Gaining mobility in your marketing
Wasn’t marketing so simple back in the 1950s? There was the print media, radio and signs. Maybe an interval slide at the cinema.
The hardest part of marketing back then was fending off a persistent attack by a visiting ad salesman. Then came television and everyone longed to be part of it. Even then it was simple enough (it may not have seemed like it). In fact, it was not until the advent of the Internet that things began to get complicated and that complexity was multiplied a thousand-fold when that fearsome word digital became vogue.
For the average accommodation provider today about the only traditional marketing that still applies to any degree is the signs and even they are hi-tech.
In 2012 the Internet and digital devices dominate – up to 50% of bookings for accommodation providers come via the Internet, more in some cases. SoLoMo (social, local, mobile marketing) is the current buzzword. Many of us do not even understand the jargon – OTAs, SEO, SMS, channel marketing, branding, SEM, Expedia, Twitter, Priceline, Booking.com, Travelocity, TripAdvisor… and new ones are being created every minute.
Of necessity the bulk of an accommodation provider’s marketing effort must centre around the Internet and paramount in of all this is an effective, inter-active and user friendly website that strictly adheres to industry’s best practices for design, site architecture and search engine optimisation.
But that is just the beginning. Your marketing flows from there and the response to all marketing efforts needs to be channelled back to that website.
So what is SoLoMo?
Though most accommodation providers understand the importance of being ever-present across local listings and maps as well as social media such as Facebook and Twitter, the power of mobile marketing must not be underestimated. It is claimed that 5% of all hotel bookings are made via mobile devices and 51% of business travellers use mobile devices to get travel information (more than double the rate of two years ago) most of whom book through the accommodation provider’s own website. This growth pattern will increase dramatically in the immediate future – mobile travel bookings are expected to triple by 2013, a study by travel research firm PhoCusWright has found.
According to the study, gross travel bookings made in the United States on mobile devices reached nearly $2.6 billion in 2011, representing 2.4% of all online travel purchases. And over the next two years, that share is anticipated to grow to over $8 billion, or 6.5% of all Internet bookings.
Mobile is by nature a last-minute distribution channel. Most hotel mobile bookings are for the same or following night therefore these bookings will occur in any case without the need to resort to discounting. Use mobile SEM and SMS marketing for last-minute reservations but market your true best available rates.
Today, accommodation providers face more challenges than ever. From concentrating on SoLoMo to navigating ‘new’ distribution channels, to implementing a Google+ strategy, to improving local search rankings, it is near-impossible for a hotelier to distinguish viable strategies from trendy or temporary opportunities while focusing on their own websites; increasing direct online revenues via SEO, SEM, email marketing and utilising OTAs in the most strategic ways.
To do this without a dedicated digital marketing partner is nigh on impossible. Finding a marketing professional, either internal or outsourced, is absolutely vital. And delaying to do so will inevitably cost you business.
Have a look at the Intonet article by Arvo Elias in this newsletter to get updated on the mobile scene.
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