Unless you’ve been living under a rock, you’re familiar with online dating services like Match.com and Tinder. Regardless of whether or not you personally make use of these services, you’re also aware of the primary differences between the two. Whereas those looking for love on Match.com are interested in a long-term relationship, people on Tinder are more likely looking for a casual, passing fling. As a marketer, your job is a lot like setting up an online dating profile; you’ve got to “woo” your prospective hotel guests. The question you need to ask yourself is this: is your marketing profile more suited for the Match.com or Tinder way of life?
As a business, you should be striving towards the Match.com model of wooing your audience. After all, you want to develop lasting relationships with your customers that will be mutually beneficial. You want the return business of your clients; not a one night stand. So how can you align your marketing campaign with these goals? Well, that boils down to whether or not you’re relying on traditional, outbound advertising or enriching, inbound content marketing.
Commitment vs Fling
Outbound marketing tactics are much better suited to starting up a casual fling with your prospects. Advertisements often rely on one-liners (pick-up lines). The hope is that the message will stick. Sometimes it works better than others. The whole point is just to bait someone -- anyone -- into checking you out. Inbound content marketing, on the other hand, works by attracting your prospective clients to you rather than blatantly promoting yourself. Here, you must work to establish your credibility, and to build and nurture ongoing relationships through consistently useful, well-written content. Your aim is to reach a specific, target audience that resonates with your values in order to develop meaningful, long-lasting relationships.
Show Me, Don’t Tell me
Traditional advertising aims to blast an audience with a loud message filled with bold claims, no matter how true or untrue they may actually be. An ad will simply tell readers or listeners that your hotel is the best, the most glamorous, the comfiest… whatever. Conversely, content marketing doesn’t use blanket statements to try to convince readers to visit a hotel. Instead, it actively shows and demonstrates what makes the hotel so special and unique. It uses various forms of media, stories, and relationship-building in order to paint a picture that guests can visualize and relate to on a mental and emotional level. Don’t tell your guests that you have the greatest, new VoIP phone system -- show them how it works and why they should care!
Personal vs Impersonal Messaging
As we’ve mentioned earlier, outbound advertising tends to be of a more generic nature. The message is intended to hit as many prospects as possible and hopefully reel in some of them. The message has to be much broader and much less personal in order to be potentially viable to anyone who comes in contact with the ad. You’re simply crossing your fingers and hoping that your message works for at least a portion of those who encounter it. With content marketing, you’re aiming to reach a very specific target audience or buyer persona, and the hope is to convert everyone who finds your message. This is possible because the content is much more streamlined, personalized, and dedicated. Through content marketing, you’re able to build relationships and converse with your audience via various channels in order to get to know your guests even better and develop lasting partnerships.
So, which dating service best represents your current marketing strategy? Serious, dedicated, personal relationships require serious, dedicated, and personal marketing. Learn more about how to take your hotel to the next level by getting in touch with the pros at PhoneSuite.
