Mr. Tarasofsky

Website / Online Mechandising / SEO

Recognizing What Drives User Loyalty in the Online Experience

By Jerry Tarasofsky, CEO, iPerceptions Inc.

In the hospitality sector, if you build it, and you have a mega marketing budget to promote it and advertise it, you may attract visitors to your site once. You may even get them to return again.

But unless you understand the key drivers of loyalty and what makes users want to return, the challenge of building a loyal online audience segment will be just that - an ongoing challenge.

In this feature I will provide you with some thoughts and insights into what we believe are key loyalty drivers in the online hospitality sector. Our information is gleaned from feedback obtained from over 50,000 visitors to some of the most recognized hospitality related web sites in North America and Europe including those of Six Continents Hotels, Omni Hotels, and The Savoy Group. Our data is generated using proprietary technology that maps user group evaluations to a strategic behavioral framework. Our webValidatorTM Solutions Platform allows our clients to listen to and interpret how actual users value their web sites, identifying the sites' key strengths and weaknesses from a user perspective. It is a key component in our clients CRM online strategy to increase loyalty and build a solid relationship with their web site users

Here are the basics.

Navigation

If you want people to return to your web site again and again, you must insure they have a positive experience at your site right from the start. That means the site has to load fast, and be easy or relatively simple to navigate Stay away from pop-up windows and other distractions that confuse and detract first time visitors from understanding the key branding and positioning messages you want to convey. If you lose people or frustrate them before they've even had a chance to start the relationship, the chances of getting them back are pretty slim. You have to make sure they can quickly find what they want.

Content

If users can quickly and easily navigate through the site, your next challenge in building a relationship with them is insuring that your site has the content they are seeking. Be it room rates or a list of amenities or simply pictures of the pool, your site's content must be current and sufficiently deep to satisfy the needs of your users. And that information must be easily accessed. 360^0 landscapes of your beachfront may be great, but if the users PC can't handle the bandwidth necessary to display the image and crashes, you'll lose them and any opportunity to continue the relationship. Think about asking your users to self identify their needs so you can better deliver what they want. If you know a user is looking for holiday information, they have very different needs than say the business traveler who wants to check on the availability of meeting facilities. If you recognize the need for this type of broad personalization, which is a given in doing business offline, users at your site will have a positive experience and have reason to return. Your content should also be constantly revised and updated to insure it is the first choice option for users seeking information about your hotel. You might also want to consider giving users the option to sign up for updates or bulletins related to events they are interested in. If you send them information that is relevant to their specific needs and makes their lives easier, they will value it. If you send them fluff, they will treat it as junk mail. This is not the way to build a loyal user base.

Interacivity

Interactivity is an important factor in building a relationship with your users. Do they feel that they are truly interacting with your organization? Give them an opportunity to participate in the ongoing development of your web initiative by giving them a channel to communicate with you. If you can create a feeling of community amongst your users it will pay off handsomely. According to a study conducted by McKinsey earlier this year, the community features of web sites are helping to drive loyalty and purchases. In that study, McKinsey found that users who contribute reviews or post to bulletin boards, visit sites more than nine times as often as users who don't use these community features. They also remain twice as loyal and buy nearly twice as often: The one-third of site visitors who use these features account for two-thirds of the sales. The Web makes this kind of interaction easy. A simple bulletin board can increase loyalty by giving users a place to discuss issues relevant to their needs. Sort of like an online trade show. And it's a great way to keep on top of what your users are saying about the company as well.

Motivation

Probably the most important factor in establishing a loyal user is your ability to deliver an overall satisfactory experience. If everything I've outlined above is executed correctly, it must still all come together in one seamless experience. It should be unique and at the same time reflect your traditional branding strategies and also offer the user true value. Users should feel the visit was meaningful and that their time at the site was well spent. Last but surely not least is the issue of trust. Trust is a key factor in driving user loyalty. Above all else, web site owners should be looking at every aspect of their site from the perspective of increasing their users level of trust with the organization. Is your privacy policy clear and easy to understand? If not, users will not supply you with information you need to enhance their overall site experience. Use actual guest testimonials to support your value statements. Offer your users rate guarantees so they won't feel they can obtain better prices using other channels.

In summary, the list goes on and on. But the one common denominator when it comes to building loyalty is pretty much the same online as it is offline - Treat your web site user as you would treat a guest in your hotel and they will return.

Jerry Tarasofsky is CEO of iPerceptions Inc. Its webValidator® "captures the voice" of the online customer, helping companies learn more about their customers. Using a comprehensive perceptual framework to evaluate key elements of the visitor experience and, algorithms and modeling to identify attributes that drive satisfaction. The webValidator solution turns data points into easy-to-understand strategic and tactical decision support. iPerceptions’ clients in the hospitality sector include Crowne Plaza, Omni, Savoy, Wellesley, Homestead, Radisson and Holiday Inn. Mr. Tarasofsky can be contacted at jerryt@iperceptions.com Extended Bio...

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