Mr. Freeman

Social Media & PR

The Dish On the Niche: Tighten Your Focus and Watch Your Revenue Grow

By Andrew Freeman, President, Andrew Freeman & Company

"Spray and pray" is so pass'e. Gone are the days of promoting yourself to everyone in the hopes of capturing anyone. With the advent of technology, the increasing presence of the Internet and the growing savvy of travelers, it's now possible - and necessary - to shrink your focus and target very select groups of customers. Niche marketing may mean going after fewer guest segments, but you may find these smaller groups are so much more qualified and loyal, generating greater revenue at a lesser cost as a result.

What exactly is a niche market? It is a small group of potential and existing customers who fall into very specific, well-defined demographics and psychographics. Rather than targeting everyone who needs a hotel room, for example, a niche market might be made up of female corporate executives who travel frequently for business and who look for particular amenities, services and locations convenient to their demanding schedules. If your hotel targets a niche market - and does it well - the group of customers in this market are more likely to remember you, continue to use you and also refer you to like-minded others.

Be prepared before you venture into a niche market. This is a point that cannot be stressed enough. No matter what your targeted group, spend the time and invest the resources beforehand to make sure your hotel makes sense for the niche market you are aiming to capture. You must ensure that your program is well researched, that you understand the buying and behavioral patterns of this group, and that the services, the amenities and the brand your hotel offers exceed the expectations of your targeted niche market.

Your Niche List. How Do You Start? You Gotta' Be Real. How Do You Launch?

You've done your homework. You've found one or two niche markets that appear suited to your hotel's brand. Now you want to develop an operations and marketing plan that go hand in hand with each other, both strategically and tactically, just as you would with any other initiative. Operationally, you want to implement those standards, services and amenities that truly benefit the niche market you're targeting, while your marketing plan includes attention to typical elements such as advertising, public relations, Internet marketing and evangelism marketing. In addition, some key points to incorporate:

Show Me The Money. How Do You Track?

As with any initiative, it is as critical to put the effort into tracking the results of your efforts. Make sure your tracking methods are in place, whether they be setting up a unique telephone number or a dedicated website page, a special e-mail address or a particular code tied to any part of a related promotion. Remember too that building goodwill or turning customers into evangelists and sales people for you may not be measurable in actual dollars, but do translate into revenue.

Ready, Set? Niche.

Now you're ready. And niche markets can be found everywhere - some of the examples that have gained visibility in the hospitality industry include:

The customers in a niche market are typically very loyal to places that really understand them. The benefits of such loyal customers are obvious: repeat business, referrals (your customers act as evangelists for you, the best kind of sales people), potential for meetings, large groups and business around the group's focus or interest, all resulting in increased revenue.

However, no matter what niche market you decide to target, keep in mind that every guest still loves a great bed, warm service and a clean room. These things never go out of style.

Andrew Freeman is founder of Andrew Freeman & Co., a consulting agency. Mr. Freeman has worked for Kimpton as VP, Public Relations and Strategic Partnerships. At Kimpton, he developed all public and media relations, including the launching of new properties for the global brand, the group of 40 hotels and restaurants, and for corporate headquarters. He was also responsible for strategic planning, outreach, fund raising, relationship development and execution with industry and community partners. Mr. Freeman can be contacted at 415-781-5700 or andrew@andrewfreemanandco.com Extended Bio...

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