Ms. Frank

Sales & Marketing

Protecting Customer Relationships While Building a Prospect Database

By Tema Frank, President, Web Mystery Shoppers International Inc.

Have you ever stood outside a restaurant looking at its menu, trying to decide whether to choose it or one of the half-dozen other restaurants on the same street? How would you react if the maitre d' suddenly came out and asked you how many seats you needed? A little affronted, perhaps? You might feel that he's coming on a bit strong. What about if instead he came out and covered up the prices on the menu, telling you that you have to come inside and sit down before you could see the prices? Seems ridiculous, doesn't it. Yet that's exactly what a surprising number of hotel sites still do online, insisting that prospects register in order to fully explore the hotel's offerings and prices. Nothing turns away potential customers faster.

There are obvious reasons for wanting prospects to register and give you information about themselves, many of which can even benefit them. The more you know about them, the more relevant the information you can present, both while they are on your site and in later e-mails. This is good for both of you. But consumers are wary of unwanted e-mails, concerned about the security of any personal data they enter, and, quite rightly, reluctant to share information before they are certain yours is a site they are truly interested in, comfortable with, and might want to use again.

If you want to collect information from visitors to your site, think about:

The less you ask for, and the later in the process you ask it, the more likely you are to get it without scaring away new business. Here's how one typical prospect reacted when faced with a request to register at the site of a high-quality, well-known, hotel chain:

"I feel uncomfortable with them asking for a reservation name this early because as of now [I've made] no commitment to make an actual reservation."

There is no need for you to know anything about the customer, other than when and where they would like to stay, before they reach the point of wanting to finalize a booking. And what information do you really need then? Be sure not to demand too much. You need their contact information and credit card number. That's all. Anything else should be optional.

Even when someone is making a booking, why do you need them to "create a profile"? That presumptuously assumes that they will be repeat visitors. Many customers resent this assumption. Instead, ask for the information you need to make the reservation, and only that information. Once they've provided that, ask them if they'd like you to save that information for them to save them time in case they return at a future date. If, and only if, they agree then ask them to add a password so they can access their profile in future. That's also when you can offer to store other information about their preferences, again to save them time in future. Stress the benefit to the customer! The difference is a subtle one, but crucial. Asking them at this stage, and explaining why, makes it seem like you are doing them a favor, rather than the reverse.

One hotel chain we studied asked for the children's names if someone was reserving a room where children would be sleeping. From a hotel's perspective, it might be great to be able to have a personal greeting awaiting the children when they arrive. Make the kids feel special. They'd love it. And happy children help build loyalty with parents. But without an explanation of why you are asking and what you plan to do with the information, a request for their names will automatically trigger security fears in the minds of most parents.

"But what if we want to build a prospect database?" I hear you asking. "Everyone says e-mail marketing is the way to go!" Again, it comes down to giving the consumer a benefit for sharing information with you. Recognize that there is a tradeoff in the amount you can ask for an the number of people who will provide it. People who vaguely think they might want to stay with you someday may be willing to give you permission to send them e-mail marketing, especially if you offer an incentive for signing up to your e-newsletter list, such as a draw for a free weekend getaway. But if the information you later send them is not well targeted, you will have a high drop-off rate in your readership. Some will bother to unsubscribe. Many more will merely delete your e-mails without reading them, put you on their blocked e-mail lists, or even report you as a spammer. If too many block, bounce or complain about your newsletters, you risk being blocked by the major internet service providers (ISPs), which could ultimately mean that even people who did appreciate your e-mails will be prevented from getting them.

If, however, you can get richer information about their tastes and interests, you can send better targeted mailings to more likely prospects. These are much more likely to generate sales and less likely to get you into trouble with ISPs. But to get consumers to provide detailed information, you will likely need to offer a significant incentive (the weekend getaway will still do, especially if you have a luxurious hotel. If yours is a more basic offering you may wish to partner with local attractions to make the package more tempting) and explain clearly that you need this level of detail so you can tailor the mailings specifically to their interests and not waste their time. If you position it as helping them avoid spam instead of risking getting more, you'll get much greater buy-in and, ultimately, make more sales.

Tema Frank is president of Web Mystery Shoppers International Inc. Her company's proprietary website assessment uses an ever-changing panel of some 50,000 people testing web sites from their own computers and providing detailed feedback. Her company has produced research insights that have been valued by companies such as Expedia, Sabre Holdings (Travelocity), Travelweb, OctopusTravel, and many others. She serves on the research committee of the Web Analytics Association and on the Editorial Board of User Experience magazine. Ms. Frank can be contacted at 780-444-5645 or tema@webmysteryshoppers.com Extended Bio...

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