Many years ago I had the opportunity to work as Public Relations Manager for a leading 5 star hotel. I had lots of operational experience within the industry, and had also established one of the first hotel Guest Relations Departments in the region well before guests were commonly perceived as a true asset that needed to be earned and nurtured.
But I had never before worked in PR, so it was a unique opportunity which I embraced gratefully.
As part of my induction into the Public Relations role I spent time with a colleague in a sister hotel, and learned one of the most important lessons of my life.
My well respected and very experienced colleague told me that there are two rules in Public Relations:
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Rule 1 – It's not what you know that is important, it's who you know!
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Rule 2 – It's not who you know that is important, it's who knows you!
So what did my colleague mean, and how can we apply this lesson?
In order to explain the "what", imagine I am talking to you about James Bond, and I mention his favourite car……what car do you think of immediately? The answer – an Aston Martin of course!
We think of that car because there is an immediate connection, built up over time, between James Bond and Aston Martin. This is what is called being "front of mind". In other words, no-one has to make this connection for us, we instinctively make it ourselves – we know that James Bond loves Aston Martin! It is his car brand of preference.
When we translate this into our practical world, we want to become the go-to business or person our contacts think of first. We want to be their brand of preference and for them to think of us instinctively when they need a solution to a problem. It doesn't mean that they will give us all their business, but at least we want every opportunity to be considered. Over and over again!
So let's talk about the "how" for a moment? How do we make sure that we are front of mind for our guests and clients? There are a number of things we need to do, such as:
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creating meaningful opportunities to regularly connect with them
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developing a reputation for being solution oriented
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forming a sense of partnership with them
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ensuring we generate the perception of win/win in our dealings with them
Stronger relationships with existing guests and clients will keep you front of mind, leading to more repeat business as well as more recommendations.
The fundamental element is to make sure that those who know you recognise you as a trusted advisor, and the faster you can create this impression the sooner you can reap the benefits!
Timothy Millett's training roles have seen him deliver programs across Australia, Asia, Europe, Africa and America ensuring cultural sensitivity as well as a broad base of experience in lecturing, teaching and training.
A graduate of the Ecole Hôtelière de Lausanne, Switzerland, his hospitality career spans management and director positions in Front Office, Guest Relations, Public Relations, Food & Beverage and Training with organisations including the Regent of Melbourne, The Mandarin Oriental Hotel Group and Mövenpick Gastronomy. He was also a founding staff member of the internationally renowned Blue Mountains International Hotel Management School in Australia.
Tim is currently the Director of Training and Development at iperform, an organisation that specialises in Sales and Service, Leadership and Effective Personal Organisation programs.
