Marketing Tips For The Hospitality Industry

MARKETING TIPS FOR HOSPITALITY SECTOR

The coronavirus pandemic has undoubtedly affected the world in so many ways, causing businesses everywhere to adapt to an unprecedented crisis. The last few months have been very uncertain for people all over the world, with every country implementing social distancing rules to flatten the curve and reduce the number of infections.

Every industry has been impacted in some manner, including the hospitality industry. In fact, it has been one of the sectors which has suffered the most. Many hoteliers have wondered what to do about their marketing, do they pause it, carry on, spend less, spend more?

After all, this isn’t a situation hotel owner in the UK have ever faced before. A pandemic of this magnitude may not have been something they considered when they wrote their crisis management plan. Many may not have even had such a plan.

But the question remains, what should a hotel do about its marketing during a pandemic like coronavirus?

TAKE A MEASURED APPROACH

Essentially, what we mean is don’t panic. The world is indeed a scary place right now. Things are uncertain and we don’t know when life will return to normal, or if it even will in a traditional sense. Lots of people and business owners are feeling this way and it’s natural.

What you need to do is to remain composed and assess your options. What represents a sensible path forward? There are still things you can do to keep your business thriving in the long run as far as marketing is concerned.

WHAT YOU CAN DO WITH YOUR MARKETING BUDGET

Budgeting is a tricky one at this time. Should you cut your marketing budget or keep it the same as it was?

It all depends on what you can afford at the moment. If you can justify keeping your marketing budget where it is then do so. Although you should examine how your budget is spent. Conduct an internal audit of expenditure.

Does your hotel spend a large portion of its budget marketing a facility or service that cannot be used at the moment? If so then consider what else you can do. Rather than cutting your budget, it may be possible to reallocate the funds.

FOCUS ON DIGITAL MARKETING

Your conference facilities may not be the most exciting thing to post about on social media right now, but what about your other facilities? Remember your audience, what do your customers come to you for? You may be a hotel that is valued for its location.

Your peaceful location plus your spa facilities may be what tempts customers to visit you regularly. Of course, they cannot at this time, but showing them what they have to look forward to when social distancing is relaxed can be powerful.

Many people will be looking forward to when restrictions are lifted, and they will be looking for some catharsis. Showing them this content now will plant the seeds to ensure they consider you when the time comes. And it will put you in a better position than those who choose to pause their marketing completely. Maintaining your social media, SEO and blogging efforts represent the bare minimum needed to remain relevant in your customer’s eyes.

WORK ON YOUR WEBSITE

Now is the time to pay more attention to your website, take advantage of the downtime your hotel may have to audit this too. Make it look more appealing with fresh content and beautiful pictures. Reassess your SEO strategy and see where improvements can be made.

Is there vital information that needs to be added or a special message you’d like your customers to read? Now is the time to make these changes, and when you can; prepare for your big re-launch. At this point, nobody knows when it will be. But be ready, how will you stand out?

LOCALISE YOUR MARKETING EFFORTS

With lots of travel bans likely to still be in effect for some time, your focus should be on domestic bookings.

If you run any PPC campaigns, then you should focus them on the people that are in your country. Focusing your marketing efforts on the people close to you will be the best use of your budget.

REASSURE YOUR CUSTOMERS OF YOUR SAFETY MEASURES

You need to let people know the measures you are taking to ensure their safety. Let them know you are following the expert and Government guidelines to prevent the spread of the virus. Many hotel groups are introducing new initiatives focused on health and safety and marketing them heavily to ensure customer confidence. Could you offer something similar?

The aim of this is so that when customers are finally able to make bookings, they will categorically understand that your hotel is the best and safest place to be. Customer priorities and expectations have changed, try to cater for this through your digital marketing channels.

REASSESS YOUR DEMOGRAPHICS

When using modern digital marketing methods such as SEO, PPC and social media, businesses are able to control who our target audience is. Use this control now. Are you spending budget on appealing to international customers during a travel ban? If so, then why not allocate this budget to domestic customers instead?

Do you attract business customers holding conferences? Remember, many companies are encouraging their staff to work from home. This also may be a wasted budget. Could it be put to better use elsewhere? When life returns to normal (and it will) then, by all means, target each of these types of travellers again, but in the here and now it’s important to get your priorities in order.

SEND THE RIGHT MESSAGES

Language is always a very important tool in marketing, but during a health crisis, it becomes even more important. KFC needed to pause their ‘Finger Likin’’ campaign amid accusations of insensitivity, despite that slogan being associated with the company for decades.

Audit your own messages. Does something need updating or pausing until after this pandemic has passed? Your choice of words is powerful so focus your messaging on the things that are most important to people at this time. Words like clean, isolated, staycation, remote, flexible cancellation are popular at the moment. Utilise them, such a simple change in strategy may help keep the lights on for a few weeks.

Also, be sure to update your channels with the answers to questions different customers may have. Create blog content explaining certain policies and tips in detail. Do customers keep asking you about a particular scenario? Then do what you can to assuage this fear, then anticipate what questions will come next and repeat this process. Look at this very blog as an example.

BE FLEXIBLE

Your customer’s concerns are very real. We’re living in an uncertain time and customers are likely to be acting more erratically and whimsically than before. Remember to be patient with them, more so than normal. Try to understand they may be worried about money or the welfare of a loved one. See what you can to make life easier for them, even if it means going without in the short-term. They will remember your kindness.

This situation will blow over but be proactive until it does. Put your customers first when you can but also remember to make sensible decisions when it comes to health. There is a highly contagious virus doing the rounds. Your business may seemingly have come to a temporary standstill, but there’s no reason to let that impact your digital marketing strategy.

Knowing what to do about your marketing, and where to turn at a time like this is daunting. At Virtual Solutions, we are ever ready to help you in every way we possibly can. Virtual Solutions offer a bespoke SEO service as well as a range of other digital marketing options.

We will continue to bring you marketing tips throughout this pandemic we are also providing a Temporary Marketing Support service too. If you would find extra support from us helpful then get in touch here: https://virtual-solutions.co.uk/temporary-marketing-support/

About the Author

Dawn Gribble is the CEO and Founder of Virtual Solutions - a boutique digital marketing agency delivering services, training, and consultancy for hotels and restaurants. 

She brings over 20 years of F&B and hospitality experience to Virtual Solutions, having worked with award-winning hotels, Michelin star restaurants, international food brands and celebrity chefs. 

She had appeared on MasterChef, and as an Expert Judge on the Restaurant Talent Show.  Her food writing has been featured in the Huffington Post, FooDiva and Menuism. 

As an international speaker, she had delivered talks and workshops at events, such as Social Media Week Dubai, the Restaurant Show, Coffee Shop Innovation, the Middle East Food Forum and the Social Media in Tourism Conference.

Let's have a Virtual Coffee!

Book a complimentary consultation with Dawn

https://app.hubspot.com/meetings/dawngribble/virtual-coffee-grande