Until recently, hotel marketing was not a problem, but now consumers in the travel industry have needs that are not limited to the price, location and even accommodations' exclusivity. Today we look for personalized experiences from the beginning of the buying cycle until we finish it. And this why your hotel needs to implement some changes.
Differentiate or die.
The day has come when differentiation is no longer an option, but the rule. Travel users are looking for experiences that are unique, special, and valuable. We look for a connection with the brand that creates the right expectations.
1. Create a unique website with its own booking engine.
The hotel sector products and services evolve at a rapid pace. It is not easy to maintain the engagement of users how are consuming travels and experiences if they are not attracted to your brand and your values. Especially today, in which loyalty hangs in the balance. That's why your brand has to encompass everything your hotel wants to be. Your brand defines you, identifies you and communicates what you represent.
And how do you think that is the best way to show this? With a unique website including a booking engine. Having your own website will allow you greater control over the distribution and the satisfaction of your customers. With a site with its own booking engine you can control the message that you send in each of the phases of your consumer's or traveller's journey.
In addition, hotels have to streamline the buying process to the maximum and adapt it to any screen. Because most users feel comfortable using both the computer and any of the mobile devices at our fingertips. If time is gold, the buying process should be as intuitive (and fast) as possible to satisfy the user experience on our website.
2. Implement the ideal strategies to attract.
A website without marketing strategies that support it, is an empty shell. To boost online bookings and improve your revenue you need to implement the right strategies that will enable you to attract potential customers and convert them. And not to any user.
Here the practice, even if it doesn't sound quite right, is discrimination. Because not all consumers are looking for the same experiences, your hotel should only focus on those most likely to be attracted to yours. You need a marketing methodology focused only on your consumers.
With an Inbound marketing strategy you can attract and convert potential users into satisfied guests. Your job is to generate the content that satisfies these consumers. Because content is what we look for every day on the Internet.
3. Lay down the foundation for a multichannel experience.
Thanks to the Internet user's awareness of your hotel's content is not limited to any walls. Today you can reach your potential customers through multiple channels. For this reason you should focus your efforts on those channels and social platforms that can present you better, and those where your potential customer are. Then, create the right content for each channel.
Remember that your hotel has to highlight their differences. Each hotel has features that make it special and distinguish it from the competition. Communicate that! And rembember, your consumers expect the experience you offer to be multichannel.
Add value
If you don't add value, you will hardly be remembered. They will hardly consider your brand when booking. That is, the digital marketing of your hotel depends on the added value of your products and services. To add this value:
1. Collect your customers data to know them better.
The Internet leaves a trail of consumer data and browsing preferences. These data are essential when really getting to know your customers, and to analyze what are the needs that your hotel can satisfy. Getting this data will help you increase direct bookings and adapt your strategies in real time to better marketing your hotel.
It's a fact, you should get as much data as possible. In addition, to record and analyze these data you need to store them. If you use a CRM you could have a record of all the activities that your contacts perform, as well as all the actions that you implement, for example with segmentation, email marketing and workflows.
2. Segment your contact data base.
Splitting the contacts you get into groups or segments based on similarities and trends is also critical to creating more attractive and relevant content for them. And to know how to segment your audience, you have to think about what your potential customers are like and how they act during their traveller's journey: dreaming, planning, booking and experiencing.
In this case, a CRM also allows you to store the data about the behavior of your leads (sales opportunities) on your hotel's website. So you could know what is interesting for them and evaluate the degree of interest they have at a given time to execute the marketing actions that allow you to get the conversion.
3. Personalize.
Starting with your hotel's website and ending with your staff, you have to offer an experience that fosters a deep connection with your brand: a personalized experience. For this, only the information you get from your customers could help you.
To make a difference in building lasting loyalty that appeals to your guests, you need to be able to integrate the knowledge you have from your guests into the marketing strategies you implement. This is the only way to improve the marketing of your hotel in the online world.
