In conversation with Shaun Smith, GM, Beverley Park Golf Club, Australia
“Where customer service is concerned, EnquiryBot is like going from a 1-star to a 5-star hotel experience. It lets us serve our customers better and they get a better experience from using the technology. We’ve significantly increased both the volume of enquiries and our conversion rate. I can’t recommend EnquiryBot highly enough.”
“Where customer service is concerned, EnquiryBot is like going from a 1-star to a 5-star hotel experience” – Shaun Smith
Tell us a bit about the operation, staff, website and size of the business.
2020 has been about as disruptive a year as I can remember and not just because of Covid-19. In January we had a flood to deal with and the course was under 10ft of water. Luckily, the club wasn’t impacted by the fires we’ve had in Australia, other than the air quality. The website is fairly comprehensive and serves its purpose. As a club, we have around 1000 golf members. Our caterers and pro-shop staff are contractors, the rest of the team works directly for me. Our regular social functions are popular with members and non-members and we also book private functions. In addition, we host corporate and society golf matches as well as charity events. There’s been a lot more interest recently because golf has been one of the few forms of exercise people can do in pairs, whilst complying with social distancing measures.
What impact has EnquiryBot had on the business?
It’s had a huge impact on the business. Because it’s easy and quick to use, visitors are favouring this form of contact over phoning us or submitting web forms. So, in this respect, it’s changed customer behaviour too, which is great.
When people phone the club, we do our best to answer them on the spot. However, this isn’t the best way of managing enquiries for us. People are busy, may not be available, the message might not be recorded properly etc.
With EnquiryBot, we get more data and insight on what that person wants, so the enquiries are better quality and, because they’ve been through the process, that person has been pre-qualified for our follow up and it doesn’t feel like we’re calling them cold.
As soon as we get the enquiry through by email, we can have a quick look at criteria like the dates they want to book, and anything else they’ve specified, then call them back and either book them in or suggest alternatives.
In doing this, we’ve demonstrated we care about their custom and our response is more attentive and professional. We then summarise the main points in an email follow-up. I’d say the conversion rate for EB enquiries is as high as 80%.
“I’d say the conversion rate for EnquiryBot enquiries is as high as 80%.”
What do the wider team think about EnquiryBot?
The team love the detail it gives them, and they’re able to close more business which is great. For example, Craig who looks after corporate golf knows the person’s preferred booking date prior to responding to an enquirer.
He can go back to the enquirer and confirm the booking, or check how we may be able to accommodate them that day or at another time. We’re in a service industry and people need that level of attention to make it feel personalised.
“Where customer service is concerned, EnquiryBot is like going from a 1-star to a 5-star hotel experience”
“It lets us serve our customers better and they get a better experience from using the technology. We’ve significantly increased both the volume of enquiries and our conversion rate. I can’t recommend EB highly enough.”
“It lets us serve our customers better and they get a better experience from using the technology. We’ve significantly increased both the volume of enquiries and our conversion rate. I can’t recommend EB highly enough.”
