On FishingBooker, captains get reviews on over 60% of their trips. But did you know that there are captains who get reviewed as often as 90% of the time? This is no coincidence! We sat down with these customer experience experts to learn how they get reviews nearly every time they go out. Here’s what they had to say.
Make It Personal
Customers have different ideas of what makes the perfect fishing charter. But take a few minutes to go through the 5-star reviews on FishingBooker, and you’ll start noticing a trend. Time and again, anglers hail the captain’s personality as a key factor in their unforgettable experience.
Bryan Frechette, owner of Fish Hunter Tours out of Crystal River, FL, has had plenty of such reviews. Leaning on his customer service experience in the restaurant business, Bryan makes a point out of connecting with his customers.
How do you make a personal connection with your customers?
Bryan: “Locking in on the customer’s first name is absolutely key. Everybody likes to be acknowledged, so you don’t want to say something like “Hey you…” When customers tell you their names, you’ve got to try to remember those and use them as much as possible.”
Is connecting with people something you do before you actually meet them?
B: “You’ve got to make that personal connection as soon as you can. So when you initially get contacted by the customer through FishingBooker, you want to make an immediate personable response.”
Building a connection with your customer sounds like a no-brainer. But just like reeling too hard, being overly personal can be counterproductive, too.
Is there such a thing as being too personal?
B: “You want to be personable, but avoid talking about things like politics and religion. I try to keep it vanilla as far as those conversations are concerned. A lot of times, the customer will want to talk about these things, so you’ve got to steer that conversation away as soon as you can.
“There’s a good chance that people have an opposing opinion and that can cool off the conversation real quick.”
Take and Share Pictures
We all know a picture’s worth a thousand words. In that sense, a review with a few good visuals can tell a truly powerful story. Rack up a good number of them, and you’ll have built a pretty solid online reputation for yourself.
Does having good pictures make customers more likely to review you?
Bryan: “Definitely, and especially these days, with how easy it is to take photographs. I encourage customers to take photos, but I’ll also take them myself. After I put the boat away, I’ll send pictures from the day with my thank you. It’s a personal touch that keeps that momentum there.”
Having good pictures goes beyond generating reviews. For Tracy and Jason Calhoun of Lock It Up Charters, leveraging pictures is a proven way of getting new clients.
How have photos helped your business?
Tracy: “Jay’s not a natural photographer, so I’ve had to harass him about making sure that he’s taking photos on the water. In this world of social media, your business is never going to grow as big and fast if you’re not taking advantage of it.”
T: “Thanks to the pictures, I get contacted on Facebook and Instagram all the time. We recently had a family book five days with us because of our Facebook posts!”
Nine out of ten people look at reviews when buying online. Your customers are no different.
Read Your Crowd
The personal approach doesn’t end with being person-able. For Tracy and Jason, personalizing each trip is a big reason for becoming the most-often-reviewed listing on FishingBooker. They get reviewed on 92% of their trips!
How do you go about tailoring your trip?
Tracy: “Jay calls every customer the night before to find out exactly what they are looking to do and what their skill level is. Then he tries to cater to every single person and not go to the same spot on each trip.
Customers pay a lot of money to have this experience. They should get the experience they want, not the experience you want them to have.“
Judging by the reviews the Calhouns are getting, Tracy’s got a point.
When you’ve got customers saying that fishing with you is like “fishing with their buddy,” you’re probably doing something right!
Most times, customers will let you know about the experience they want to have. But other times, the decision will fall completely on you. For Captain Joseph Aiello of J&F eXcursions, this comes to recognizing who your customers are, and what they would consider memorable.
Joseph: “When I have someone from out of town, I’ll try to get to take a picture or two more. Especially if I see that they typically fish on a lake and only catch small fish. When someone like that catches a big Snapper or a Jack, I always tell them this is worth taking a picture for.”
J: “We caught a huge Pompano the other day and my customer didn’t know anything about it. But when I explained that this one of the bigger ones I’ve had on my boat, they took a picture right away.”
For Captain Taylor Cowieson, reading the crowd plays a big part in deciding how hands-on he’ll be.
Taylor: “I’m always here to help bring the fun, but some customers want help and some don’t. There are days when we would have caught more fish if I was casting for my customers, but if they’re having fun doing it themselves, then there is no reason for me to interfere.”
Go the Extra Mile
Taking that extra step to make your customer feel special is arguably the biggest thing you can do to get more reviews. The best thing is that it doesn’t have anything to do with what the bite is like that day.
What do you do to make the experience on your boat special?
