Marketing Techniques Hoteliers Can Count On
Now that social media strategy for hotels has moved from regular to paid games, hotel brands are honing their social media strategy to stay ahead of the curve. Content marketing for hotels is still dominant, but hoteliers are never short of new marketing ideas to try. Also for marketing techniques, you can take marketing consulting services and they will help you.
The most notable trend is the matching of content to the platform rather than sharing the same content across channels.
You don’t know anything about marketing if you think…
- Marketing is a creative process, not a science.
- It (marketing) is not a tool to increase ROI.
- Marketing is all about content and creativity.
You don’t know anything about hotel marketing if you think…
- Marketing in the hotel business involves the use of a standard, fixed set of tried and tested tools, not allowing for variability.
- This works for the future, so there is nothing to dream of increasing direct sales in the foreseeable future.
- Marketing is an expensive and fashionable toy of hoteliers, the return on investment which cannot be realistically assessed.
And finally: everything is elementary in hotel marketing. Everything has already been tested and described by someone. So there should be no problems with the implementation of the promotion of your own hotel. And the experience of competitors to help us. Alas, this is the most common, dangerous, and costly delusion.
The modern hotel lives according to the new rules of the struggle for the attention of the guest. According to TNS research for Google, only 17% of customers are loyal to one brand. In other cases, people willingly pay attention to both recommendations and information. That they encountered along the way in the process of choosing a hotel (in 29% of cases, people book a hotel that they accidentally “stumbled upon” during the search).
When, where and how to look for options – that’s what a successful hotelier should focus on. It is up to guests to decide when and where to find the information they need (and this does not always coincide with when the hotel decides to run its advertising campaign). However, for competent promotion, it is not enough just to spread your data and offers over the maximum number of channels. None of them, even the most effective one, will work without an integrated approach to promotion.
Moreover, the channels that turned out to be optimal in the case of some hotels may turn out to be ineffective and unprofitable for others … Therefore, a set of promotional activities should be included in a single. And – a fundamental point – a unique marketing strategy that involves systematic work to identify the optimal advertising package, marketing techniques and aimed at increasing the profitability of your hotel.
Today’s guest finds information about the hotel using the channel (and gadget) that is most convenient for him. Wherein:
- 95% use search engines;
- 73% use online video when searching;
- 48% use websites to compare prices.
Contextual advertising
Contextual advertising is always a quick sale of a hotel, which, however, is preceded by a painstaking period of preparatory work, which will take at least two weeks. Calls to the hotel will begin to arrive almost immediately. But the full effect of this advertising channel will appear after 2-3 months of advertising. During this time, managers must cut off inappropriate traffic (its influx is inevitable at the initial stage).
As part of contextual advertising, we form a clear offer for an equally clear customer need and make the most targeted message. This does not have to be accommodation – as an option, a seasonal offer from your own beauty salon, conference room, or restaurant. In the future, it will probably be necessary to scroll through several reminders so that the client is definitely yours.
Direct search promotion allows you to attract new customers. The task of the hotelier is to form a clear and interesting offer for them.