Hotel marketing agencies are a dime a dozen today. A Google search will reveal tens of thousands of results all claiming to get you spectacular results.But how do you find the best one for your hotel?
Choosing the right hotel marketing firm to partner with is a crucial step in your overall marketing strategy. Here are a few tips that hoteliers can use to pick the right agency to work with.
A good agency will listen to your problems first before offering solutions
No one knows your business like you do, and if an agency starts suggesting 101 things to do before they even listen to the problems that you’re facing, it is a clear indication that that they really don’t know what they’re talking about. What a good agency looks for is information about problem and other relevant data that will allow them to make their own strategy which will meet your unique needs.
A good agency knows what to do
A good agency will not need step-by-step instructions about promotions and campaigns. They will design, plan, and execute hotel marketing campaigns that bring results. If you find yourself telling your agency what to do at every step, it is an indication that you picked the wrong one.
A good agency knows your product well
Effective hotel marketing strategies can be created only on the solid foundation of product knowledge. Before picking an agency, check how much they know about the hotel industry. If they don’t know how hotels operate, the industry’s unique problems and challenges, and how the overall economy affects the industry, how can they possibly do you any good? Ideally, there should be people in the agency who have some experience in the hotel and travel industry.
A good agency will keep you informed
One of the key factors that set good agencies apart is that they will keep you informed about the results of their efforts. They will know if something is not working properly much before you do, and they will proactively let you know about the change in direction that is required. If you are not kept in the loop about the search terms that your website is being optimized for, or other important information such as traffic, conversions, bounce rates, etc., it may be time to change agency. Pick an agency that will give you detailed information which allows you to track and analyze every dollar that you spend on campaigns and the ROI.
A good agency doesn’t come cheap
A lot of work goes behind the scenes of a successful online marketing campaign. An agency who is committed to their work will need to do a lot of work including collecting information from the hotel, studying your statistics, discussing campaign options and ideas, designing, planning, and executing campaigns, and reporting all these activities to you on a regular basis. A lot of man-hours go into these activities,which will need to be adequately compensated. When you choose your marketing agency, rather than asking how much it costs, ask by how much they can increase your revenue.
Choose the right agency to form a long-lasting partnership that will bring you good results consistently.