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Educate and build credibility through your mailing list

Friday, May 11th, 2012

Depending on the nature of your target market you could use your mailing list to engage with your customers by sharing your knowledge. For example:
Ask your head chef to provide a recipe of the month, tips on baking the perfect meringue or crusty bread, a buyers’ guide to choosing fresh fish recipe ideas based on what is in season right now, or anything related to your current menu.

  • If you are a park or garden, ask your gardening team to share seasonal tips.
  • If you have a golf course you might share tips on the latest equipment or techniques to hone their swing.
  • If you have a spa, ask your spa team to share information on relaxation techniques, aromatherapy remedies, tips for the perfect pedicure, skin car regimes, etc.
  • If you are an historical site share some of your story on how you preserve special features.
  • Ask housekeeping for tips on stain removal, cleaning household items such as glass, leather, silk etc. or ‘the day in the life of’.
  • If you are a wedding venue ask any of your joint venture partners or preferred suppliers such as florist, photographer, limousines, suit hire for their top tips.

What’s happening

Last but not least keeping in touch with your customers is an ideal opportunity to keep them up to date with what’s going on. Yes, this will include forthcoming events and promotions that they may be interested in, but it’s not just about this. No one wants to be bombarded with sell, sell, sell emails. You’ll soon get unsubscribes from your list if you do this. Create a sense of intrigue and curiosity; tell them about your plans, changes you’re making (e.g. progress reports on refurbishments), what’s new (e.g. your new menu, new toiletries, treatments or service, refurbishments, celebrity involvement). You then have a reason to invite them back or make an offer.

Don’t be afraid to tell people what they’ve missed; what are your success stories.

If you are an education centre share some of the projects you’ve been working on with schools. If your target market are families with young children, tell them about activities children in enjoy (with plenty of pictures too, to show them having a good time with their favourite TV or Book character!)  Historical site may cover recent discoveries. These also provide a great opportunity to share photos and testimonials, which all helps build credibility.

Maybe they missed it this time, but now they can see for themselves what they’ve missed out on it will be a lot easier to get their attention next time.

So don’t leave a return visit or referral to chance. Ensure you’re keeping yourself in your customers’ minds; keep in touch.

You can find more on building customer relationships in the Hotel Success Handbook

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Build rapport and build a sense of anticipation with your customers

Thursday, May 10th, 2012

Before your customers arrive, start to build the relationship and get your customers excited about their visit. Let them know in advance what they can be doing the make the best of their time with you. Offer your help in booking restaurants, (yours or JV partners’), entertainment, outings, taxis, accommodation, attractions. etc. Anything that will make their stay or visit with you memorable.

Introduce your future customers to the team; let your head chef describe the menu or his/her signature dish, personal recommendations from one of your local team members of places to see or things to do, your gardener to talk about what’s in bloom,  your events team about any special entertainment. Anything that will whet their appetite.

Pass on useful (and most importantly up to date) information that will enable a smooth journey: forewarn of expected traffic delays, what’s the quickest and/or cheapest way to get from the airport or railway station, personalised driving directions from their home post code.

Act like a travel company and give tips on what to bring, and what you provide, so they don’t have to overload their suitcase or cram the car with unnecessary toiletries, clothing, sports’ gear or travel books.

Say thank you

The quickest and easiest way to create an impression and get remembered by your customers after their visit is to send a thank you note. A handwritten and personalised card or note will win hands down over and above an automated email.

Show you appreciate their custom, and show you care. Make reference to the rest of  their day out, their holiday, onward journey or something they mentioned during their stay. And one of the easiest ways to show your appreciation is with a small gift of some kind. This might be an exclusive offer or deal for them or a friend, a memento for them to keep or pass on, or some useful snippets of relevant information or tips.

A follow up thank you is also a great opportunity to get feedback too. If you know they enjoyed their visit prompt them to write a review in TripAdvisor or Google Reviews (make it easy for them by providing a link). Ask for direct feedback too; what they enjoyed most and any ideas, comments or suggestions they have to enhance their stay next time.

