The need for Custom CRM for the hospitality industry is acutely important as it is a customer-driven business. Customer satisfaction is the necessary fuel for any business today. Customer feedback about products and services will drive the organisation and enable them to apply strategies that elicit a positive response. This is especially true in the case of service-based industries like Hotels. In order to succeed, organizations thrive on building customer relationships along with maintaining quality service. 

A good CRM package from a custom CRM provider will enable the stakeholders from the industry to build an exhaustive database enlisting information pertaining to the customers. It will also help facilitate the company’s growth chart by striking better ties with the customer. 

The hospitality industry means more customer contact and personalization. As companies like Airbnb disrupt the conventional rules of the hospitality industry, establishments should seek tools that will enable them to take on the cut-throat competition. The industry has access to a wide spectrum of data and if it can tap it to deliver personalized services, it will successfully be able to combat a lot of issues including price. 

But, if they have to succeed they have to employ an all-enveloping approach that will address different areas of their business such as ubiquitous channel presence, customer loyalty with sales, and marketing initiatives. Turning to reliable software for personalized guest experiences is one of the leading ways that organizations use to derive customer delight leading to customer loyalty.

Putting the customer first

When every operation in your business is looked at from the customer’s perspective you can’t help but deliver a better customer experience. 

This is where CRM comes as it is a company-wide strategy that manages interaction with the customer at all levels. CRM system is a tool that a custom CRM provider provides that helps with contact management, workflow process, sales management, productivity and much more. CRM is important to drive sales, customer referrals and much more. Consider these noteworthy trends from Super Office.

• About 86% of customers are willing to pay a premium for a better customer experience
• Companies that are customer-centric are 60% more profitable compared to their peers
• 1 in 3 customers will not mind leaving their favourite brand after just one unfavourable experience.

CRM essentially combines the data from all departments to get an integrated picture of every single customer in real-time. This helps those employees that function in department.s with customer-interface take quick decisions on up-selling, cross-selling, responsiveness and much more.

Service accounts for 32% of CRM adoption which is a substantial allocation. The numbers are bound to increase.

Is CRM needed for the hospitality sector?

While custom CRM for the hospitality industry is not really in the top 5 categories, custom CRM for the hotel industry has occupied a slot in the top 7 industries that have adopted CRM the most. The hotel industry specifically has become future-proof and is focusing on bigger trends. As per SuperOffice, CRM currently is the largest software market in the USA and the projections are encouraging. 

Custom CRM providers help you create multi-dimensional views of data to enhance.
Various aspects like social media watch, geo-targeting, customer loyalty tracking and much   more. Since all CRM’s are hosted in the cloud, are accessible on mobile devices and also are GDPR friendly, industries from all over the world should not delay in adopting this technology. 

‘Happy customers equate loyal ones’

The hospitality industry is driven by customer loyalty. Repeat customers are driving growth in a manner that customer experience management has become a substantial goal for organisations. But, when it comes to loyalty, it is not focused on prices alone, there are customers who need and demand exclusivity of services in a more personalised manner. 67% of travel loyalty membership holders and 70% of retail loyalty membership owners demand member-only services even it is at a premium. 

Delivering customer experience that delights them is not only about loyalty, it also includes increased revenues. Trip Advisor score provided by the service is a great indicator for hotels to raise or decrease their rates. Even a single point increase in trip advisor score implies that hotels can raise their prices even by 10% without impacting their bottom line. 

A custom CRM for the hospitality industry is not only about sending emails. Being at the zenith of customer service, we as a leading custom software development company believe that it makes sense to apply CRM in all the central activities of your operations. The initial step is to integrate customer data from other systems into the custom CRM software only to ensure that you have the authentic version of the truth.

Some pointers for personalised experiences

Organizations in the hospitality industry looking to invest in CRM software for the future need to keep these points in mind. 

