February 18, 2009 - As the global economy continues to
fluctuate, more than ever, hospitality professionals are being forced to
search for new revenue generating ideas. One way to increase
your revenue is to recognize the untapped revenue that can stem from new
international target market groups. Targeting
new international markets can help you gain market share over your
competitors. Here are a few steps you can take to help boost your
online marketing efforts and expand your target market:
1. Research and Indentify New Geographic Markets
The first step in expanding your target audience is to research new
geographic markets that may already be visiting your property. The
use of web analytics tools will help to determine which countries your
website traffic is originating from. This information will allow
you to tap into unrealized target markets that are frequenting your website
and have potential interest in visiting your hotel. In addition,
pay close attention to the latest international travel industry trends
to learn where people from specific countries tend to travel to.
For example, over the past year, the number of western European visitors
to the U.S. rose by 8% and New York City experienced a 22% increase in
visitors from outside North America [USA Today, 2008]. This background
information will help you determine which country and/or countries to address
with online marketing efforts.
2. Test Marketing in the New Markets
Now that you have identified your new, potential target market(s),
the next step is to execute a trial paid search campaign. Before investing
money on translations, utilize your pre-existing paid search campaigns.
Using your keyword list, test your native language paid search advertisements
on your target country�s search engines (i.e., Google UK, Yahoo! France,
etc), regardless of the markets primary language. For these advertisements,
it is important to incorporate the proper name of your hotel within the
ad copy, as your hotel name is recognized and utilized universally.
Use web analytics tools to see how your paid ads are performing on the
international search engines. If you begin to see positive results
and increased traffic via these ads, take the next step and invest money
in translating the advertisements for the specific country that showed
interest.
3. Translate, Translate, Translate
It is important to hire a reputable translation company that understands
the semantics and nuances of different languages, specifically the language
of your target country (i.e., the use of accommodation versus room or holiday
versus vacation). Do not just select a company based on price.
Take the time to check references and examine samples of their work.
Start by translating: (1) your paid search campaigns, (2) select landing
pages, and (3) your reservations page on your booking engine. Your
translated paid search advertisements should direct traffic to the corresponding
translated landing pages. The landing pages should be translated versions
of the most popular pages on your website, such as accommodations, reservations,
specials and packages, and meetings and events. These landing pages,
in turn, should link to your translated reservations page on your booking
engine. This full circle process, from paid search advertisements
to booking engine, will capture the new target audience(s) and keep them
engaged through the booking process to further establish your international
presence.
4. Evaluate Results
After launching your translated paid search advertisements, landing
pages, and booking engine, be sure to continuously track your new international
marketing efforts through web analytics. Compare your website traffic
patterns from before and after you tested and executed your new international
marketing campaign. If you see increased traffic and bookings after you
launched the translated marketing campaign, consider moving forward with
translating your entire website, email marketing campaigns, and additional
online advertising. As good practice, allow time for your new e-marketing
efforts to work and always closely monitor the results.
Expanding your online marketing efforts and tapping into new geographic
audiences is just one way to increase revenue during these times of decreased
lodging demand. Online marketing remains the only advertising medium
with completely quantifiable success metrics as well as one of the most
cost effective ways to generate a high ROI. Be sure to evaluate and
ramp up all of your online marketing efforts including paid search, email
marketing, Local SEO, and strategic linking to help maintain and grow your
market share and set you up for future success.
Subscribe to the TIG Global Blog
(http://blog.tigglobal.com) to
learn more about how to maximize your revenue through online marketing.
 About
TIG Global:
TIG Global, headquartered in
the Washington, DC metro area, is dedicated to assisting hotels with exceeding
their online marketing goals and specializes in hotel
internet marketing and destination
internet marketing. Serving an extensive portfolio of clients worldwide,
TIG Global combines its industry knowledge and e-business expertise to
help clients maximize the online channel. TIG Global offers multi-language
websites, a vast network of internationally based strategic linking partners,
email and pay-per-click marketing campaigns tailored to all international
markets, custom Web 2.0 solutions, and websites optimized for major search
engines around the world.
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