by Dr. Anil Kaul
Rapid growth, increased competition and shifting consumer trends make today’s hospitality industry more demanding and complex than ever. The promotions calendar — with all of its offers, messages and consumer touch points — is increasingly complex to manage, yet remains the focal point for marketers looking to increase revenue.
Shotgun approach.
Focusing on the promotions calendar is a start, but the obvious technique of bombarding as many customers as possible, with as many promotions as possible — via as many consumer touch points as possible — is not the answer. Why? This approach is akin to using a shotgun with a sawed-off barrel: good for the jungle, but very clumsy in the cyber world we now live in.
Of all the promotions that may be planned in a given time period, there is probably only one, if any, that is right for any given customer. When you think about that fact, and then think of the large numbers of customers you are communicating with, ask yourself how many are really receiving the promotion that they will most likely act on? The answer is, a very small percentage. That’s a disappointing return for a very large effort, with lots of expensive waste.
Target analytics.
Some hospitality marketers have begun to take a more targeted approach, using analytics to zero in on the consumers that are most likely to respond to their promotions. The problem with this approach is that many of those responding consumers would have turned up, regardless of whether a promotion was offered or not.
On the other hand, targeted promotional messages will also reach some customers that cannot be influenced, let alone persuaded, no matter what you did or didn’t offer. It is a waste of resources to go after these customers; they are not going to change their decision. Period.
In general, the targeting technique keeps the focus on managing the promotions calendar, rather than on truly influencing the potential guest’s decision-making process — and in the end that is the real goal, isn’t it?
There is a better approach that takes the focus off the promotional calendar and places it squarely on that consumer you are most likely to influence in your favor: the Persuadable Guest.
The Persuadable Guest – control the decision.
Who is the Persuadable Guest? Quite simply, they are someone who (A) can be persuaded and, (B) is not yet persuaded.
Here’s an example of how to optimize The Persuadable Guest:
Let’s say you want to drive weekend leisure business. You might first identify that nearly 20% of your member base already prefers to stay with you for weekend leisure, but usually waits for a promotion to make their final decision, because they had been trained to expect a promotion. This group of customers can be called “Need Not be Persuaded,” because they already plan to stay with you, and your promotion will seal the deal.
You might also find that 35% of the consumers you are communicating with don’t have a budget for weekend leisure travel, or when they can afford it, prefer to stay at another category of property. This group constitutes the “Cannot be Persuaded,” since they either can’t or won’t take advantage of any type of promotion you offer.
The remaining 45% of potential customers represent The Persuadable Guest.
Identify, then design.
Smart hospitality marketers today are putting a laser focus on that 45% of Persuadable Guests. Using technology that helps them leverage synergies by integrating data and decision-making across silos, they are able to not only identify, but also then design the perfect promotions to push these customers over the edge, and drive incremental revenue.
By simply focusing resources on communicating with the Persuadable Guest, and offering them a richer, more relevant promotion that suits their particular needs, you’ll be way ahead of the competition. And all this can be done without even increasing the overall marketing budget.
Keep the focus on the Persuadable Guest. While your competitors are still struggling with their promotional calendar, you’ll be reaping the rewards.
