Marketing has always been about communication and connection in order to engage people. However, today, it’s imperative to go beyond words and images. To gain a competitive edge, hotel brands must add “experience” to the marketing strategy.
Hotel marketing has become much more than just creating campaigns and writing posts on different social media. Although creating relevant content is important, marketers should go over and above the simple attraction of new potential guests.
Hotel marketing managers or consultants should always think about conversion. Especially in the hotel industry, there are many ways to improve the conversion rates and to impress clients even before they become guests.
Here, in this simple guide, you can find the best hotel marketing practices in 2020 to provide the best online marketing experience to convert sales.
A good hotel website is more than design
Layout and design are crucial, but not enough. A good hotel website is more than just a nice visual. It should have all the vital information, be easy to navigate and be mobile-friendly.
A great hotel website allied with a good marketing strategy can increase online direct booking. The booking process must be simple and convenient for the visitor, encouraging them to book directly at the website. Besides, the digital strategy is extremely important as people shop for everything on the smartphone.
Hotel Marketing 2020 is about the experience
The hotel industry spins around guest experience and that can be applied even before the stay. The marketing team must include the experience-factor in its strategy. After all, guests don’t buy a room, but an experience.
For this reason, one of the trends for 2020 about the guest experience in marketing is virtual reality. For instance, a hotel might offer a virtual reality tour of their hotel on the company website, allowing users to experience what the inside of a hotel room actually looks like and feels like.
An amazing booking experience convinces potential guests to seal the deal and make a booking.
Another way experience can be used as a marketing strategy is through influencer marketing. Individuals who have a significant online presence among the target audience can be valuable not only to attract new clients- because of the person’s audience range- but also because of the fact that the hotel gains credibility by association.
It’s worth to notice that the same way an association can bring benefits, it can also ruin a reputation. Influencer marketing should be done carefully and partnerships should be chosen wisely.
Images sell and conversations sell more
Customers like interactions. An efficient way to potentialize marketing efforts is through a chatbot on the hotel website. Chatbots powered with Artificial Intelligence can deliver a perfect pre-stay experience to potential guests, answering fast all queries and encouraging direct bookings.
Chatbots can also capture leads and segregate customers, maximizing marketing efforts, like remarketing. The data these AI chatbots gathered can also be analyzed so decisions about customer service, operations, and marketing strategy can be taken more efficiently.
Furthermore, according to several studies, the average opening rate and click-through rate for chatbots are much higher than email.
Give life to hotel marketing
Marketing is still a powerful channel through which hotels attract new potential clients. And there are many marketing strategies that are proven to work. Even with all technology, marketing’s core hasn’t changed: communication and connection.
Regardless of which strategy the hotel chooses to implement, one thing is certain: the hotel website is the pillar of the online strategy and an important distribution channel.
But, to be ahead of the Compset demands to go beyond distribution. That’s why hotel marketing should also aim to convert website traffic through different strategies like virtual reality or chatbots.
The best way to convert is by offering an amazing experience to potential guests even before they arrive at the hotel lobby.
