How reviews can help your travel brand offer amazing customer service

As a travel brand, do you provide excellent customer service? Is this reflected in your reviews? After all, the two go hand in hand. Especially in this industry! If you offer excellent customer service, you’ll get a great review. When potential customers see that review, they’re more likely to book with you. And so the cycle continues. So, In a world where a whopping 95% of customers read reviews before making important purchasing decisions, how can reviews actually help your travel brand offer a fantastic experience? Let’s get into it...

Giving your customers a voice

People love to give their opinion! Have you ever noticed that? Whether you’re buying a car, looking at areas to purchase a home, even down to things like new hairstyles and clothes. As humans, we also rely heavily on that feedback from our loved ones but also now from others online. So when your customers are looking to book a holiday, they’ll rely on complete strangers on the internet to give them an honest review of their recent travel experience. Don’t wait in anticipation for reviews to come in, be more proactive! Invite customers to give feedback soon after their booking and/or holiday. Once they see that you’re genuinely interested in hearing their experience, they’re more likely to give you a glowing review! Even if they have concerns or negative comments, by asking for feedback, you’re also showing you have their best interest at heart and that you’re willing to improve on any issues they may have encountered.

Providing reassurance for travellers

In a super competitive industry, reviews play a key part in securing a booking. Even if you promise travellers you will give them the experience of a lifetime, your words cannot match those of a customer who can back this up based on their personal experience. Highlight reviews on all your product pages, social media channels, and email marketing campaigns to show how awesome you are! Never miss an opportunity to show off and encourage more bookings.

Identifying patterns & trends

Reviews can make your business look great! Dedicating some time to actually reading those reviews and reflecting on feedback can also help improve your travel business even more. For instance, do you notice any recurring questions that you can answer in your FAQs or booking process? Are there any worries or concerns that multiple customers have shown in their feedback regarding topics like refunds and cancellations? Could you elaborate on this in your policies? Sure, not all reviews will have endless nuggets of valuable information. However, it’s always worth paying attention to any patterns or trends and considering how you can work these into your offering as a travel brand.

To reply or not to reply?

If you have time, it's always good to look active and reply to comments, especially negative ones. You might think negative reviews put customers off, but it’s actually not the case. In fact, recent research suggests customers become suspicious if there are no negative reviews. Many customers even seek out negative reviews before booking. Receiving a negative review actually provides a unique opportunity for you to show customers how you handle yourself when it comes to complaints. This is your time to shine! Check out our guide on responding to negative reviews for top tips on this topic. Want to find out more about any of our solutions or learn more about how we can help your travel company? Get in touch today.