The pandemic led to an unquestionable and unimaginable future for the leisure business. Although digital marketing did exist before the arrival of the COVID-19, it has become more critical than before. It is wise to say that the hospitality industry will undergo a massive change post-2020.
Rather than staying behind, it is time to put digital innovations into use and start fresh with a positive outset. Of course, it will never be easy, but with a bit of assistance and strategic implementations, you can get back your business on track.
There has been an effective change in customer behavior much before COVID-19. People started online researching, communicating frequently, and finding reviews about a stay. All those previously reluctant to adopt new technologies are coming forward and going digital to ensure they stay in business and capture whatever market currently available in the hospitality business.
The challenge that lies ahead is understanding digital marketing and putting it to good use. You must learn complex tactics and become innovative in the ever-growing field. It is why we have come up with the three essential strategies that help you guide through the tough times. Implementing them will help you capture the audience’s attention and handle direct bookings with ease.
The Customer’s Journey
Understanding a customer’s journey is crucial and the beginning step. You must understand and focus on what customers like to hear. A better way you can master it is by learning what a customer goes through before booking, during the stay, and after.
You must have come across the term “marketing funnel.” The principle states that once a customer becomes aware of your service, it is essential to consider customers’ options before committing. However, it is challenging to understand what a customer feels and thinks. Therefore, you can seek the help of the micro-moments strategy developed by Google. The approach will help you uncover the five crucial phases of a customer, which are:
- Dreaming: A customer would like to holiday but is unsure about the location and travel period. Captivating and inspiring them is crucial.
- Planning: In this phase, the customer is researching actively. It is here that you focus on the unique features that help you become the choice when compared with others.
- Booking: The customer is ready to book. However, he/she requires convincing to complete the action. Time-sensitive deals and fear of mission out will help complete a booking.
- Experience: Customers are ready to plan their itineraries on the move. You can add values, suggestions, and tips during their stay to make it convenient and comfortable.
- Sharing: Today, customers are sharing their experiences on social media instantly. Sharing customer-generated content makes them feel encouraged and valuable.
Revenue Management Data
Your revenue management audit will help you get excellent insights that help plan for your digital marketing strategy. You can segment your market into different ways, such as geography, group sizing, period of stay, and affluence. Nonetheless, the essential factor that has a promising influence is categorizing a segment based on the purpose of the booking.
When you segment your market based on customers booking reasons, matching with digital marketing tactics and communicating becomes easier. For instance, leisure bookings always have planning lead times, social proof, and recreational criteria. However, for business trips, the focus is more on the functional aspect along with convenience and budget.
The next thing that will help you are the rate value assessments and competitive analysis. They will show you the unique selling propositions. If you are pricing more than competitors, you can focus on quality, luxury offered, and service to your customers. If the pricing is affordable, you can push value and pricing as the primary ingredients in your message. The other factors that you can add include location, proximity to attractions, and transport links.
Be Active Online With Relevant Search Terms
More than one-third of searches for accommodation start with Google. Therefore, SEO has become a crucial entity and has a vital role in digital marketing. You will be finding it challenging at times but implementing and using SEO comes down to three factors.
The first factor is to check whether your website is technically correct. Google uses algorithms to crawl through the content. If the content on your site does not make any sense, the algorithm will never consider displaying your site when a user searches for information or booking. Additionally, your site should be easy to navigate and load quickly.
The second factor is to optimize the content based on keyword research. The research will populate relevant search terms that you can use in your content. Focusing on terms that are relevant to your leisure business is the key. For instance, “romantic hotels around central Paris” sound more reasonable than “hotels in Paris.” The terminology used and search terms help rank better and attract relevant web traffic.
The third factor is backlinking. When other sites choose your website to link their sites, it displays your credibility by search engines and increases the ranking. Backlinks can appear from bloggers, brand partners, travel operators, genuine users, local amenities, and relevant websites.
Mastering Metasearch
Along with keyword research, mastering the metasearch is essential. The first factor is to set aside the budget that you can spare for the proper channels. Google is the leader in metasearch, and with several technologies in hand, Google Hotel Ads is sure to dominate the market in the future. Therefore, utilizing the channel to the maximum potential when the competition is low makes good sense.
Finally, it would help if you stood out from the competition before starting bidding for the OTAs. Ensure that you have a proper and optimized Google My Business listing. The other things you can do are promoting USPs, uploading professional images, enhancing the street view, and generating the maximum positive reviews.
Conclusion
While the three digital marketing strategies discussed here seem easy, implementing and becoming successful takes time. With coordination between the revenue management system and digital marketing, you can decrease the learning curve and achieve better results than your competitors.
