Mr. Suggs

Sales & Marketing

Ten Practical Online Marketing Tips

By Blake Suggs, Account Director & Integration Specialist, Range Online Media

I'm going to get this out of the way: I wish I could read, let alone write, an article that did not in some way mention the recession. Unfortunately, I'm a firm believer in keeping one's head out of the sand, and as such, I have to be honest: the leisure market is having a bit of a lean time. It's not dead by any means, but it is definitely taking it easy for a while. I may be understating a larger problem, but while travel bookings are not what they were a year ago, people are still going on vacations. In other words, the recession is impacting the travel industry, but it is far from spelling the end. While we wait for things to pick up, I have compiled a list of tips to help keep your campaigns profitable until your customers can afford to splurge again.

1. Focus on Sales and Best Value Offerings

When planning your campaigns, remember that the propensity to book varies depending on both the type of travel and the time of the year. In order to weather the gloom of an uncertain economic forecast, focus your efforts on capturing the sale and providing your customers the best value while the natural demand is highest. What this does for you is secures your profitability for later in the year, ensuring that your budgets go farther as a result of the search history you've built during the other parts of your fiscal year.

2. Know Your Keywords

Here's how you can capitalize on travel's seasonal advantages. The first tactic: know your keywords. By engaging in a little keyword research, you can streamline your spending on the terms you'll need the most when the year gets leaner as bookings drop off due to industry seasonality. Part of this research includes building out a list of negative keywords-in the quest for relevancy and search rankings, it's imperative that you identify and load negative keywords into your campaign in order to protect your brand and cut down on wasteful ad spend.

3. Restructure Your Marketing Campaigns

Another helpful trick for maximizing the performance of a campaign during any economic climate is restructuring your campaigns. Are your campaign buckets efficient or needlessly exhaustive? Are they easy to track or does their granularity make for cumbersome campaign adjustments? Focus on building smaller groups of similar terms. You'll lower your CPC while simultaneously increasing your conversion rates and quality score.

4. Utilize Your Vendors

What about vendor tools? It seems like vendors release something new every few weeks-there is bound to be a new product that can improve the efficacy of your campaigns, lengthen your reach and otherwise optimize your campaigns. Don't fear new tools and technologies, but if it doesn't work, make note of what went wrong and talk to your vendor rep. Chances are that your suggestions will be incorporated in a tool's next iteration.

5. Geo-target your Branded Campaigns

Perhaps one of the most effective campaign additions is geo-targeting your branded campaigns. This works particularly well for travel, due to the localized nature of booking hotels and trips. When you serve a user with ads in his neighborhood (or the one he plans on visiting), his results are significantly more relevant and more personalized. While an ad might not address him by name, connecting him with his desired destination in a sponsored ad narrows his choices and holds his attention, thereby increasing your click-through rates and ultimately your conversions. One thing you need to watch out for is your ad copy. When an ad reads like a keyword insert, it's easy for a user to feel pandered to. You want to connect through personalization, not generalization!

6. Promote Your Unique Features

Then there are the unique features of your property. Why would one visit your resort? Is it because of an irresistible deal? Family-friendly atmosphere? Exclusive luxury amenities? Find your properties' strong suit and message, message, message. Combining the hallmarks of your brand with a geo-targeting program can provide outstanding results.

7. Re-Messaging Campaigns

Re-messaging is also a highly effective tactic but is especially impactful when combined with a geo-targeted campaign. Talk to your vendor rep or agency about the effectiveness of a re-messaging campaign, and then get started. You'll build customer loyalty and boost your conversions, as well as making them aware of future promotions.

8. Understanding Your Customer

Along with targeting your customer at the local level and keeping your brand at the top of their minds with re-messaging, you'll need a thorough understanding of your customer. For example, how does your customer travel to your property? If he flies in, does she park at the airport? Does your hotel offer a shuttle service? Tailor your marketing efforts to a particular group of consumers and be sure to feature a relevant amenity in the search copy.

9. Email Marketing

Do you utilize email marketing? Email reinforces re-messaging. If you strongly advertise your rewards programs or other promotions through email, you'll further reinforce your brand presence. Combined with geo-targeting and a re-messaging campaign, email lets your customer know what's new with the brand. It could be the difference between them booking a cruise or staying at your resort. Travel customers are highly susceptible to the best deal offered. While it might not change their minds dramatically-a person who plans on going to Hawaii is not going to swap her plans in favor of a vacation in Buffalo no matter how many free shuttle rides your hotel offers-it might make the difference between booking a competitor's room and booking yours.

10. Partner with Local Venues

Finally, partner with local venues. Discounts on entrance fees, restaurants, activities and the like are prized promotions. While you don't necessarily have to go crazy for coupons, you can drive incremental conversions by appealing to a guest's sense of discounts. If two hotels offer similar spas, similar rates and similar proximity to attractions, which one will capture the booking? Most likely the one that offers the group rate on the horseback rides or the free tickets to a local show. Find out what is most enticing to a potential customer once they check in and see what is available with potential area partners.

So, I said there would be 10 tips for making the most of your dollar during a rough economic patch. If you take a close look, you can actually count somewhere between 12 and 15 tips. This is what your online marketing efforts are all about right now - gaining your customers' attention, creating incentive to make it to your site, and making their time worthwhile when they get there with optimized content, added incentives and helpful planning tools. The incremental customer has never been so important, especially when one considers the current market conditions. Specific messaging and a unique value proposition are keys to growing your customer base in today's tough economic conditions.

After a career in retail management Blake Suggs joined Range Online Media. He quickly began offering his hands-on expertise and strategic insight to clients in the travel, retail and energy sectors. An expert in cross-tactic strategy, he ensures successful integration of multiple campaign channels, including paid search, SEO, feeds, media and conversion optimization techniques. Mr. Suggs' current clients include Wyndham, Charming Shoppes, Reliant Energy, Wingate by Wyndham, Sears Service Live, Hawthorn Suites and Handango. Mr. Suggs can be contacted at 817-509-0348 or blake@rangeonlinemedia.com Extended Bio...

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