Tomorrow we’ll look at how to start to build the customer relationship before they have even become a customer.

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What’s so different about your hotel, then?

Friday, February 3rd, 2012

Unless you have a USP or some point of differentiation, what will make your hotel stand out above all the rest in your area, or competing for the same market?

Some can rely on their location, or the building, or history. But what if your hotel has none of that?

 

One way of capturing the interests of your guest or prospects is to imagine your perfect guest sharing some of the same passions, values or interests as you. It’s a lot easier to sell something you have an interest in, you are passionate about or that’s important to you.  If you don’t love what you do, or feel it’s important, it will show. It will be very hard for you to deliver a good service if you are dealing with people with whom you share no values, interests or enthusiasm.

Anyone who knows me will know that I love my garden, and love visiting other gardens. So if it was my hotel an obvious target market would be other garden lovers. This would not only allow me to attract guests who share my interest and passions, it provides a theme, which can be built on. Such as – sharing knowledge of local historical or famous gardens, forming joint ventures with a local plant nursery, garden designer, gardening author, manufacturer of garden products, or market gardener (or all of these); designing menus planned around locally grown produce.

I could tie in with any specific gardening events happening locally, such as RHS flower shows, Gardeners’ Question Time, etc. Or host my own Gardeners’ Question Time calling upon local gardening celebrities. I might include talks from experts, transport and free entry to a number of local gardens of interest (maybe as exclusive guests of the owner). You get the idea……

 

To take another example, Hotel TerraVina in the New Forest, where Nina and Gérard Bassett used Gérard’s knowledge and passion for wine – Gérard is the only person in the world to hold the combined titles of Master of Wine, Master Sommelier, Wine MBA and, as of April 2010, World’s Best Sommelier. (And I was pleased to have the opportunity to interview Nina and Gérard as part of my interview series  – How to Give Your Hotel a Competitive Edge.) As a result Hotel TerraVina attracts both hotel guests and restaurant diners who have an interest in wine, and Gérard is happy as he has an opportunity to cater for people who are interested in what he’s offering. By employing others who share this interest and knowledge Nina and Gérard are able to be consistent. And all this provides them with great PR opportunities.

But what if your theme is not so obvious?

Start by listing what you enjoy, what you are passionate about, and what’s important to you. Can these be incorporated into your business? Then consider your interests. What are the hobbies or pastimes you enjoy (or used to before you ran a hotel and had more free time!) What particular knowledge or expertise do you have? This could be nothing to do with the hotel industry, it might just be an interest or from a former career.

  • So it could be something you love: be that golf, shopping, dogs, cars, cooking – you’ll then know the types of things others enjoy who share  your love, so cater for these interest.
  • Something you value: such as supporting your local community, being in the countryside, or energy conservation, so give examples of the steps you’ve taken to contribute to these.
  •  Or it might be a particular hobby or expertise you can share with your guests: your knowledge of Italian cuisine and offering cookery lessons, your interest in classic cars, and attracting like minded enthusiasts and promoting classic car events in the area, or you might have a specific skill or talent to pass on to others.

Very few of us could honestly say there is nothing we can get excited or enthusiastic about, but I’d certainly recommend checking there is enough of a market there of others who share our passion before modelling our whole business around it!  Then we’ll want aim to recruit people who at least have a remote interest.

And once you have identified what it is that you have that others don’t, make sure you share this at every opportunity.

If your business reflects your interests, value or expertise the likelihood is you’ll attract other people who share them. Having a specific interest or expertise also makes it easier for you to find a forum or networking group where you can get your name known, as well as finding potential opportunities and prospective joint ventures.

Then tell and show your guests how you incorporate these into your business. Show your guests in as much detail as possible what you do that is different, so they can see all this before they choose you. It could be why they choose you.

It’s very easy to be enthusiastic and passionate about something that interests you, and this enthusiasm will translate into bookings if managed smartly. It means you are more likely to attract the type of guests with whom you can build up a good rapport and a better prospect of repeat business.

