (Google Places, Google Maps and Google+) in order to make life a little bit easier.
When your potential customers look for you on the internet, you'll easily appear in both organic searches and Google Maps. You will be able to have your information updated, your contact channels accessible to everyone and, in addition, you can leave comments about your experience with you. What are you waiting for?
#7 OFFER FREE AND QUALITY CONTENT ON YOUR WEBSITE:
Any content that adds value to your activity will be welcomed by your customers and even more if they do not have to pay for it.
Let's put ourselves in context: you, owner of a school, know how to perform a sport that others admire and want to practice. They will never be you, just like you will never become them. So... why don’t you share online your basic knowledge with your customers? Surely the lust will grow and they will want to try it with you, because they have seen that you are open, empathetic and that, in addition, you like to teach.
You can create routes in your area, a practical guide with basic steps to surf, photos of how to do warm-up exercises, a video explaining what they will learn with you ... There are a thousand options!
#8 OPEN A YOUTUBE CHANNEL:
Google's analysis on Youtube regarding contents of "trips and vacations" indicates a growth of 118% in 2015 compared to 2014. YouTube appears like the perfect platform to attract new customers and continue to build your presence on-line. In addition, updates to Google's algorithm increasingly show videos as search results.
Make short videos, include real images that show what you really do, add a good music and a link to your reservation system, and you will see new prospects interested your services.
#9 IMPLEMENT A BOOKING SYSTEM THAT GUARANTEES YOU NEW CUSTOMERS:
Don’t you have booking system implemented yet? You lack the most important thing to make your potential customers become real customers!
This is probably the fastest way to convert prospects into new customers and with Bloowatch we make it easy for you. Save time in all these administrative tasks and dedicate yourself to what really matters: enjoy the sea and transmit your passion for it to all your users.
CONCLUSION
Put all these tips into practice and you'll be closer to your customers. You will know their opinions first hand, you will have a direct communication with them and, above all, you will transmit your passion and open the way to everyone who wants to share it with you.
