Setting Your Customer’s Expectations With Your Booking Process

When your traveling customers get to your destination, your tour or activity is what makes their trip. As they think back to their holiday, looking at photos they took, it’s the experience that they had with you at your destination that they will remember. The thing is, to get them to book with you in the first place, you need to set their expectations from the outset. If your booking process is clean, intuitive and professional, it goes a long way towards forming a positive first impression with your customers which puts them much more at ease with the idea of handing over their money to you.

This is why you have such a big responsibility! Setting high expectations and delivering on them is what will make your business succeed, and keep those word of mouth recommendations pouring in.

Here’s how to make sure your customers have a clear understanding of your product leading up to it.

1. Your product’s description

In your product details, include your itinerary. Your customers must know what to expect. Where will they meet you? What time does it start and end? How should they dress and what do they need to bring with them for their tour?

Your product also needs images to speak for themselves. Never underestimate the importance of high-resolution photos. Each of your tour products should ideally have 5 photos. These should be of the scenery as well as the people on your tour enjoying themselves.

Click here to learn how to add images to your products.

If everything is clear, upfront and comprehensive as early on as the booking process, customers feel as if you are running a professional and competent outfit. Your website can look as pretty as you like, but you need to make them feel at ease that you know what you’re doing before they are comfortable handing over their money.

2. Cost of your product

The total cost of your product needs to be clear to your customers and spelled out the whole way through the booking process.

• Are meals and equipment included in the cost of the tour or do they have to be purchases as extras? All of this must be clarified in your product description. Click here to learn how to add extras to existing products.
• Is there a tax or fee you must pay in addition to the cost shown on your product page? It’s important to say so in the description and also spell it out on the payment page, with the correct tax or fee label. Click here to learn how to set up taxes and fees.
• Is the product price displayed in your currency? Set up your currency here.
• How do you take payments? Do they have to pay in full or do you take a deposit? Click here to learn how to set up your booking deposit policy.
• Is your product is priced on the high side compared to your competitors? Have awards and badges displayed on your booking site to illustrate why this is the case. The message is: you’re the best quality, that’s why you can charge the most.

3. Post-purchase, pre-tour communications

So your customer has just booked with you. Great! Now it’s time to increase their confidence in your process and be professional, getting them excited about the tour.

• Booking confirmation. They just gave you their payment details. They need reassurance that this payment has gone through and that they are officially booked in.
• Reminders. Remind your customers in advance of the tour and how they can prepare for it. This will minimize no-shows, cancellations, and unsatisfied customers. It shows you care about them having the best time with you. Rezdy gives you 3 opportunities to send reminders, with your Terms & Conditions attached to every email.

Click here to learn how to customise your order summary & reminder emails.

And there you have it! With an efficient booking process, you can make sure that your customers have all the information they need on hand.

You have tried your best to ensure they have a great experience with you, and all that’s left is to show them a good time!