Self-service experiences are becoming the norm across industries, whether that’s checking in to your flight online or checking out your own groceries. So it’s no surprise that we’ve seen self-service technology rise in the leisure and attractions industry in recent years. From allowing guests to book and reschedule their tickets online, ordering food in-venue from their mobile phones, to automated post-visit surveys, there are many ways to automate your guest journey pre-, during, and post-visit at your venue.
TreeClimb is an example of an attraction business that has adopted this digital-first approach to its operations, embracing ROLLER's suite of self-service tools to remarkable effect. TreeClimb is a group of two adventure parks in South Australia offering a range of outdoor aerial experiences, from ziplining to high ropes. Jake Cunningham, Group Digital Marketing Manager, has found that automating some of their guest interactions with self-service tools has not only reduced business overheads but has also improved the customer experience. “We need to ensure that our business maintains a certain wage percentage. If we can't achieve that wage percentage, we won't have a profitable business. So we’ve improved customer service by automating different parts of the business,” he explains.
Automating operations with online accounts
When ROLLER released its online accounts feature, Jake was among the first to implement it. Online accounts allow guests to sign up for an account and log in to adjust session times, change ticket dates, upgrade their membership, and more. The feature has been a game-changer for TreeClimb, as customers can modify their bookings online effortlessly, enhancing the overall guest experience and cutting labor costs. TreeClimb has many guests using the feature just a few short months after introducing it. “We now have 1,800 guests with online accounts,” says Jake.
ROLLER’s new online accounts feature is phenomenal. Our guests have the flexibility to edit their bookings when it suits them, rather than having to get in touch with our call center. Not only is it increasing customer satisfaction, but it’s saving us time and money on labor. We’ve already had 1,800 guests create online accounts in just a few months.
Jake Cunningham
Group Digital Marketing Manager
Jake shares that most transactions occur outside of traditional business hours, underscoring the importance of giving customers the flexibility to make and edit bookings at their convenience. “Our business runs customer support from 10 am to 3 pm, seven days a week. However, close to 90% of transactions are made on our website without human interaction, and the majority of transactions take place between 5 pm and 8 pm when we don't have staff available to take a phone call.”
Given the seasonal nature of the business, guests often need to make booking changes. “Being an outdoor aerial adventure park, weather is an issue for us. When guests see the weather and want to change their booking, having the ability to change their booking online when it’s convenient for them has been huge for us. Previously customers had to call us and wait on hold for five minutes, or we had to try to call them back and couldn’t get ahold of them,” explains Jake.
Venues like TreeClimb, with a strong focus on customer service, have found that online accounts help them raise their service level even further. “Now we're increasing the level of service we can offer by allowing customers to change at their own convenience. It works with us and for us but improves the customer experience along the way,” says Jake.
Rather than having staff focus on time-consuming admin like rescheduling bookings, TreeClimb’s staff can now invest their time in larger, high-value bookings. “It's worked phenomenally because we can allocate labor to a more important area of the business. Rather than that labor being used to swap Steve's booking from 2 pm to 4 pm, they can use that time to focus on the big group bookings.” This means they’re dedicating their efforts to the bookings that will generate the most revenue and are improving labor efficiency in the process.
Beyond online accounts, ROLLER’s online checkout has come with other benefits for the business. TreeClimb's transition from ROLLER's legacy checkout to the new progressive checkout resulted in an increase in conversion rates. "Since we've migrated we've seen a dramatic increase in conversion rate for purchases on our website," Jake states.
Increasing guest feedback by 80%
TreeClimb has also implemented post-visit surveys, another digital touchpoint that helps them improve the guest experience. Jake uses ROLLER’s Guest Experience Score (GX Score) to automatically trigger surveys to guests after their visit, to understand where TreeClimb is excelling and where they could improve. Before using ROLLER, he had built his own manual version of this survey, but response rates were lower because the survey was harder to complete, and he could only send it to the person who made the booking. Now that the business is using ROLLER’s digital waiver software, Jake has the contact details of all participants rather than just the booking holder. “Now we can send the survey to every climber who fills out a waiver,” says Jake.
After implementing the GX survey, we've had an 80% increase in feedback responses.
Jake Cunningham
Group Digital Marketing Manager
Response rates have rapidly increased as a result. “After implementing the GX survey, we've had an 80% increase in feedback responses,” adds Jake. He’s been able to make improvements to the guest experience because of this increased feedback. “We have a really good barometer on how the business is going. You can dive into the feedback and find out what ticket they purchased and what location they were at. It enables us to compare why one ticket is performing well, and another ticket isn’t.”
The biggest benefit of the GX Score for TreeClimb has been the increase in third-party reviews. “The best feature of the GX Score is that it directs customers to leave a Google or Tripadvisor review after they’ve completed the survey. One of our venues has close to 1,700 Google reviews, and it's sitting at a 4.8 rating. Then we've got another venue that's only been open for 12 months and has 400-500 reviews. To achieve that in such a short amount of time is ridiculous,” notes Jake.
Read more: How to Attract More Guests with Google Reviews
This strategy has bolstered TreeClimb's online presence and contributed to increased organic web traffic, which is crucial for the park's visibility and brand reputation. “The GX Score is why we have such a high level of organic traffic and why our search engine optimization ranking is so high. Sales have increased because the business has a better online presence,” says Jake. Strong online reviews signal to Google that a business is trustworthy and reliable. This often translates to higher search rankings, meaning that more customers are likely to find TreeClimb when searching online.
A streamlined end-to-end journey
When used together, self-service tools like online accounts, digital waivers, and the GX Score help operators streamline the end-to-end guest journey. Jake notes that integrating all these tools into a single platform has significantly reduced manual effort, allowing the team to allocate resources more effectively and focus on providing top-notch service.
“One of the reasons I love ROLLER is because it is an end-to-end solution with so many components. It's actually phenomenal because everything is integrated and talks to each other. For instance, we can prompt guests to sign a waiver before arrival, which minimizes queues and shortens the check-in process. So that's the first win when staff are at the checkout. Then, post-climb, all guests over 18 who signed a waiver are sent the GX survey. From beginning to end, they've had touch points with ROLLER, not knowing that it's ROLLER. And it's easy for us to manage the business and manage their experience through one platform, not multiple platforms,” comments Jake.
“It's made it easier for the customer, and the customer isn't going to come back if they didn't have a good experience. One part of the experience is the actual experience of coming to TreeClimb, climbing and swinging in the trees, and doing zip lines. But the other part of the experience is how easy it is for the customer to purchase, the communication they receive, and then the follow-up after they visit,” Jake adds.
TreeClimb's success story with ROLLER is a testament to the transformative power of digital tools in today's business environment. It exemplifies how companies can leverage self-service technology to adapt to changing consumer behaviors, increase profitability, and improve operational efficiency.
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