Keeping track of your competition’s activities is easier than you think.
NB: This is an article from Staah
Here are a few things you could do to stay on top of your competitor’s activities and keep ahead of the game.
1. Monitor Their Website & Blogs
You can learn a lot about your competition by keeping an eye on their website. Check our rates, packages and offers. Compare these to your own. See how consumers are responding to these. Keep up with the new services and even website functionalities they add and see what kind of traction they may be getting. Is it worth you implementing them too?
2. Sign up to Their Emails
Sign up for your competitors’ e-mail and direct marketing campaigns, commonly known as Customer Relationship Marketing (CRM) programmes. Become a regular “customer” and you’ll quickly see what kind of offers they provide and how they stack up to yours.
3. Set Up Google Alerts
Setting up Google Alerts to arrive in your inbox is a good way to help properties monitor and track what their competition is doing. Set alerts to go off whenever competitors post press releases, get media coverage and run promotional campaigns. This will also help you shape your own marketing strategy as you can understand what works and what fails for your environment.
4. Track Their Social Platforms
Social media provides a great platform to spy on competition. “Like” and “follow” your competition on Facebook, Twitter and other social media channels to see what they are posting. The responses their content receives can also provide valuable data into what kind of content your hotel should be posting on its own channels and when.
5. Check out Review Sites for Comments
What are others saying about your competitors? You can find out with ease by looking at review sites such as TripAdvisor, Google Plus, etc. Are there any common complaints or compliments amongst your competitors that you can either adapt or avoid to benefit your own business?
6. Check out Their SEO Efforts
Do a quick search on Google using the keywords your customers are likely to use. Does your business appear on the first page, or is it predominantly your competitors? If it’s the latter, you may want to work on the Search Engine Optimization (SEO) of your website, implementing the competitive keywords that your competitors are using to rank higher.
There are several tools available to help you track the keywords your competitor is trying to rank for, including Google Keyword Tool, SEM Rush, etc. Another way is to right click on key pages of your competitor’s website and click on ‘View Source’. Search for ‘meta’ from the search bar on the top left. The meta title and description will tell you which words they are trying to rank for.
7. Visit the Property
An old-fashioned way to track competition is to experience their product and service directly. Visit properties in your location and see what they are offering. Is there something you can use to advance your own business? Take notes of their customer service techniques.