1. Whether it is a social media or marketing automation system, the custom CRM for the hospitality industry has to be in sync with what you’re already using.
2. A strict piece of advice to all in the hospitality industry is not to do it alone. In the hospitality industry, CRM is still in its infancy stage and rather than compiling all the research all by yourself enlisting the help of a professional custom CRM provider to guide you will endure you with long-term and short-term benefits such as staff training, direct support, and much more. 
3. If you have a Custom CRM then ensure it is put to use else reaping benefits out of it will be out of the question. It is important to keep your employees updated about CRM and its functionalities and asking them their support and dedication to make it a part of their workflow process.

How Custom CRM for the hospitality industry warranties personalized experience?

Custom CRM for the hospitality industry is not just about core pointers like price, delivery, and quality, it also is about an amicable approach, the swift decision-making operation and prompt problem solving that make a big impact. This enhanced customer service provides companies an edge over their competition as it rapidly increases the perceived value and wins loyalty. 

Softwares for personalized guest experience in the hospitality industry especially the hotel industry is needed as it helps the company exceed guest expectations by augmenting the aesthetic value of its offerings and also build a bridge for effective interpersonal relations.  

Let’s see some appreciable advantages:

1. Single-window database

A custom CRM software contains all the requisite data concerning its customers which are updated intermittently to accommodate changes in it. This helps in faster identification of the data helping the departments to resolve customer complaints and issues in a better manner. 

2. Improved Sales Productivity

Sales tasks that are repetitive like generating reports, sending out bulk emails can now be automated with custom CRM. The CRM mobile access lets the sales team in the hospitality industry to have ready information available on customer preferences that will aid them to take spot decisions to close deals with pertinent customers. 

3. Customer Retention

About 69% of customers have driven away to rival companies because of the lack of any personal connection with the company they deal with. Rob Yanker of McKinsey and Company very aptly puts it, “Winning back a lost customer can cost up to 50-100 times as much as keep the current one satisfied” With custom CRM as a high-powered tool, organizations can now rely on its analytics to deliver what the customer wants, in a manner they want and the time when they require it”.

4. Easy Customization

Custom CRM software curated by a well-rated custom CRM provider will enable the hospitality industry to customize their offerings according to the target audience. For a large group of customers value for money is important, but there is a considerable amount of customers who prefer luxury and a refined experience above money. 

5. Enhanced customer experience

A custom CRM for the hospitality industry helps to build an effective customer support system that provides assistance to clients through different modes like phones, emails, chats and much more. For best results, Custom CRM, if employed as a strategy, might just not work in its full essence, but when adopted as a company philosophy will reap the best benefits.

How companies can provide personalized services with CRM tools?

• Companies also can benefit hugely by using CRM in all its departments to deliver happy and satisfied customers. 
• Effective use of Configure, Price, Quote (CPQ) software allows the sales force to create the right product mix based on a customer’s needs, as well as optimize their sales bundle based on additional product requirements.
• Insightful CRM analytical reporting runs within the comprehensive custom CRM system providing deep insights on customers like demographic snapshots, a multi-phased analysis, comparison of time frames, buying trends and a lot more. 
• A well-endowed custom CRM software will help companies dissect the customer journey right from the desire to buy the service and evaluation but also to the purchase cycle, post-sale and renewal. 
• With custom CRM tools ready to retain customers by continual engagement and future activities, customer success management or account management becomes easier leading to higher satisfaction levels. 
• A faster funnel velocity will help customers move up the customer journey faster with personalized services.
• Effective engagement with hot leads resulting in better lead management.
• Easier scanning of Machine-Accepted Leads(MAL) that helps organizations to figure out the right customer at the right time. 
• A great strategy for market automation will help organizations streamline and measure different market-related activities especially customer communication, segmentation, customer tracking with a lead forecast. 

Summing up

As a lead custom software development company implementing a custom CRM for the hospitality industry will make it possible for your internal employees to resolve larger issues with ease and swiftness. Your custom CRM provided by your custom CRM provider will help you to provide the right information, in the relevant context and at a time when it is needed the most.

So, yes, delivering a superlative guest experience can be tough, but with the right custom CRM provider, the industry can make sure they provide customers with what they need. Only when they do this, their return and loyalty are assured.