Alumni
relations a powerful service ally
Serve It Up
Roberta Nedry |
“We’ve
got spirit, yes we do, we’ve got spirit, how about
you?!”
Remember
this simple, enthusiastic cheer from high school sporting
events? There was and is nothing like being part of
something and showing your loyalty. When we join an
organization and become part of something, most of us
are motivated to contribute and want to feel like what
we do matters. We are proud of “our team”
or “our department” or “our division”
and will rally around strong and caring leaders.
And,
even when we leave that organization, perhaps to move
on to bigger and better or different things, many of
those positive feelings remain. We retain pleasant memories
of our employment and most of the people with whom we
worked. We make lasting friendships and build personal
networks from those experiences.
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Your former crew
members are a powerful market target. They already know the
message and product. They “bought in” to what
the organization was all about when they joined. They do not
need lots of advertising messages and persuasive literature
to familiarize them with a yacht or vessel. Your crew members,
past and present, could and should be one of your most valuable
conduits for new business.
‘Who’ is solved; now the
‘How’
So how do you refine service levels to this powerful group?
This point really hit home for me when contacting
one of my former employers, a resort company, for whom I have
tremendous respect and enthusiasm in addition to wonderful
memories. This would be the first time I would introduce my
family to a place that was so meaningful to me, and I was
excited. I wrote a personal note to the general manager with
the hope that he would acknowledge my contributions as a former
employee and show me some level of recognition.
I was not looking for a discount or preferential
treatment. What I wanted was a “welcome back”
and appreciation for a “family” member that had
returned, with lots of extra dollars to spend.
Instead, he apparently
handed the letter off to an assistant, who sent me a form
letter, directing me to call the general toll free reservation
line, just like everyone else in the world. My loyalty diminished,
and sadly, my memories tarnished.
All sorts of opportunities
to have someone personally address my stay and encourage me
to increase dollars per day spent were immediately lost.
What if they had only
instead offered a friendly “welcome back” message,
and perhaps helped with my arrangements. Considering that
crew leaders and owners probably spend lots of time and dollars
figuring out how to reach new guests, why do some totally
miss the opportunity to take advantage of this target market?
This one was easy and would have had no cost. It’s Relationship
Marketing 101. Effectiveness in hitting target markets doesn’t
have to always be the result of costly shotgun approaches,
when often the best targets already consider themselves part
of the relationship.
Ample opportunity
for megayachts
The megayacht industry employs hundreds of people in both
short- and long-term roles. Some are seasonal and some spend
a lifetime with one vessel. Some crew members stay within
the yachting industry but move to other destinations or types
of vessels. Some move into other industries with meeting,
business and entertainment needs for the yachting industry.
Each of these employees has
families and friends and business associates. Word-of-mouth
is one of their favorite advertising mediums and they love
to talk. Boating people are usually people people.
Let’s learn a lesson
from major universities around the country. Alumni relations
are critical to fund- and fan-raising success. Highly paid
officers are hired just to manage the relationships with former
students and harvest dollars from loyal graduates. Why wouldn’t
the megayacht and related industries do the same? Former employees
are such an easy sell, and you know who they are.
How can the megayacht community
score big with employees as a target audience?
How should crew leaders service
those who used to be in service?
How can former employees
be reached and what will motivate them to become guests themselves?
Six winning
strategies
Consider these winning strategies for big hits on the service
scoreboard that drive sales effectiveness:
* Thank them. When
their employment ends, send a thank you note for their time
with you. Let them know their time with you was valued and
you want to stay in touch.
* Secure accurate
contact information and keep track of them.
* Invite them to come
back, take a trip, and refer new crew members, family members
and friends. Tell them you want their business. Give them
some preferential or easy way of making the connection.
* Send personalized
letters or other mailings on a frequent basis to update them
on new routes or ports, upgrades or renovations. Make it easy
for them to spread the word and tell others once they get
your message.
* When they do come back, welcome them. Train your existing
employees to recognize former crew members.
* After they leave, thank them again. Keep building the relationship
and momentum, and the dollars.
Loyalty can drive revenue
Your former crew members are in a unique position to refer
business. It’s not that they don’t want to, it’s
just that they may not think about it and don’t know
the latest. Out of sight, out of mind.
Since thousands of dollars
are spent on guest loyalty programs and statistics prove how
much more profitable loyalty dollars are, why would we neglect
doing the same with former employees, who know the product
even better than loyal guests?
Catch the team spirit. Pay
attention to your alums and welcome back dollars with familiar
faces. Everybody wins with team spirit as a powerful service
ally.
