Opinion We Care About You

By Melissa Arnold



These four little words can be your most potent marketing tool: "We care about you." We all like to hear those words. But it goes far beyond a quickly said slogan that gives us a few warm fuzzies. Those four little words, if we recognize their power and importance and if we use them properly, can help us build a solid, loyal customer base.



Actions Speak Louder Than Words

Just saying, "We care about you," is meaningless babble without the actions to back them up. What good is it, for instance, to read an ad in a magazine or hear a television commercial that says, in essence, that they care about us and then get ignored by the front line employee when we arrive? Do you feel cared about when you go to check into a hotel and find that the desk clerk is too busy talking on the phone to even look up and acknowledge your existence? Do you feel cared about when the restaurant wait staff takes several minutes to even bring a menu to your table? Do you feel cared about when you're ready to make a purchase at a store and the staff is too busy chatting with each other to even say hello to you? "We care about you" is not meant to be merely a phrase; it is a series of activities that should begin the moment a customer walks in your front door.



Personalize It

I was staying at a Hilton in Portland, Ore., recently and became ill, requiring an emergency trip to the hospital. As the EMTs were taking me out of my hotel room, someone from the hotel staff was there to give a special voucher to my friend to cover the cost of a taxicab to and from the hospital. In the worries of the moment, the details of transportation hadn't crossed any of our minds. But that little gesture by the hotel meant so much to us. That voucher told us that the hotel did, indeed, care about us not only as customers but also as people with a very specific need. With that voucher they said, "We care about you," in a powerful way. And you can bet that the Hilton hotel chain has won a couple of loyal customers who will spread the word for the next several years that Hilton is staffed by people who truly do care.



A Better Definition

The foundation of the tourism industry is hospitality. The American Heritage dictionary defines hospitality as: "An instance of cordial and generous treatment of guests." In the tourism industry, a better definition for hospitality is: "We care about you." We are in a people-oriented business, and if we care - or if we don't care - about the needs, expectations and desires of our customers, it will show. Those of us in the tourism industry may be at our place of business to sell food or merchandise or entertainment or rooms or a number of other products or services, and we may truly have the very best food, merchandise, etc., in Howard County or even the whole world. But the thing that will truly set us apart from the competition, the thing that will be most memorable, is how well we say, "We care about you" - how well we deliver hospitality.

Often the first place a person will stop when they visit someplace new is the local Visitors Center. We here at Howard County Tourism Council provide services for over 18,000 people a year in the Howard County Visitor Information Center. We give brochures about our membership partners, give directions, make hotel reservations, provide public restrooms, etc. But when you combine our activities and look at them as a whole, what we really provide is hospitality. In fact, as an enhancement to our services, this past year we opened up a Hospitality Room where we can show visitors a video about Howard County, and they can view displays about the history of the Patapsco Valley and sit for a bit to enjoy a cup of water before heading out to explore the county. It is another way that we can show the visitors to Howard County that: "We care about you."



Worth the Investment

What do you do to tell your customers that you care about them? From the time they walk into your place of business to the time they leave, do your actions show your customers that you care about their individual needs, expectations and desires? It's easy for you to look at your bookkeeping and figure out how many dollars you spend on advertising, but have you thought about how many of your resources you need to invest in the delivery of hospitality?

Hospitality doesn't require a large amount of money; the investment is in attitudes and training. It can be as simple as a sincere smile, a glass of water or taxi fare in a time of distress. "We care about you" are four little words that are the foundation of any good marketing plan as a potent marketing tool that will keep on working for you long after your customers have first walked in your front door.



Melissa Arnold is the executive director of the Howard County Tourism Council and can be reached at 410-313-1439.