Interacting with customers is the front line of marketing
(Photo by Rochelle Paul, copyright 2009)

It is that simple.  No tricks.  The number one, 101 of marketing, any marketing, is the interaction between your employees and the customer.

You can spend thousands of dollars on your marketing plan.  You can run all sorts of tests, diagnostics, you can even hire some big firm to tell you all sorts of things.

There is nothing hard to the number one rule of what should be on your marketing plan:

The interaction between your employees and customers

How can you assure that your employees are going to do well at this?

Hire people-people.

When hiring employees, look for people who like to be around people.  Ask them.  Talk to them.  Do they like people?  Are they nice to be around?  Can they talk about things other than trying to impress you for the job?

Would they be customers if not employees?

If the person you're hiring has been to, or likes places like yours, they likely will be good employees-representatives for you.  Surely SCUBA divers work at dive shops and as dive maters, but what about the housekeeper, bartender, or front desk person?  Would they, have they, do they stay at places like yours and know what it's like to be on the other side of the role?

Do you include your employees in your marketing plan? (AP Photo/
Javier Galeano)

Do they like your place?

Okay, so they are a SCUBA diver, been to somewhere similar, enjoy places like yours.  But what about yours?  Have they been before?  Do they like it?  Do they have a passion or interest in it?  Many of the Cast Members (employees) of Walt Disney World are also huge fans of the place.  They visit as guests on their days off.  They know the history and trivia.  These people make great employees because they bring the guests to new heights of interest and interaction.  Create that in your employees.

Can they talk about your business and related topics with interest?

Someone looking to get a job will tell you all about how they are the right candidate.  They can do this task, and they earned this amount.  Great, good, nice.  But can they interact with people?  Can they engage in something other than work?  Can they talk about the area, or about the area they are from.  Maybe they are moving to your area and don't know it well, but can they tell you about things to do where they came from?  About interesting things a guest might enjoy.  Think to the WDW example above: if your employees can talk and share and enlighten your guests, filling them with a heartfelt passion about your place and the area you're in, then you've got a winning employee who'll bring that guest back again and again.

Understanding they are your marketing front-line.

Employees must understand, and work in an environment that supports, the ideology that they are on your marketing front-line.  No matter how much money you invest into a marketing plan, the interactions with your employees are what will bring those customers back.  Is the person you are hiring, or the people you've already hired, invested in your marketing?  Are they involved?  If not, they should be.  And you need to facilitate that.  Now.

 Be sure to check out my other column, Chicago Road Trips
 

By TwitterIcon.com

Follow me on Twitter at: twitter.com/roritravel