Instant Messaging has always been a popular feature among captains, and for good reason. The service lets you arrange trip details with your clients quickly and easily, whether it’s from your computer or your mobile app. It also allows prospective customers to reach out to you with inquiries, making it a very useful tool for generating new bookings!
The question is, how do you make the most out of Instant Messaging? How do you avoid potential roadblocks? And how do you make sure to turn inquiring anglers into customers? Let’s find out!
When it comes to sending messages through FishingBooker, there are a few things you should know. To keep communication safe for both you and your customers, we’ve introduced a safeguard that filters out messages that contain inappropriate content. This includes things like explicit or spammy messages, trying to share contact information before the booking is accepted, or offers to book trips outside the FishingBooker platform.
Of course, you can’t really control when somebody sends you a rude or spammy message but, let’s face it, that’s not who you’re looking to take on a charter in the first place! The two most important things you can control, and the things that will make the biggest difference are:
- Knowing when to share contact information
- Enticing customers to book with you
Let’s take a look at these in more detail.
When to Share Contact Information
FishingBooker’s Instant Messaging allows you to communicate with customers regardless of whether they have a confirmed booking with you or not. How you can message the customer depends on whether you have an accepted booking with them at that point.
- Booking not yet accepted: You can communicate through Instant Messaging by exchanging messages and/or inviting customers to book particular trips (more on this in a bit).
- Booking accepted: At this point, you can see the customer’s contact information, and share your own. You’re able to communicate through Instant Messaging and also email or give them a call to discuss trip details.
One of the biggest reasons Instant Messages get declined is when captains send contact information before the booking is accepted. If this happens, you‘ll get an automatic notification informing you that your message has been declined, and that you can send another one without including or asking for contact details.
Make sure to send a message at this point because, otherwise, you’ll seem unresponsive to the customer!
Enticing Customers to Book with You
We get that some things are complicated to relay in a short message. The good news is that there are a couple of very simple ways to entice prospective customers to book with you, while simultaneously saving effort and time.
Saved Responses
Saved Responses are a neat tool that you can use quickly to answer frequently asked questions or provide basic trip information. This is especially useful when you’re on the water and don’t have a lot of time to type.
You can save templates for things like the departure time and location, your recommendations for what customers should bring, and more. More importantly, you’ll need to write thorough explanations only once, and save them so you can make a really good first impression every time.
Saved Responses work only through your app, so make sure to download it to make the most out of Instant Messaging.
Using Special Offers
Sometimes, you’ll get an Instant Messaging inquiry for a trip that you don’t normally offer on FishingBooker. Thankfully, there’s an easy solution for that, too. Whether it’s a special discount, an extended trip, or a late start, you can create and customize trips whenever you need to.
Once you’ve agreed on the type of trip, simply send your customer an offer, and they’ll be able to accept it at the click of a button. Check out our article on special offers to learn more about how to create and offer trips with a custom price, number of guests, duration, and more.
As you know, communication with customers doesn’t stop when the booking is confirmed. You could say that this is actually when it becomes even more important. Check out these tips to make sure that your bookings turn into happy customers.
We hope you found this article useful. Drop us a comment if you have any questions about how Instant Messaging works. If you have any particular tips you’d like others to know, feel free to share those, as well!