Okay. So many organizations think they're providing a good enough sightseeing experience - you're selling tickets right? And making enough money to pay the bills and maintain the business. And you're investing in marketing and building new partnerships. But you're not getting the results you hoped for. You're tours are running with just enough capacity to cover the operating costs. You can't help but wonder how your competition is building their business. 

Could it be that your tours aren't great and you're not getting the frontline customer feedback you need? Or people don't mention that their experience was just okay? 

You've spoken with your drivers/guides or captains. You've invested in writing scripts that are seldom followed. Or you simply let your drivers wing it? It's hard to find good drivers that are also great storytellers. So if no one is telling you what you need to know is there really a problem anyway?

There are a variety of telltale signs that will give you the answers - maybe even a hundred - but we'll share 10 of the most common signs we experience when we're doing our initial work on-site with sightseeing operators:

1. Your tour is "good enough"

We've all heard this dozens, if not hundreds of times. But what are your passengers saying? If you're not hearing from them you can guess that the tour was mediocre - maybe even good - but not good enough to create an exceptional tour experience or deliver the Wow factor.
 
If you're customers' aren't engaged in your commentary and delighted with your experience you can say goodbye to referrals - offline and online. Either you deliver Wow or you're wasting time and money. 

2. Your tour sounds like a history lecture

Guides get caught up in historical dates laden with facts about events and more dates. 
 
In 1857 John Blithe invented this tour. It was in 1855 that his wife passed suddenly. John's lonliness led him to a pub where he met his future partner, Ed Smith in 1856. In 1859 John started a new horse and carriage business. Don't laugh. We see this kind of tour often. If your passengers aren't falling asleep they're not paying attention. And if they're not listening you won't get much of a reaction. People want to be engaged. 

A traveler in an online forum said it best when she said "a guide needs to be a good storyteller. A pure recitation of facts is mind-numbingly boring."  
 
3. You don't follow a script

People choose your tour because they found your website, picked up your brochure, word of mouth, perceived value, your responsiveness, etc. But nothing about your tours are consistent. All of your guides/drivers/captains tell their own stories and you have no control of what they say or when they say it. You've have no control over your message or the experience.
 
Lack of consistency is why businesses fail. 
 
4. You're not getting much feedback or any comments

People don't talk about good. They talk about great. When was the last time you went out of your way to talk about an okay experience you had? Customer comments enable you to monitor engagement.
 
If people aren't commenting on your tours it's because they didn't experience anything worth sharing. 

5. You asked staff members to write your stories

Okay - we'll give you the benefit of doubt. The drivers/captains/guides or marketing manager who wrote your script(s) also moonlight as professional writers and they understand how to engage audiences with a great tour that is "infused with its own particular magic and energized by its own unique electricity". But if your staff members aren't professional writers, it's more likely that your tour isn't great - it's bad. And if it's bad - you're turning people off. 

6. You're talking about things people don't care about

Your guides/drivers/captains talk about things people don't care about. The local Starbucks, garbage collection days, the chandelier in McDonalds, or a metric tonne. People don't care about units of measure unless you can help them visualize why this is important to your story.  

If you're talking about things people don't care about - don't expect them to care or talk about your tour.  

7. You're using the same commentary you wrote 10 years ago

Your commentary is outdated. If you haven't invested in evaluating your tour commentary in 5 - 10 years, it more than likely feels stale and old - not only for you - but for your passengers. Travelers today have different expectations than they did five years ago. 

If you're writing for this audience you need to understand what your customers' want? And how your commentary will result in a steady stream of referrals and a genuine enjoyment for both sides.

8.  Your marketing builds your business (and will save you).

If you think marketing is the key to unlocking your business potential for growth - you're headed for ruin. Maybe not now - but when a savvy customer focused tour operator comes into town to compete with your business - you'll be watching your business slump. Don't get me wrong, marketing is important. But you've got to start with a remarkable tour experience. If your tour experience isn't great, a big marketing budget won't save you. 
 
Focus on creating an exceptional customer experience first. Then worry about the marketing. 

9. You think everyone provides great tours

Providing great tours requires a lot of preparation, training, and continual investment in your staff. While this is a good start - it doesn't guarantee the results you're looking for. Some people are natural storytellers. 
 
They have the knack. The mojo. The magic. 

But that doesn't mean everyone you hire provides great tours. We agree that everyone is a storyteller - but is everyone a great storyteller? Consistently? People can learn to be better storytellers - but not everyone has the knack. Invest in storytellers.

10. You don't know who your audience is

Who is your core audience? 

Who are you trying to attract? 

How is your commentary meeting and exceeding the expectations of your passengers? 

Decide who you're targeting and why? Is your commentary written for a boomer demograhic or for the shorter attention spans of Gen X and Y? You can't be all things to all people. Focus on a target audience and run with it. 

The best tourism businesses have a vision. They choose sides. When executing your business and marketing plans don't chase people. 

Focus on attracting a specific audience(s) that shares your worldview. And then write commentary that will engage and captivate your audience.  
 
So What's Next?

Evaluate your tours and get customer feedback. Dig into what's working and what's not working by talking to your customers. This is a great place to start. 

The fact is your commentary requires a commitment and it takes work to create an engaging experience your organization can rally behind. 

The bottom line is your stories matter. And they matter to your audience. 

With a little hard work you can get there. The goal is to make every customer expereince exceptional - to be remarkable - to provide commentary that engages and delights your audience every time your tour departs.