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Your Internet Marketing Vendor . Important considerations before hiring an Internet marketing company in hospitality . |
by Jason Price and Max Starkov, July 2007
The Internet has become the main distribution channel in hospitality�over 2/3 of all hotel bookings in the US will be directly influenced by the Internet this year. Understandably, Internet marketing has become a priority for many hoteliers who are shifting advertising dollars to the online world from traditional media and GDS advertising. This rush forward may have come at a cost to hoteliers who rely on professional marketers to sort out this dynamic and highly complicated landscape of Internet marketing. This article is not about avoiding snake oil salesmen and Internet hucksters � those should be self evident � it�s about asking the tough questions when evaluating Internet marketers who will be in charge of managing your most important revenue channel. Background Online advertising set a new record of $4.9 billion for the first quarter of 2007, an increase above the record breaking $4.8 billion for the final quarter of 2006, according to the Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB) and PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP (PwC). Travel is repeatedly cited as one of the fastest growing revenue generating categories online. According to PhoCusWright, 60% of all travel in North America will be sold over the Internet in 2008. With such a growth in online revenues, how prepared is your online marketing vendor in managing the online budget and growing your direct online distribution strategy? Everyone Wants a Slice of the Pie Old-fashioned advertising agencies, interactive agencies, website designers, booking engine vendors, SEO firms, website hosting and maintenance companies, even PR firms have all proclaimed themselves to be Internet marketing gurus in hospitality. Web design shops that are facing stiff competition have moved toward Internet marketing. Online booking engine vendors have expanded their repertoire into Internet marketing. Web masters, computer programmers, and outsourced firms from overseas are drawn toward the world of online marketing in hospitality. The mix of new comers and old companies who now do �all things Internet� has resulted in a lot of over-promising, under-delivering, burnt hotel budgets, and increasingly frustrated hotel owners and operators. This is not an issue of competition. It is about core competencies, quality and credibility which affect the hospitality industry as a whole. Too often HeBS inherits damaged clients whose budgets and online efforts were destroyed by self-proclaimed experts, or by firms who have no business playing in the online hotel marketing arena. So, the next time your PR agency, booking engine vendor or in-room Internet access provider offers to manage your search marketing, be cautious and do your research. How Can Hoteliers Make an Intelligent Choice? Internet marketing in hospitality requires a fundamental understanding of three very distinct areas of expertise: Hospitality Industry Experience
Internet Marketing Experience
Website Design and Optimization Experience
As you should, have high expectations with the firm you select to partner with. Several important considerations must be made to determine a firm�s capability, maturity, and credibility in distinct areas of expertise. Here are the Top Ten Challenging Questions to ask your Internet marketing vendor: 1. Hospitality Experience
Questions to ask:
Internet marketing has been around since the commercial Internet launched. There is a track record one must establish to be declared a competent and trustworthy online marketer in hospitality. Questions to ask:
What separates student from teacher is experience. Check to determine if the vendor audits the work of others and is capable of making recommendations on existing performance. Trust and credibility is important in this business. Receive counsel to make sure that the vendor is really making the right decisions on your behalf. Questions to ask:
There are many professional organizations and industry trade groups that provide stamps of approval. These awards signify not only quality and recognition, but that the company is plugged into the industry structure and knows what is going on in the online space. Awards of merit, and invitations to speak at conferences and serve on panels recognize the expertise of the individual and the credibility of the firm. Questions to ask:
Having a big name client like a major hotel brand, or being associated with a big name helps but the diversity of clients is a true mark of a professional hospitality marketing firm. This diversity will enable you to experience and validate strategies from different perspectives. What may work with one hotel may not be as fruitful with another. Conversely, success stories can be applied to an entire customer base. Questions to ask:
The first step is to identify best practices in the online hospitality marketplace, and the second is to educate the client base on these practices. In reality, few marketers ever lead, they mostly follow. Second, they don�t value best practices until after too much time has passed and in many cases learn on their �client�s dime.� A good Internet marketing company has conducted extensive market research and testing capabilities, either in house or through partnerships with other market leaders and major brands. Questions to ask:
Education and training in hospitality and online marketing is obviously helpful. Teaching the principles of Internet marketing in hospitality is even better, if not the gold standard. Evaluate the vendor�s academic background, level of experience and professional training or certification in this field. Questions to ask:
Anyone can open a PPC (pay per click) account. That is a cinch. The test is whether the vendor knows the nuances and intricacies of the search engines, and how to incorporate all crucial aspects of search marketing into one cohesive marketing strategy. The big three search engines: Google, Yahoo and MSN, global and local search marketing, international and domestic search, meta search, organic search and paid inclusion, all serve a different purpose. Addressing all search marketing aspects and incorporating search marketing itself into a comprehensive and well balanced Internet marketing strategy are signs of best practices. Questions to ask:
The practice of taking a holistic approach to the entire website, not just changing the look-and-feel of the design or search engine optimization, but also including a study of the business model, customer segmentation, diversity of products and services, trust and credibility, website and campaign analytical tools, CGM/Web 2.0 features and applications, and most importantly, taking into account search-engine friendliness, user-friendliness, interactive relationship-friendliness, and travel booker friendliness, all define website design, development and optimization as per industry�s best practices. Questions to ask:
The need to measure and quantify results from your Internet marketing campaigns is most likely a large part of why you are searching for, or have hired, an Internet marketing vendor. With the web technologies available today, anything and everything can be measured, making marketers more accountable than ever before. Furthermore, many Internet marketing companies will take a hotel�s budget and say they can easily spend it all. Often an interactive agency will want you to spend more, a web design shop will want you to redesign your site every year, or a booking engine vendor will want you to spend more marketing dollars, especially if they charge transaction fees. Yet no one wants to be held accountable when things turn out to be less effective than what you were sold. A good Internet marketing vendor will only ask you to spend what�s needed to grow your online revenues, build your direct distribution strategy, and stay competitive. They will also provide you with a complete report of all Internet marketing activities and their ROIs on at least a monthly basis. Questions to ask:
Hoteliers must be rigorous in selecting their online marketers. The fastest growing revenue channel and source for highest ADRs�the hotel website�cannot be handled by companies whose core competencies lie someplace else or are unsubstantiated self-proclaimed experts. As discussed above, Internet marketing in hospitality requires a very well defined and focused skill set. Selling an experience online is a tough business, whether you are a budget hotel or a luxury resort. The combination of selling a property, a destination, and an experience to a highly segmented and focused group of online travel consumers, and selling at a price point that yields the highest ADR possible is not an easily transferable skill. When you are looking for the Internet marketing vendor who will manage
one of your most important revenue channels, make sure to ask these challenging
questions so you can find an experienced, transparent, and accountable
firm.
Note: Mariana Mechoso, Manager eMarketing Services at HeBS, also contributed to this article. About the Authors:
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Contact:
Max Starkov/Jason Price
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Also See: | Hotelier�s 2007 Top Ten Internet Marketing Resolutions / Max Starkov and Jason Price / January 2007 |
Consumer Generated Media (Blogs, Discussion Boards, Review Sites), a Threat or an Opportunity? / Max Starkov and Jason Price / December 2006 | |
Budgeting for a Robust Internet Marketing Strategy in 2007; A Best Practices Guide to Aid in Developing the 2007 Hotel Online Marketing Budget / Max Starkov and Jason Price / September 2006 | |
2004 the Year of Direct Online Distribution; Now is the Time to Fight Back with a Smart Direct-to-Consumer Internet Strategy / Max Starkov & Jason Price / February 2004 |