TURN INSIGHTS INTO ACTION Customer feedback is one of the most valuable tools you have to ensure the long-term success of your business— but only if you take it seriously and use it.
addressing them promptly will improve guest satisfaction and, consequently, your bottom line. Make a plan. After identifying the areas that need improvement, create a plan of action. This plan should include clear, measurable goals and timelines, if applicable. For example, if guests have expressed dissatisfaction with long wait times, your goal might be to reduce these times by a certain percentage within a specified period. This could involve adding more staff during peak hours, optimizing the layout of your park to improve traffic flow, or implementing a reservation system to manage crowds more effectively. Another example: At a park where I worked, I saw a trend where guests con - sistently mentioned the lack of shaded areas in the park. With a small invest - ment, we added more shaded areas—a seemingly minor change that significant - ly improved the guest experience on hot summer days and set our park apart from the competition, which was the goal, albeit not necessarily quantifiable. Communicate improvements. Next, com - municate these planned improvements to both your team and guests so both stakeholder groups are aware of the changes and understand the rationale behind them. Email newsletters, social media posts, on-site signage, and, in the case of your staff, team meetings are all effective ways to share the message. Importantly, instances when a change occurred as the result of guest feed - back should be identified as such in
By Micah Salazar, CEO, Salazar Systems
As your adventure park operation matures, understanding and listening to your customers is paramount. The success of your business hinges on the relationship you build with your guests—and that relationship is a two-way street. The first step toward fostering a strong relationship with your guests is estab - lishing effective communication, which begins with implementing multiple feed - back channels. Feedback channels are the conduits through which you gain insights into the experiences, needs, and desires of your guests. It is crucial to offer a variety of feedback channels because not all guests will communicate the same way. For example, some guests prefer the anonymity and convenience of an online survey, while others prefer to fill out a comment card during their visit. Social media is another popular platform for guests to share their thoughts. And direct, in-person interactions where staff members engage with guests on-site can provide invaluable real-time feedback. This multi-pronged feedback stream will increase both the volume of responses and the diversity of perspectives, which creates a treasure trove of information for your business.
and analyze it carefully. This process may take a little bit of time, but it’s time well spent. It involves sifting through the data to identify patterns, trends, and common themes. For instance, if multiple guests have commented on long wait times at a particular attraction, this issue needs to be addressed promptly. Conversely, con - sistent praise for a specific staff member or a particular aspect of your park can highlight areas where you are excelling. In my experience, specific feedback about team members factors highly in my team member review process. Review aggregators. To ease this process, I suggest using a review aggregator. These are web-based software pro- grams, such as Yext and Birdeye, that allow you to efficiently gather and con - solidate reviews from various platforms by linking all of your review sites into one dashboard. This makes it easier to track, follow up on, and manage custom - er feedback across multiple channels. Scores can be assigned to teams and locations, enabling you to continually monitor and improve performance. Oth - er benefits include enhancing SEO and managing your online reputation.
TAKE ACTION, IMPROVE YOUR ATTRACTION
Of course, that information is worthless if you don’t consume it—and use it.
Once you’ve gathered guest feedback, the real challenge—and opportuni - ty—lies in taking action based on that feedback. Prioritize actionable insights, because not every piece of feedback will be practical or feasible to implement. Identifying the most critical issues and
TAKE THE TIME, IDENTIFY TRENDS
After you’ve collected feedback from your guests, the next step is to review
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