Black Friday and Cyber Monday can be a minefield to navigate; it’s a crowded market where an abundance of hoteliers, restauranteurs and retailers are fighting for visibility, market dominance and sales. It presents a great opportunity to promote brands, recruit new customers and increase profit, however the competition is fierce and traffic moves fast. There’s no room for complacency and no time to stand still.
The leading team at M&T Hotel Management are the experts in all areas of hotel management and understand what it takes for hotels (and wider business models) to stand out in a crowded market place, increase value, performance and results for the business.
Naveed Khan Commercial Director and Nicole Feldman Head of Marketing at M&T Hotel Management have a wealth of experience in increasing profitability and growing customer databases. Below they share their advice to maximise revenue opportunities and customer experience around Black Friday and Cyber Monday 2017.
Have availability and inventory available against all offers
Customers can be very dissatisfied if they cannot get the deal due to limited availability so it’s important to have ample supply.
Have a target to reach and plan for ROI
By setting goals and planning effectively, success can be monitored and marketing plans adapted to ensure targets are reached and revenue maximised.
Make the offer easy and user-friendly for customers
For example one price across all dates available. If the offer is complicated or customers have to think too much they will get distracted and disinterested. It’s important to keep it simple and deliver a positive experience for existing and new audiences.
Have an upsell offer ready
Be prepared to send to the customers who make a booking i.e. dinner, bedroom upgrades, spa treatments. Upselling provides the perfect platform for maximising revenue and creating a good customer experience. It will ensure greater usage of hotel facilities and also help promote customer loyalty.
Ensure that terms & conditions for all bookings are fenced to ensure full revenue capture
After the work invested in pulling together a successful promotion, it’s vital that sales aren’t lost and that the database can be maximized for future marketing promotions.
Send the offer to existing customers as a priority
If that doesn’t yield the production you were aiming for, release to selected OTA’s. Always be prepared to change strategy, test new methods and have contingency options planned in advance.
Use the BF/CM database for a private sale
This is easier as they are warm leads and this helps to promote loyalty amongst existing customers.
Target using past history and Facebook analytics
To help pinpoint past trends to really optimise results.
Ensure a post campaign review
Evaluating successes, identifying opportunities and dead ends and outlining key learnings. This information is valuable in an everchanging market and can really help shape future campaigns.