If your passion appeals to your perfect guests, it will make your job of marketing your hotel and making it unique so much easier.

Nina and Gérard Bassett were just two of my 10 guests on the interview series How to Give Your Hotel a Competitive Edge.

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Start planning next Christmas now

Friday, December 9th, 2011

Your restaurant or hotel marketing for next Christmas is probably the last thing on your mind. But now is a great time to be building up material to use for next year.  What better way to promote your Christmas parties than to show people having fun, and your hotel or restaurant in all its Christmas splendour?

Take photos of the bar, restaurant and reception while the decorations and Christmas tree are looking their best – don’t leave it until half the needles have dropped off, or the light bulbs have gone out! Take shots from different angles of the restaurant laid up for dinner. ‘Snap shots’ may be OK as small images for your website, but if want to use these as bigger images, or for printed material, use a professional photographer to take some quality pictures. And include some pictures of the food. Although this is easier to ‘stage’ at a later date, if you can get some shots now, so much the better.

Get some video footage of parties – best when guests have just arrived, and had time to relax with their first drink, but don’t leave it until the tables are strewn with empty glasses. Always check with guests that they are happy for you to record, and secondly for the footage to appear on your site. Ask people for testimonials that they would be happy for you to use in next year’s marketing.

Keep an eye out for a clear, frosty morning and get outside with your camera to take some shots of a wintery scene.

Keep tabs on your costs throughout to ensure you have an accurate picture of your profit margins.  This includes post costing for each event, to take account of wastage.

Take stock at the end of the season, and learn from your successes and failures to build on this for next year. Get feedback from your team, and involve them in the review process by asking for their ideas. Then make sure you record all this where you can find it easily when it comes to planning next year!

Here’s to a very successful and profitable Christmas season.

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Posted in Cost control, Grow your Business, Marketing | 1 Comment »

A customer is the life, not just for Christmas

Monday, December 5th, 2011

You may not be dreaming of a White Christmas, but I’m sure you’d like a profitable one, so you don’t leave things to chance.

Over the Christmas period you will inevitably have a number of guests or diners who will be coming to your hotel or restaurant the first time, so ensure you create a great first impression and a reason for them to return. Equally you’ll no doubt have a number of your regulars who are coming to you because they know you, like what you offer and trust you’ll deliver what they expect. Ensure you don’t disappoint and demonstrate you appreciate their loyalty.

Maintain your standards

Just because you’re busy or you are offering some good deals, don’t let this be an excuse for poor service or poor value for money. This could be damaging for your reputation and potentially embarrassing for your existing loyal customers, particularly if they are entertaining or have referred you to others.

It will obviously also leave a poor first impression for those who are guests and potentially visiting you the first time.

Trading up

Whereas your customers might be looking for a good deal on the basic price, particularly for group bookings, this doesn’t mean to say that individuals will not be prepared to you trade up to a premium drink or additional menu items. Ensure your team are in a position to make suggestions and recommendations, and are fully aware of what is feasible, and what’s not a practical proposition. Then check that your bar and kitchen staff are prepared and can cope with the ad hoc and additional items.

According to a survey by The Mystery Dining Company many people planning to eat out over Christmas are not making advance bookings. This means hotels and restaurants offering good value and being flexible with walk-ins versus bookings could benefit from last-minute business.

Show your appreciation

Nothing should be competing with your Christmas promotions so don’t plan any other offers or accept other vouchers during this period that undermine your potential Christmas revenue.

But have everything in place for the New Year and what you’ll have on offer that’s exclusive to your Christmas guests as an incentive for them to return sooner rather than later. Even if partygoers are not in the mood to be parting with their personal details that can be added to your database, at the very least have vouchers, brochures or even a goodie bag as a taster of those special bonuses, offers or packages you’ve lined up just to them.

Of course in a perfect world you’ll also be getting their contact details so you can add them to your mailing list, but ensure you have some incentive for them to do this; maybe a prize draw in the New Year, ensuring of course it’s still relevant to non-locals if you’re attracting visitors from further afield, or maybe even for a draw on the night for each of your party nights. If your market is predominantly locals, talk to your suppliers or other local businesses who may be happy to sponsor some other prizes in return some publicity. Bearing in mind you’ll be busy, whatever you use for capturing details make it simple.

