This isn’t necessarily a large price to pay for extra exposure and additional revenue. But if you can get people to book direct, commonsense dictates you can keep a larger sum of the profits.
This is how many major hotels are starting to think, and among other strategies, they’re using macro targeting to boost their occupancy rates to slacken their dependency on agencies.
Here is how you can implement macro targeting to get more direct bookings at your hotel.
When digital marketing experts talk about email marketing, they often stress the importance of list segmentation.
It stands to reason that you get better results with your emails when you send your subscribers personalized messages as opposed to generic, catch-all messages.
Intentional or not, no business is ever talking to just one type of audience. By separating them into meaningful groups, you can deliver more relevant content and offers to each.
But this is just one of many challenges tied to proper segmentation. You must customize your messages for each segment, and think carefully about the sales cycle and funnel you’re going to bring them through. Let’s say it like it is – you need a lot of content!
What we just described is essentially micro targeting. But macro targeting is a much simpler approach. It’s the idea that you can apply simple filters – such as gender or location – to your audience, and boost the effectiveness of your email campaigns.
Per Revinate, this tactic can boost email open rates and revenue, and they even refer to a case where their client saw a 2x return. Meanwhile, if you don’t apply basic targeting to your emails, your unsubscribe rate will increase, and you’ll get fewer bookings as well.
Digital marketing is sometimes intimidating. It’s a world rife with technical jargon, three-letter acronyms, and percentage points. Fortunately, macro targeting is one of the easiest things you can do to increase the effectiveness of your email campaigns.
If you’ve already segmented your email list, and you’re satisfied with your open rates and conversions, then there’s no need to make any changes to what you’re doing.
But we know, all too well, how busy things can get in the hospitality industry. You might still be sending generic campaigns aimed at all your subscribers because you just don’t have enough time to take your emails to the next level. How is that working out?
To get started with macro targeting, the only thing you need to think about is who to contact, and when. Being relevant and personal is still important, but the essence of the strategy lies in choosing who to contact based on data points you already know, such as their address or their age. This will instantly augment the relevancy of your emails.
If you see every challenge as a nail, you’ll try to pound it down with a hammer. Unfortunately, not every problem is a nail, and a hammer isn’t the right tool for every job.
More and more hotels are investing their energy into engaging their guests after the booking has been made. This is where you have an opportunity to add more value to your customers and meet or even exceed their fast-changing expectations.
Macro targeting may not solve all your engagement and marketing woes. But it will get you moving and thinking in the right direction. The same methodology can be applied to your CRM, and virtually any marketing campaign you initiate. Here’s a simple way to sum it all up – some targeting is better than no targeting at all!
Don’t put off your macro targeting strategy. It doesn’t take a lot of time or effort, and you will get better results with your marketing once it’s implemented.