Moms think they know best. And, you know what? We agree.
In addition to reminding us to clean our rooms, comb our hair, and be nice to our teachers, Moms love to shower us with sage advice and thoughtful quips to get us through any situation. And, it turns out that their advice is directly relevant to our work as hotel marketers as well.
Let’s take a look at some of our favorite Mom-isms and see what marketing wisdom lies behind them all:
Mom: “Nobody said life was fair.” Hidden Hotel Marketing Advice No matter how much funding, research and staff you invest in a marketing campaign to drive direct bookings, some of them will result in blazing success, while others will fall flat. Don’t cry over your marketing failures, especially when you and your team did your due diligence ahead of time. No matter how careful and resourceful your team is, at some point you just won’t hit the target with your audience. Admit your errors, pick up the pieces, then move forward and try something else.
Mom: “Don’t you lie to me!” Hidden Hotel Marketing Advice Above all else, today’s travelers are looking for authenticity. We live in a world where industry giants are being challenged everyday for their cringe-worthy mistakes or lame publicity stunts. Travelers want to trust who they book a room with, so be real and be worthy of their trust. Your marketing should always exude that you are a destination for remarkable experiences, rather than just a business trying to pull in profits. Whenever someone leaves a guest review calling out your mistakes, admit your fault (if it was your hotel’s fault), tell them how you’re going to fix it, and then do it!
Mom: “If your friends jumped off a bridge, would you jump too?” Hidden Hotel Marketing Advice Don’t blindly jump on the bandwagon of new marketing trends. You need to first determine if your hotel would benefit from leveraging the new platform, plus if it genuinely aligns to your hotel’s marketing goals and strategy. Be selective when choosing which marketing tactics and tools you’ll implement, and do what’s best for your hotel.
Mom: “Who do you think you’re talking to?” Hidden Hotel Marketing Advice It’s surprising how many hotels haven’t taken the time to create any hotel guest personas of their most frequent guests. Before you embark on any marketing idea, even a social media post, everyone on your marketing staff should know exactly who your target customer is, what their likes are, what they hate, what other interests they most likely have and what type of voice they respond to. Brilliant hotel marketing doesn’t happen by mistake. It first takes a deep understanding of who your hotel’s customer really is…
Mom: “I brought you into this world. I can take you out of it.” Hidden Hotel Marketing Advice You are a host – first and foremost. A mistake we see too often in hotel marketing is putting too much emphasis on your property’s self-serving accolades, awards and amenities. But, the focus needs to always be on your guests. They are the reason you’re in business and the reason your hotel could easily go out of business!
Mom: “Will you sit still for once?” Hidden Hotel Marketing Advice When your marketing message and focus are all over the place, you’re making it harder for your guests to grasp your unique selling points and distinguish you from all the other hotels in your comp set. Avoid frantic, flailing marketing tactics. Slow down, create a strategy, determine your channels, gauge results (especially the ones hotel owners care about most), then implement with consistency.