Joseph: “I pick my clients up at a separate, full-service marina. It’s about a 10-minute ride for me to get there and I actually need to pay to pick my clients up there. But it’s a much nicer facility.
The place has a bathroom, parking, and a store where they sell drinks. They also sell things like clothes, hats, and sunscreen, which is useful if the clients forget anything. It’s beautiful, too, which allows me to start the trip on a positive note.”
Captain Joseph likes to end the trip on a positive note, too: “When we get back to the marina, I filet and bag the customers’ catch. I’ll provide the bags and recommend a few restaurants here in the Keys that will cook their catch.”
4 out of 5 most-reviewed captains offer catch cleaning and fileting.
Tracy: “I keep an eye out if the customer happens to mention they’re coming down for an occasion. If they are, I always try to have something a little bit special on the boat for them. I know it sounds cheesy, but if someone tells us they’re coming down for their birthday, I’ll get a cupcake. That costs me just five bucks, but it makes someone feel special.”
What mindset do you need to do things like these?
Bryan: “Customers are paying for the experience that you create out there. And it’s completely within your hands to create that experience for them.
No matter what kind of day you personally are having, the customer has to think that you live on the water and you live for fishing. Like the Disney characters that have to get into character, you have to consistently do that every day.”
Be Flexible
We all know how unpredictable fishing can be. The weather can change on a dime, not to mention that the boat can give up on you, despite your best efforts to maintain it. But we’re not the only ones that feel the sting of a canceled trip. When we spoke to Captain Steve Locken, he shared just how disruptive cancellations can be for customers:
Steve: “This is usually the highlight of their vacation, so when you have to call and cancel, especially when it’s peak season and all the other boats are all booked, it really puts the customers in the trick bag and they’re disappointed.”
This is why being flexible – when you can – can really make you your customers’ hero:
Being flexible isn’t just about rescheduling trips, by the way. Captains with more flexible cancellation windows can give customers higher confidence to book with them, and a less stressful experience overall.
Over 80% of the most-reviewed captains offer free cancellations up to 7 days before the trip date.
Be Family Friendly
We’re not going to pretend that every single fishing guide can do this. Some of you may cater to hardcore anglers, and that’s totally fine. Whether that’s a business decision or something you’re passionate about, we get you. But for the rest of you, here’s a stat to consider:
50 out of the 50 most-often-reviewed captains on FishingBooker are child friendly.
People care about memorable moments spent with family. In fact, you could say that angling families are more likely to leave reviews. Not only that, reviews from angling families are typically packed with enthusiasm and positive words for captains. That’s why they often make it to our Captain Spotlight.
The best part about fishing with families is that they can become your regulars.
Tracy: “We have a client that has their own boat, which is actually a lot nicer than ours. But even so, he’ll often bring his 12 year old daughter down here, and fish with us just because she has such a good time. We’ve now built a personal connection, so he’ll say, ‘Okay, you taught us how to Yellowtail, so we’re good there. Now, we want to learn how to catch another fish.'”
Ask and You Shall Receive
All that hard work you’ve put into creating an experience? It could amount for little if your customers don’t actually know that they can and should review you. So, how do you go about asking for reviews?
For Captain Bryan, it’s all about capitalizing on the moment to ask at the right time.
Bryan: “If customers use a phrase like ‘This is the biggest fish I’ve ever caught!” or “This is the best time I’ve ever had!” I’ll use that moment to say, ‘Hey, when FishingBooker asks you for a review later or tomorrow, please use that exact wording.'”
Considering that Bryan’s gotten a review on 90% of his trips, it’s safe to say that the approach is working well!
For Captain Jay McCory, it’s all about making the customers aware of how important reviews were when they booked their experience. Jay will ask customers how they found him, and if they mention reviews, he’ll make a note of that. Once the trip is done, Jay will ask:
“‘Do you remember how you found me?’ And when the customers mention the reviews: ‘Well, these reviews made it possible for you to find me and have a great day of fishing. Later today, FishingBooker’s going to ask you to write your own review. I’d appreciate it if you’d spend just three minutes and share your experience.'”
And boy, do people share – thanks to his approach, Jay is one of the top reviewed FishingBooker captains, with as many as 497 reviews on his listing!
It’s All Up to You
The list of things you can do to earn reviews more often could go on forever. The good thing is that, no matter who you’re trying to impress, the reins are entirely in your hands.
Whether it’s taking the time to tailor a trip, capturing a photo worth bragging about, or building a connection, you get to create life-lasting memories for your customers. And at the end of the day, that’s what makes those 5-star reviews that much more rewarding.
What are some things you do to wow your customers? What’s the review you’re most proud of? Let us know in the comments below!
