Anything you do to sell your business is promoting it. Therefore, it is crucial that your promotional material and activity is saying exactly what you want the message to be and is giving prospective customers the right perception of you and your business.
There are various options available to use promotions and material to market your property and you should take advantage of this on every occasion. These options may occur indirectly when opportunities arise to join in with other marketing activity. The important factor is to monitor the results. There is absolutely no point in carrying out and paying for promotional work that does not bring in any results.
For that reason do not try too many things at once and you will be able to see what works and what does not more easily.
So what is promotional material? All your brochures and business cards promote your business. These should all complement one another and be branded exactly the same with the same images and colours to indicate a seamless corporate look. All paperwork used by the hotel: letterheads; compliment slips; booking forms; receipts etc., should all be similarly branded and portrayed for the same synergy.
Similarly, websites and advertisements need to carry the same messages but with adjustments for the particular sector or niche market you are wishing to attract. Do not make the mistake of thinking that one piece of work will fit all. This will result in a bland, run of the mill, promotion that will not make your establishment stand out. Make slight alterations to fit the guests you are attracting. For example if you are wanting to attract the Dancing market, make a point of itemising facilities that are important and exclusive to that market only.
Other examples of promotional activity are Special Breaks; loyalty cards, “giveaways” like free show tickets etc. Try it and see if it works but remember always to see if it is bringing in extra business.
Instead of detailing all your facilities and trying to push them onto everything you produce, consider a strapline for your business, especially if it indicates your ‘Unique Selling Point’. Examples of this are “Make here the place you stay” / “You’re worth it”, / Small hotel BIG difference” This strapline can then be used instead. If you feel you do something unusual then say so, like cordon bleu cookery, quiz nights, anything that makes your promotion stand out!
When producing any promotional material or undertaking any promotional activity, there are some things that you should always ensure
Unique Branding
Make sure that all the promotional material you produce reflects your business. Develop a style and follow it through everything you produce. If you have a colour scheme and a certain style of font that you use on your brochure, make sure all advertising material uses the same style and colour, thus ensuring that everyone identifies that brand with your business. Think of one particular brand name that you are familiar with; when you think of that brand, you will realise that they use that brand logo on everything they produce.
Quality
Ensure that everything you produce maintains a certain level of quality. Think about the advertising literature you pick up. If it is printed on cheap paper, the photographs are blurry or the print is poor quality, what sort of impression does that give about the product your material is trying to sell?
Informative
Any advertising material you produce or activity you undertake should be as informative as possible. If the material produced says nothing about your business, what you can offer, where you are, how easy you are to find etc then how can you expect people to know where you are or how to find you? The more information you can provide the more informed choice you are giving to your prospective customers.
Niche Marketing
If you only wish to advertise to a particular type of customer, make sure your advertising material and activity is aimed at that group. Remember, you wouldn’t look in a “Club 18 – 30” brochure for a family holiday and neither will your customers. Make sure that you target the people you actually want to stay and not blanket advertise in the hope that your target market will see your advert.
Appealing
Above all else, your promotional material and activity must appeal to the people you want to attract. Make your copy stand out; highlight all the things you can do to make your customers’ stay a pleasant, relaxing enjoyable experience.
Honest and Realistic
Do not make promises you can not keep. Be honest in your promotional material to ensure people do not have unrealistic expectations about what they will find when they arrive. Visitors respect honesty. Make sure everything your advertising material and activity says is accurate. This is common sense and avoids any problems. Don’t fall foul of the Trades Descriptions Act.
Monitored
Any activity you do should be monitored for effectiveness. If you have a number of promotional activities running at the same time, you need to know which ones work, which doesn’t and which bring the best return for the money spent.
Whatever you do and whatever material you produce, make sure you do it well. Prepare a marketing strategy, make sure you set aside a marketing budget and monitor every step of the way.