Ms. Knutson

Sales & Marketing

The Power of a Secret, a Story, and a Surprise

By Bonnie Knutson, Professor, The School of Hospitality Business/MSU

It is hogwash! It is baloney! It is a lot of hooey!

Somewhere along the line, we have been sold a bill of goods that all it takes to generate great word-of-mouth (that is WOM, you know) advertising for your hotel is top service quality. We have all seen the figures: A happy guest will tell six - or seven - or even eight others about your hotel. While that may have been true back in the '80s and '90s, good service is not enough to produce WOM today because good service is just expected (though not always received). It is poor service that produces word-of-mouth advertising in this era of savvy guests and strong competition, but that is another story. And it is certainly not the kind of WOM that any hotel needs or wants.

To cause the kind of positive word-of-mouth advertising that will expand your market share and drive hotel revenues, it takes more than top facilities and good service. It takes a Secret, a Story or a Surprise.

First the Secret. Remember when you were a kid and someone told you a secret? How important you felt. How special. It is the same way with your guests. Everyone loves to know something that other people don't know because it makes them feel important, more in-the -know, more connected with what's happening. And when they can pass the information along to others, it strokes their egos. And stroking the ego by letting guests in on a secret that they can share is a special no-cost gift you can give.

A very smart restaurateur I know uses apple pie as a vehicle for telling a secret. As he sees a guest eating the dessert, he will walk over to the table and ask how she is enjoying the special end to her meal. Then, with some ceremony, he will lean over and, in a rather hushed voice, whisper, "It's the touch of Madagascar cinnamon that makes it taste so unique. Not many people know this. We buy it only for our apple pie."

What secret can you let your guests in on? It can be as simple as "leaking" the word that there will be a new amenity package in all rooms before it is announced. It can be telling them that you just located the last remaining case of that 1985 Merlot in the country and you are setting it aside for those few who value its unique taste. Or it can be showing them the hottest trend in spa apparel before it appears in the boutique shop. Sharing a secret is a great way to tie guests more closely to your hotel and to give them something about which to talk.

Then there is a Story. How many times has someone asked you, "What's up at the hotel?" or "What's new at the hotel?" It a rather mundane question that has become part of our everyday vocabulary. The usual response is, "Oh, not much," or "Same ol', Same ol,'" But, as marketing guru, Jon Spolestra, points out, the next time you get asked, "What's new?" your answer should be, "A lot and it's exciting." When something is new, it becomes a story to tell. Whether it is a new menu item or simply a new technology in the rooms, it can create radial (WOM) advertising.

Remember the movie, The Blair Witch Project? The traditional formula for promoting a new film is a heavy dose of TV, sprinkled with a barrage of print advertising, previews, and topped off with guest appearances by the stars on every talk show imaginable. That takes a whopping budget. But the folks at Artisian Entertainment focused on the power of a story to generate WOM among moviegoers. Using community trendsetters, a website that looked like it was about actual events, not a movie, and a limited release schedule to keep a "sold out" hype going, they were able to gross more than $300 million from a movie that cost less than $50,000 to make. All they did was tell a story in a new and exciting way.

Finally, there is the Surprise. This is my favorite way of spawning word-of-mouth advertising for hotels because is costs so little and it does so much. The concept of the surprise is the concept of the baker's dozen, where you get a 13th cookie when you only buy 12. Surprise has been called the foundation for delight. It is the unexpected. It is the Deliver +1. It is the Lagniappe (Cajun word for "a little bit extra").

My dad was the master of surprise. In his neighborhood Italian grocery store, he would cut a whole chicken into nine pieces, with the wishbone area artfully carved into that ninth piece. He would then put the pieces back together in such a way as to make the chicken look whole again. No one - and I mean no one - could tell it had been cut. He especially loved doing this for new customers because he knew they would be talking about "Eggie's bird" to friends and family, who would then come in for their nine-piece chicken.

Dad was constantly surprising customers. He would always be slipping an extra peach into their grocery bag or stroll out from behind the counter to sing to them. And no child ever left the store without a little treat. One day, when we had some time on our hands, he quietly sent us out to wash the three cars parked in front of the store while the people were shopping. (We were not big enough to have a parking lot.) Can you imagine how much goodwill we generated by this? Can you imagine how many people heard the story about "Eggie's cars"?

While your hotel may not have a chicken, peach, or a cars to wash for your guests, there are other ways that only you can delight and surprise them....complimentary umbrellas if it is raining, cutting an article about a guest's (or his/her company's) achievement out of the newspaper and sending it to the him/her with a congratulatory note, or having complimentary note cards, pens and postage in your VIP rooms. The possibilities are endless.

Word of mouth advertising is still the most powerful marketing tool a hotel has. People believe the words of family and friends far more that they do the words in an advertisement or newsletter you send. So the next time your hotel wants to get the best bang for its marketing dollar, think WOM...think the power of a Secret, a Story, and a Surprise... Your REVPAR will thank you!

Bonnie J. Knutson is a professor in The School of Hospitality Business in the Broad College of Business at Michigan State University. She is an authority on emerging lifestyle trends and innovative marketing. Her work has been featured in The Wall Street Journal, USA Today, and on PBS and CNN. She has had numerous articles in industry, business, and academic publications. Bonnie is a frequent speaker for executive education as well as business and industry meetings, workshops, and seminars. Dr. Knutson is also editor of the Journal of Hospitality & Leisure Marketing. Ms. Knutson can be contacted at 517-353-9211 or drbonnie@msu.edu Extended Bio...

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