Build Your Database: It is your Guarantee for Future Bookings
I see many business owners in the hotel and resort industry and am constantly talking about the importance of their database.
Australian marketer, Mal Emery, calls it “the herd”. He says you can always go back to the herd when you need a result. The tourism and accommodation industry is no different. If you have a growing and accurate database of people, you can always return so they buy again and again.
Now this is what I see. I see hotel and resort managers spending considerable money attracting people to their website – yet they are doing nothing to capture their details. Most owners want a quick result (an enquiry or a booking) rather than thinking long term and building a database for the future. What this means is that most resorts see at least 120 people a day visit their website yet only generate two or three enquiries via email and a few phone calls.
So what about all the other visitors? Were they just bored and had nothing better to do? Of course not – they were in the market to buy. Interestingly enough, statistics show that only 5-6% of people are hot to buy now, another 8-10% warm and buying soon and the rest just beginning to look. The hot buyers are going to enquire and book right now but the warm and cooler prospects are still formulating, which is where the opportunity lies for all in the industry.
Think about this. If there was a way for a better return from your current marketing spend, wouldn’t that make sense? And you can. In fact, you can capture the details of at least 15% of all website visitors to put them into a marketing system that will convert them over time. On top of two or three enquiries, you can build a database of at least 15 a day. That is an extra 7870 people to market directly to each year, so your herd grows so much more. Combine this with some really clever conversion tools and you will see bookings increase significantly over time.
When you add these contacts to your current enquiries and your current database; your business “no vacancy” sign will be up more often. This type of marketing technique is not expensive, expands the value of all your marketing dollars and just makes a lot of sense.
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