If you’re in the business of renting out halls, you probably have a small base of customers who act as your advocates and bring you more business. They spread the word about you and refer their friends and acquaintances who’re looking for halls.
Even though word of mouth marketing is a potent tool, it’s not a channel any business can solely rely on. There are just too many factors involved here, ranging from the willingness of an existing customer to recommend your business, to someone actually striking a conversation with another person which leads to such a recommendation.
The truth however is that this is how it mainly works today. Very few people actually want to deal with halls directly. Talking to someone and getting recommendations essentially gives them someone they can rely on, as opposed to finding out everything themselves.
If you’re wondering why people avoid finding halls and dealing with them directly, we’re going to break it down for you and give you 6 of the most common reasons.
#1. There are just too many options
Having options is a good thing, but having too many of them isn’t. Whether someone is looking for a hall to host a wedding or a conference, there are so many options, and since dealing with halls isn’t something people do very frequently, they can’t really decide which hall they should pick and which ones they should avoid.
Hence, they naturally turn towards their friends or colleagues who have some prior experience and can suggest someone they’ve done business with before. And this, essentially puts you at the mercy of word of mouth marketing.
#2. People are scared of disasters
Let’s face it, no one wants to be the guy/girl who picked out a wedding hall people considered a flop. Since people don’t generally deal with halls frequently, they don’t have a lot of context or prior information to make informed choices. This means there is always a high risk of picking something that will turn out to be a disaster and this essentially scares people off from finding halls on their own.
#3. Too many calls back and forth and waiting lists
Booking a hall often means having to make a lot of calls back and forth, checking availability, asking for details, finding out about catering, asking about the menu and negotiating on the pricing among other things. While hall owners and managers are used to such routines, potential customers are not too keen on going through this. They’d rather prefer some place or someone who can give them all the details they need in one place.
#4. No one has the time to visit each available hall
Time is a luxury no one can afford today, and visiting each hall on your list to find the best one isn’t practical. However, it is also unavoidable, because no one can make a decision without having a look inside and finding out more about the hall’s services and offerings. This is why people often pick out halls from photo albums of other people, where they get a chance to take a look at things inside.
#5. Few halls have their own, good websites
Most hall owners are focused on running their business rather than spending time on their online presence. Hiring a dedicated resource for this purpose isn’t always practical either. On the other hand, like property, most people start their search for halls online, and get put off when they don’t find the information they’re looking for.
Hence, a lot of hall owners, inadvertently lose potential clients just because they don’t have a solid presence on the web.
#6. Lack of customer support
Customer support is a major concern of people who’re booking halls. They want someone to be available to answer all their questions and queries and accommodate them as soon as possible. While such dedicated support services are not possible for most hall owners, customers usually expect them regardless, and without them, are put off and move on.
Now that you know the most common reasons why you lose potential customers, you should know the easiest way to avoid all this is to List your Hall on Hall.ae completely free.