How to Benefit from Relationship-Based Marketing

Hospitality Marketing can be confusing.   It encompasses your web site content, SEO, social media including your blog, and more.  Let's focus on the increasing importance of having transparent relationships with your customers.  The goal is to build solid elationships for lasting success.

Here are a few ways you can focus on building these customer relationships as part of your online marketing strategy…

Develop Relationships with Influencers

Professional reviews (the kinds provided by magazines and guidebook services, for example) aren’t quite as prominent and impactful as they once were. Because travelers can see feedback from other people like themselves, they don’t look for expert opinions as often as they used to.  They’re looking at people like you and I for our feedback and experience.

It's important for you to discover and build relationships with "influencers" -- those who have many followers and are already building and sharing content with people in your target market – they can amplify your message and grow your audience. A report by the Global Marketing Institute illustrates this point well.

Contact us and we can help.

Be Responsive 

Today’s tech-savvy generation isn’t defined by age; it’s based on the habit of finding information instantly from using smartphones and other mobile devices. They expect a quick answer to their concerns or questions.  Brands are less important to them than how helpful companies are to them when they are researching.  

As Digital Analyst Brian Solis notes, “90% of people in a micro-moment are brand agnostic.” They don’t care who you are; they just want to know how you can help them. He continues: “And 73% of those customers will make a decision based on the company that was most useful and helpful in those micro-moments. So the game is completely changing.” 

When you receive a question through your web site or social media channel, reply as quickly as possible.  The best marketing is now relationship-based.

Manage Traveler Review Sites

Many travelers will decide to either take a chance with your company or take their money elsewhere based on a quick review of your rating and how you reply to your customers on related travel sites. So higher ratings on TripAdvisor, Yelp or Expedia will boost sales.

Having positive online reviews is crucial for those in the travel industry – feedback is particularly critical since it is such an influential factor to visitors making their travel decisions.  

Should you have a negative review, respond quickly with the “customer is always right” mentality.  Offer to help via a private message and let them know you care if they had a bad experience.  It is very difficult to have a review removed; they can usually only be taken away if you can prove that they have violated the site’s guidelines.  In fact, a bad review profile can be so difficult to overcome that businesses under new management sometimes change their name to get a clean business profile.

Of course, you will solve all review-related issues if you do all you can to provide the level of service that will attract positive reviews. Do great things and you can be confident your customers will leave positive feedback for all the world to see. 

Are Your Reviews and Online Marketing Telling the Right Story?

Reaching customers in the travel and tourism industry is harder than a lot of people think. It takes planning, ingenuity, and persistence to turn your business into a can’t-miss destination.

At Compucast, our focus is hospitality marketing.  We help successful businesses and brands attract more customers.  Through our New Orleans based social media with over 160,000 followers and our web sites servicing those planning a visit or an event in New Orleans, we will expand your reach and grow your  customer base.  We will help you find cost-effective marketing solutions.

Contact us today to set up free consultation and see what we can do for you!