We know that as an MRBTA member business, you are incredibly dedicated to what you do, and not only are you passionate about continuously improving your visitor experience, you know that the long term success of your business depends on it.
The MRBTA-managed caves, lighthouses and high ropes adventure course at Forest Adventures find themselves in a similar position to our member businesses in this regard, and together with our visitor servicing outlets, over recent years we have multiplied the ways we receive feedback from visitors in order to ensure that the feedback we capture is as wide-reaching as possible.
As we head towards peak season, we wanted to share some ideas on opportunities for your business to collect feedback.
Feedback channels and software solutions
Below is a summary of the different feedback methods offered to visitors who come into contact with the MRBTA attractions and visitor servicing channels.
| Feedback Method | Description/ MRBTA 2018/19 results |
Cost (additional to staff and business running costs) |
| Customer Feedback Forms | Electronic forms and printed cards.
Preferred method among customers to share negative feedback, 23 forms received in 2018/19. Customers are offered printed feedback cards over the counter at Visitor Centres, or to receive a link to feedback form by email. |
Via Zoho software: $40 per user per month. |
| Web Chat Exit Survey | Following a live web chat, the customer is offered the chance to review the assistance they received via a feedback form.
Assesses individual consultant’s performance. 313 reviews received in 2018/19 |
Via Zoho software: $40 per user per month. |
| ReviewPro | Aggregates online reviews for an overview and gives a ranking. | Free for TCWA accredited members. More info on TCWA.
Visit the ReviewPro website. |
| TripAdvisor | Current preferred review platform for majority of visitor service users. | Nil |
| Google Reviews | Growing review channel. Consumer trend is towards leaving star rating only; fewer descriptive reviews compared with TripAdvisor. | Nil |
| Via the Margaret River Region Page. Minor channel in terms of being a feedback method but consultants do have ongoing conversations with visitors via Facebook messaging. | Nil | |
| Email and other social media messaging | Customers use email to loop back after having an experience booked via MRBTA channels. | Nil |
| Phone | Customers use telephone to loop back after having an experience booked via MRBTA channels. | Nil |
| Website customer survey | (New 2018/19): First website survey conducted, 100 responses received. Asked visitors which features website should focus on. | Via Zoho software: $40 per user per month. |
Working together as a tourism community
As a local tourism community, we have the opportunity to encourage our fellow organisations and businesses to grow through offering each other feedback. We think all our members would agree that shared appropriately, constructive, well-meaning feedback on areas for improvement should never be seen as a negative thing.
When was the last time you offered feedback on an experience you’ve had in the region? We encourage you to be liberal in your sharing of feedback with your fellow local businesses, and when you see an opportunity for improvement, to let the business know via the method which you would most prefer to receive comments yourself – this could be in person, via telephone, email or social media messaging.
Some questions to address could include:
- What did you love most about this experience?
- Who were you visiting with, and why did you choose this business?
- Was there anything that surprised you?
- Were there any obstacles you needed to overcome to choose this experience?
- Is there anything which could be improved upon for next time?
Booking in a site viewing with the MRBTA team is also a great way for your business to receive feedback from our visitor consultants who are in touch with visitors day in, day out, 364 days per year.
We’d love to hear from you if you have anything that you’d like to add to this topic. Please get in touch.