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Baer cites new market research suggesting that com-
pensating customers to provide a review does even more to
diminish participation levels, “which sounds counterintuitive,
but, in fact, that quid pro quo [something in return for some-
thing] makes customers feel icky about the scenario.”
In addition, offering incentives on a social media site
may be in violation of that site’s terms of service.
Baer also advises against rewarding
employees
based
on positive feedback; instead, he says companies should
reward employees simply on the total amount of feedback
given. Otherwise, “Employees won’t ask for feedback from
customers who are unhappy,” he says. “You are, by defini-
tion, skewing your results based on who you mention it to.
Base it on the percentage of customers who respond; if it’s
above 80 percent, everyone gets a bonus, even if all the cus-
tomers say their stays were terrible.”
Getting Social
If sending out surveys is similar to
a private chat, feedback on social
media is more akin to holding a
town hall meeting, where every-
one can hear every word of what’s
being said. Review sites such as
TripAdvisor, Yelp, and the like, are
popular portals where a lot of cus-
tomers choose to leave their comments, so it's important for
companies to be there, too, Baer says.
“We need to say that we’re listening, however you want
to talk to us,” he says. “Make it clear to customers that they
can contact you through a panoply of contact mechanisms.”
Interval International members can obtain support by
telephoning, emailing, and posting on social media, but many
prefer to comment through the company’s members-only
forum, Interval Community. With more than 208,000 par-
ticipants worldwide, it is one of the largest timeshare social
networking forums in the world, and Interval closely monitors
the conversation on an ongoing basis. It’s exactly the type of
structure that’s aided Interval in pinpointing areas of improve-
ment for member engagement.
“It helps on several levels,” says Madeline Berges, Interval’s
vice president of e-commerce and digital marketing. “It can
help us identify bugs we may not have caught, so we can start
investigating. Also, when members are telling each other they
want a feature or service, we can enhance the value that we
provide by offering it.”
Berges cites Interval’s introduction of the hotel exchange
product as just one example, as well as updates to the Interval
International app and the ability to upgrade to a larger unit for an
additional fee.
The fact that Interval Community is members-only makes it
an especially valuable space on the web. “Our Facebook page
is open to non-members, so it’s more difficult to know who’s
commenting,” Berges explains.
Interval is also active on other social media platforms,
such as Instagram, Pinterest, YouTube, and Linkedin. “By
keeping our finger on the pulse, we have been able to engage
audiences across all our social media outlets,” Berges says.
HICV has a closed Facebook page accessible only to mem-
bers. “We truly appreciate the way more senior members will
talk new members through our system,” Pestillo says.
Despite the fact that the arrangement facilitated such
an enhanced, albeit exclusive, dialogue between members,
Pestillo initially expressed reservations about the arrangement.
“At first, I was nervous about offering it, but for the most
part, we have had really poignant and constructive ques-
tions,” he says. “We also appreciate it when members point
out the ways the club keeps improving.”
Your Response Required
No matter how a customer pro-
vides feedback — or whether it’s
positive or negative — responding
in a timely manner can cement a
company’s relationship with that
customer. According to Baer’s re-
search, conducted with more than
2,000 American consumers who had
complained about a company in the previous 12 months,
fielding a complaint (not necessarily solving the problem, just
responding to it) increases customer advocacy by as much
as 50 percent.
On the other hand, neglecting a complaint has been shown
to decrease customer advocacy by as much as 25 percent.
The simple explanation, says Baer, is that “no response is a
response. It says, ‘We don’t care about your dissatisfaction
enough to even acknowledge it.’”
The amount of time you have to respond to a customer’s
concerns may depend, sometimes entirely, on the channel
where the feedback occurred. Baer’s research demonstrates
that on social media, 40 percent of customers want a response
in one hour; on email and the telephone, that window is about
eight hours. Then there are other outlets where a less timely
response is perfectly acceptable, too.
“On review platforms such as TripAdvisor, customers often
don’t expect a response, so if you get back to them in two to
three days, that’s fantastic,” he says.
Baer also cautions that when you respond more rapidly
to a certain channel, you’re actually training your customers to
use that channel by rewarding that behavior. “When you answer
a tweet in four hours but an email takes eight, you’re training
customers to use Twitter to get a faster answer. Companies tell
us that they prefer their customers use email over Twitter, so
maybe they should have the same speed everywhere.”
Both The Christie Lodge and HICV do everything they can
to acknowledge and respond to comments no matter where
they get posted, including social media.
“We try to respond to every comment, whether it’s good
or bad,” Siegert-Free says. For CustomerCount comment
cards, The Christie Lodge responds within 48 hours.
In choosing how to respond to social media comments,
HICV considers if the information is helpful to others or unique
“Good companies tolerate complaints,
but great ones seek them out because
they know that the people who are
complaining are actually giving you
what you need to discover where
you can improve.”
APRIL – JUNE 2018
RESORTDEVELOPER.COMVACATION INDUSTRY REVIEW
“Customers will give you the information
you need to improve your operation, make
more money, and save money, but that only
happens if you embrace complaints.”
“Create a culture where your company
demonstrates a willingness to engage
with customers.”
SOUND ADVICE FROM JAY BAER ...