News for the Hospitality Executive |
Social
Networking or Social Notworking?
Social Media as a Sales Tool for Hotels
By
Daniel Edward
Craig
March 23, 2011
A basic tenet
of sales is to go
where your customers are, and yet the hotel sales department has been
reluctant
to embrace social media. Why? It’s not only
individual
travelers who use social media to research trips. Increasingly, group
organizers and corporate travel buyers are consulting review sites and
social
networks when making decisions involving group bookings,
corporate travel programs, and meetings and events. Before choosing
a hotel, Jeannie
M. Wolf, CMP, a partner with Event Elements in New York, researches its
website, Facebook page, and LinkedIn profile. “The website and social
media
work together to provide a clearer picture of the overall experience I,
as a
meeting planner, can expect at your property,” she says. Yet hotel sales
directors remain
wary, fearing staff will use social media to waste time, won’t be able
to
measure results, or will use it inappropriately and harm the brand.
Social
media can’t replace face-to-face contact, they argue—and they’re right.
But at
a time when it’s increasingly difficult to reach prospects and clients
via cold
calls and sales calls, social networks provide new ways to connect, to
source
information, and to build relationships and trust. But
it’s not enough to simply “join the conversation”. Effective social
engagement requires discipline, resourcefulness, and an understanding
of
etiquette. Follow these guidelines, and turn your sales department’s
social
media activities into a competitive advantage. With expert handling,
your
social networks can become an extended sales force. Listen
lots, talk little. Salespeople can be big talkers, and
putting mass communications devices in their hands is a risky
proposition. It’s
important to provide guidelines for appropriate messaging and conduct.
Leave
official brand messaging to senior management and the marketing
department. The
real value for sales is in listening, making connections, research, and
market
intelligence. Visiting your competitors’ Facebook page, LinkedIn
profile, and
Twitter feed is like accessing an open database of their guests and
clients. Share, don’t sell. The
quickest way to
get tuned out in social media is to constantly self-promote. “People are not
interested in advertisements and are not
going to share a post that is just selling product,” says Adam
Wallace,
director of digital marketing at the Roger
Smith Hotel in New York. Social
networking or social notworking? Nobody’s more vulnerable to
social slacking than a sales manager with a quota to fill. A great deal
of
focus and discipline is required. Constantly ask yourself if what
you’re doing
is important and relevant to your job. If not, move on. Focus on
results by
recording social media activity in your contact database just like
other sales
activities, and keep track of leads, contacts, and bookings sourced
through
these channels. Love
LinkedIn. Whether you’re prospecting, planning a sales trip,
or qualifying a lead, LinkedIn is a tremendous resource. Use it to
search
businesses by location, industry, size, and key contacts. The site
discourages
connecting with people you don’t know, but you can get introduced
through a
third party, mingle in groups related to your markets, and formalize
relationships after you’ve met. Last November,
the Carlton Hotel
in New York reportedly sourced $186,550 in new group and corporate
business in
90 days via LinkedIn (SmartBlogs
on Social Media) Not bad for not even having picked up the phone. Respect
boundaries. If you want to connect with clients on a more
personal level, Facebook is a good option. “After meeting with clients,
our
sales staff send a friend request through their personal Facebook
profile,”
says Zach Glenn, VP of eCommerce of Helms Hotels Group in Texas. “If
they
accept, we visit their profile and get to know them better, then we
invite them
to become a fan of the hotel’s page. It can be a great way to bond with
clients.” Many people
prefer to restrict
Facebook friends to personal contacts, so send friend requests only to
people
you’ve met, and don’t be hurt if they don’t accept. Promoting your
Facebook
page might be a better option. “We've made it a priority to have as
many of our
meeting planners and sales executives as possible become a fan of our
Facebook
page,” says Bob Pfeffer, director of sales and marketing at the Marco
Island
Marriott Resort in Florida. “This way they receive updates of property
promotions and enhancements and [benefit from] an overall awareness
campaign.” Expand your
Twitterverse. Twitter is a more open, looser network than
Facebook
and LinkedIn, so it’s easier to build a broad network of people who
share a
business affinity. Use search tools and directories like Twellow and
Listorious
to find prospects, relevant contacts, and influencers, and keywords and
hashtags to monitor conversations. Avril Matthews, director of marketing
and sales at
the Inn at Laurel Point in Victoria, BC, says her team uses Twitter to
connect
with meeting
planners prior to a site visit or conference. “It allows
us to begin
the relationship prior to them getting here and gives them a taste of
our
personality. It’s a very powerful tool for this and is incredibly
authentic—that is where the magic is.” Review
sites aren’t just for individual travelers. Guest satisfaction
is largely out of the hands of the sales department, yet has a direct
impact on
conversions. “More and more meeting planners are checking guest
comments on
TripAdvisor before selecting a property,” says Stephane Morin, director
of
sales and marketing at the Hilton Bonaventure in Montreal. “They say it
saves
them a lot of time. It gives them a good indication on what type of
services
can be expected.” Matthews at the
Inn at Laurel Point has
noticed a similar trend. “Thankfully,
we respond to our reviews both good and bad,” she says. “So for the odd
review
that is less than favourable the meeting planner can at least see how
seriously
we take that feedback. It has worked in our favour.” Sales
staff
can do their part by encouraging prospects to check out reviews, asking
satisfied clients to write reviews, and keeping management informed
about how
reviews influence client decisions.
Copyright © 2011 Daniel Edward Craig |
Contact:
Daniel Edward Craig |
Also See: | Social
Search, Video, and Nimble Marketing: Tips for Hotels from Google’s UK
Travel Industry Manager / Daniel Edward Craig / March 2011 |
B&B
or Big-Box? Social Media Stirs the Sleeping Micro-Giant of the Lodging
Industry / Daniel Edward Craig / February 2011 |
|
Social
Media and Storytelling for Hotels / Daniel Edward Craig / February
2011 |
|
A
Round-up of Social Media and Reputation Monitoring Tools for Hotels
/ Daniel Edward Craig / February 2011 |
|
The
Confidence to be Transparent: Why Accor Hotel Group Posts TripAdvisor
Reviews Directly to its Website; An interview with Jean-Luc
Chrétien, Executive VP Marketing & Distribution, Accor /
Daniel Edward Craig / December 2010 |
|
A
Positive Spin on Negative Reviews / Daniel Edward Craig / November
2010 |
|
Walking
After Midnight: How to Avoid Being Bumped from Your Hotel / Daniel
Edward Craig / October 2010 |
|
Why Everyone Gets a Hotel Room Upgrade... But You / Daniel Edward Craig / April 2008 |