How hotel chains can put more heads in beds with smart marketing

Acquisition costs for online customers continue to rise. Because of this, hospitality marketers need to be smart and efficient, and use the best tools to reach customers across marketing channels and devices, in person and on the phone.

Uncovering the right audience and persuading them to make a booking does not have to be challenging. Being able to clearly define audience characteristics for key insights can help you identify and reach audiences that have a higher likelihood of engagement with stronger results.a

The right marketing strategy makes all the difference, from start to finish.

Identifying a potential customer

Collecting data from Web site visitors, which can be achieved using an information-gathering source such as a data management platform, is helpful identifying potential customers.

The demographics and online behavior of those visitors provide insight into where the lead is in the customer journey. This information helps provide context when looking at users who have viewed the site, how long they have stayed, and which pages they visited.

For example, a user may have only visited for a brief period of time, but her interactions with advertising and her search terms point to a more serious lead.

Look for trends in the information that you have gathered to identify opportunities with the most promise and uncover the desires of your audience.

With historical data you can better understand what someone who will eventually book looks like, and build different personas around those lead types. This boils down to finding the answers to questions such as “business or pleasure?”

If the data tells you that a visitor is a hot lead who is interested in business travel, you might promote an easy experience, free Wi-Fi and a daily grab-and-go breakfast in your messaging.

If a visitor is interested in travel for pleasure, you may tout spacious rooms, a pool and proximity to local attractions.

These messages can be used in advertising, customized per user on your Web site or in tailored emails.

Appeal to customers through cross-channel messaging

So you have identified potential customers and tailored your messaging to suit their needs. The next step is to create a strategy for those messages.

Read full article at: Mobile Commerce Daily