Keep in touch

Schedule some time after Christmas to follow up with your mailings. Keep your list of segmented so party organisers on one list, and guests on another so you can keep your mailings pertinent and personal.

This will enable you to follow up with all your party organisers or the person who made the booking to thank them for their booking. Show you appreciate their feedback so you can learn from them what worked well, and what they didn’t like, so you can improve on it for next year. Don’t just do this on the night or at the end of their stay, but follow up post event.  If there is anything they didn’t like they may be reluctant to tell you there and then in front of other guests.

Following up now helps to develop your relationship, and increases your chances of repeat business either during the year or next Christmas.

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Keeping your hotel events page up to date

Friday, November 11th, 2011

Part 5 in my 7 top tips for using your hotel’s activites to help market your hotel

7 Keeping it up to date

There’s nothing worse than seeing a hotel website advertising something that took place six months ago; this will surely leave your prospects with the impression that you simply don’t care. Get a schedule in place that prompts updates. Put systems in place to ensure you get kept up to date with what’s happening and when. Involve your team, maybe set up champions from different types of activities dependent on your team’s interests; it’s much easier to describe something if it’s something that’s of interest to you, as well as being more inclined to make it happen.

Keep yourself up to date too with what’s being talked about in the media and what’s potentially the next big thing for your area. As I write this Highclere Castle in Berkshire is being described as the most bankable country house in the world as it appears for a second series in the costume drama Downton Abbey. So what will be making the headlines next in your locality?

And consider if your hotel might be the perfect antidote for those who want to avoid the throngs and masses of well publicised events.

So whether your market is corporate or leisure guests help give your hotel marketing a boost by giving your guests a compelling reason to come to you by letting them know what there is to do. And then make it as easy as possible for your guests to enjoy these activities so they want to come back for more and tell their friends and colleagues to do the same.

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Use multiple channels to appeal to different guests

Thursday, November 10th, 2011

Part 4 in my 7 top tips for making the most of your hotel’s activities in marketing your hotel

6 Don’t just say it once

It makes sense to include as much relevant information as possible on your hotel website, and make it media rich by including pictures and maybe even video clips. But don’t stop there, use multiple channels to market your hotel. Your personal accounts and stories make excellent material for blog posts and newsletters, too, and is a great way to incorporate information of value and go into more detail. It  might even provide the perfect subject matter for a free download as an incentive to get prospective guests to sign up to be on your hotel’s mailing list.

Personalise your confirmation emails with details of what’s coming up during their stay (and remind them if they need to make a booking). This all adds to going that extra mile, building the relationship and making a great first impression.

Then make sure there’s plenty of easy to access information available once they check in. Small details such as having local maps they can borrow, relevant opening times, up to date timetables for public transport or trips.

 

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Bring your hotel marketing to life

Wednesday, November 9th, 2011

Here’s part 3 of my 7 top tips for making the most of your hotel’s activities in your hotel marketing

4 Work in partnership

If a particular venue, event or attraction helps attract people to your hotel or your area, get to work in partnership with these organisations to provide  marketing opportunities for both of you and achieve a win-win. Start by inviting them to see what you have to offer so that they can promote you to their visitors, and vice versa.

What packages or promotions can you put together as a joint-venture to benefit both of you as well as offering great value to your guests? Are there any opportunities to run events with these organisations as sponsors, or vice versa? Keeping channels open between you will mean you’re in a position to refer business to one another and continue to create opportunities.

 

5 Bring your hotel marketing to life

Don’t just lift descriptions from any old brochure. Give your own accounts and descriptions of the things to bring it to life. Highlight your favourite attractions, walks or haunts, where you like to spend time when you want to relax or seek adventure. Everyone likes a story, so use your own personal anecdotes.

Ask your team to share their accounts of these places and activities. Not only does this help to make the descriptions more personal, what better way to let your guests get to know your team and build that relationship before they even arrive.

