Your marketing efforts are not delivering the expected results or you think you can do more.
No worries, we have your back, in this first article we explore 5 online mistakes which can sabotage your marketing efforts and hard-worked marketing strategy.
Keep reading to identify these 5 critical but easy to fix mistakes.
1. Confusing Website
Your website represents online your hospitality. It is often one of the first touchpoints possible guests have with your hospitality facility and it contributes enormously to guests’ first impression of your hotel. Visitors who find your website are seeking a place where to relax, they are looking for a comfortable and trouble-free experience. These traits should be imbued in your website as well, allowing your visitors to easily reach any information with few clicks.
A good guideline is the 3 clicks rule, based on which every page should be reached in 3 clicks. Be careful though, this guideline must not distract you by creating an intuitive online experience. It is key that visitors are presented with clear choices so that they can easily get the information they are looking for.
2. Lack of Transparency
Visitors do not want negative surprises, you need to kill their insecurities to convince them your hotel is the right one. Each potential guest has different needs and priorities, accommodation facilities that do not address them, risk to be on the losing side. You can not rely only on guests’ calls to explain to them the details of your hospitality and how you can serve them. Guests are becoming more and more demanding online and desire an exhaustive experience, some of them expect to find all the needed information without calling.
Provide clear and complete information. Be straightforward, exhaustive, and pitchy when you show online all your hotel services, characteristics, features and any other element which guests can find useful. Make sure to not forget anything, you can ask visitors and guests’ feedback to continuously check what matters to them and why they have chosen or not your hotel.
3. No Catchy Presentation
A pleasant design, an elegant yet easy-to-read font, catchy visuals and attention-grabbing colors are key to grab the attention of the online visitors, make a positive first impression and compellingly highlight your strengths. People’s attention is limited and the brain tends to formulate a judgment on your hospitality in the first seconds using the help of cues. The Halo effect or positive associations can play a significant role in the making of the first impression, that is why you want to deliver a positive catchy online experience.
You can use high-definition pictures and videos, captivating scenes, compelling audio and visuals. Make sure there is care in every detail and your website looks professional to convert visitors into guests. Visitors will attribute the positive vibes they receive from your website to your hospitality. They will judge your hotel positively even though there is no link between the quality of your hospitality and your website visuals.
4. Absence of Trustworthy Feedback
People have nowadays developed a certain immunity to advertisement. They look skeptically to corporate communications and prefer to rely on the feedback of people they deem impartial, with no financial interests in the matter. This is why they believe much more to other online users, guests, acquaintances and friends than what you have to say about your hotel.
Make sure your guests positively review your hospitality. If you can ensure guests-generated content like comments and pictures are available online you gain a source of trustworthy and genuine free advertising. By delivering amazing experiences that your guests want to share with the world you can both generate authentic content and make your guests extremely satisfied.
5. Only Giving Value During the Stay
Start giving value to your potential guests even before they book a room. Be present in their online queries. It is risky to rely long term only on platforms like booking.com and paid advertising. You can leverage valuable contents to support your SEO and create more touchpoints with your target customers.
Attract potential guests to your website increasing organic traffic through a blog or a news section. Write articles that are useful to people considering traveling to your area. This can help that consideration to become action and let the potential guests know of your hotel. A classic example is articles that inform readers about local festivals and fairs, particular activities to do near your facility and so on.
We have reached the end of our first article. If you haven’t committed any of the aforementioned mistakes: congratulations! If you have, congratulations all the same, now you know how to improve your online marketing.