And if you need to mention something where you don’t have a personal interest, find someone who does. For example of you have a local race course, but you hate horse racing, find someone who is interested and get them to write about what might be of interest to guests who are coming for the racing. If guests come to take part in rock climbing and you don’t climb, ask someone who does and get their account of what makes this a great base and to describe the climbs. Show your prospective guests there is a connection and you can relate to their needs.

Better still include your hotel guests’ accounts of the things they’ve done while they’ve stayed with you. What better advertisement is there to market your hotel than a guest’s perspective?

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Keep it relevant and make it easy

Tuesday, November 8th, 2011

Here’s part 2 of my 7 top tips for making the most of your hotel’s activities in your hotel marketing

2 Focus on only the most interesting

One way to help market a hotel is to let your guests know what there is to do.  But, when deciding what to list as ‘things to do’ on your hotel’s website, the list of potential activities could be endless, so focus instead on only the most interesting. What makes something interesting? Get feedback from your existing hotel guests.

What are the types of things that they do when they stay with you, what do they enjoy, what do they see as value for money. Did activities live up their billing? What exceeded their expectations? What are the things that prompted them to come to you in the first place; whether any particular events, activities or attractions have bought guests to your area? What are the hidden treasures that people enjoyed while staying? What has been recommended by friends and family?

 

3 Making it an easy option

Knowing what’s on offer is one thing; knowing whether it’s feasible is another. Let your hotel guests know the practicalities – how far, how to get there, when places are open. Give hotel guests contact details or links to other websites (test these regularly in case they change). Do certain activities need to be booked in advance, and if so can you organise this for guests? How easy is it to get from your hotel to the activity in question? And provide maps and timetables both before and during their stay.

Make it as easy as possible for your guests to take part in these activities. If guests like walking, will they get frowned on for bringing in their muddy boots, or do you have facilities for getting wet weather gear and walking boots dry. If you’ve fantastic fishing can you organise permits and fishing tackle? If access to some venues is a problem, what can you do to help get them there?

All this adds up to making your hotel stand out from the competition and helps with marketing your hotel

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Give your guests a reason to come to you

Monday, November 7th, 2011

There was a time when I went on holiday that I was quite happy to sit on the beach and read my book for the duration. I know there are still many who are quite happy to do the same, but I’ve become a bit more action-oriented in my travels. Not only do I want to know what activities and attractions I’ll find at a given destination, but I plan my trip accordingly. And I’m not just talking leisure here; even when I go away on business I like to know they’ll be something to do in my free time.

When marketing your hotel letting guests know what there is to do at and around your hotel is a great way to stand out amongst your competition, particularly if it is something they won’t get elsewhere. And even if what is on offer local to you isn’t unique to your hotel, what will make you stand out is that you’re the one talking about these things (and might also help with your search engine optimisation).

Over the next few days I’ll be sharing my 7 top tips for making the best of your hotel’s activities as a marketing tool…………

 

1 What to talk about when marketing your hotel

Don’t leave it chance that your prospective guests will know about what’s on offer in and around your hotel; act like a tourist office. Inform guests of what there is to do before they arrive, rather than relying on the leaflets the tourist office provides for you. What are the things available all year round, such as attractions, theme parks and museums, historical sites, etc. What festivals, fares and events take place in your area? Maybe these already attract a lot of business to your hotel, in which case you may want to mention this to encourage people to book early. What about the great outdoors; scenery, walks, gardens, wildlife, anything that may be of interest to your target market?

Build a relationship with your local tourist office to ensure you’re able to keep up to date with what’s happening and when. But also talk about the things they won’t find in the guide books and tourist literature. The little things that can make someone’s stay at your hotel that little bit different or special.

Don’t forget to tell your guests about your hotel’s own in-house entertainment. If you’re in an area or a climate where guests will want to spend a lot of time in the hotel let them know what you have to keep them entertained so they’re not left wondering if they’ll be kicking their heals during the long dark evenings or wet weather.

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