Mr. King

Technology

Going Digital: A Marketing Platform That Makes Sense

By Robert King, General Manager, Travel & Hospitality, ClickSquared

I’ve talked in previous articles about technology having a profound impact on the nature of guest relationships, that impact has never been as profound as it is in today’s marketplace. Today there are more communications channels and media types than ever before. Social influences are having a greater impact, and there’s been a far greater shift in the control of the transactions and relationships. Now guests are calling the shots, dictating the timing and preferences for communications and engagement.

For marketers, this new customer-driven, fast-paced environment mandates a new approach to optimize engagement – the points of contact with the brand – and maximize the guest’s lifetime value. Unfortunately, most traditional database-driven marketing solutions fall far short of these goals. They fail to deliver a comprehensive view of all of the guest’s transaction history, interactions, preferences, media choices and other metrics. They can’t deliver real-time data to drive instant decisions and responses. They lack efficient ways to share information across channels. And, they don’t deliver the timeliness and relevance that guests have come to expect and demand.

That’s why savvy marketers are increasingly looking to engage the full spectrum of two-way communication – online, offline, telephone, and face-to-face. Marketers need to draw on the power, fluidity and dynamism of online channels, from e-mail to Web 2.0 by adding the rigor and science of structured database marketing disciplines, and backing it with the solid execution of sound, proven online and offline marketing communication competencies. This unifies the capability to drive online and offline marketing - in real-time – with intelligent models and timely performance measures.

But as companies begin implementing these strategies it quickly becomes apparent that there are a variety of requirements to consider - including what type of platform to execute on. A digital marketing platform should support a long-term vision encompassing a complete range of services and facilities in an integrated management and communication system including:

Marketing Intelligence

Marketers need to convert raw guest data into coherent marketing information and analysis that provides insights into outbound communication strategies, targeting and segmentation, and important (perhaps previously unnoticed) trends, allowing organizations to make better investment decisions.

It’s all about supporting the most relevant interactions possible – in any medium, at any time – based upon evolving combinations of events and rules. Traditionally, marketers have only initiated programs after evaluating the data and results of previous campaigns. In the world of Web 2.0 and social media, marketers often don’t have that luxury. They must often create a starting point, test, analyze real-time data, learn quickly and adapt on-the-fly. The key is to generate some “first-gear” touch points, immediately analyze the results and adjust rapidly. These touch points will evolve to align with each stage in the customer lifecycle, with flexible, real-time automation and rules.

A 360-Degree Guest View, Marketing Automation and Campaign Management

Relationship marketing is predicated upon the ability to gain a holistic view of guests and their activities. This information enables multichannel marketing campaigns and sustained marketing automation with online and offline components, which are driven by that information and real-time customer interaction. A 360-degree campaign encompasses all communication channels in relevant, timely and cost-effective marketing that seamlessly supports customer-initiated engagements, as well as those driven by the marketer.

The heart of any marketing system is its ability to smartly leverage all guest data and manage multichannel marketing campaigns based on that information. That means utilizing both ad hoc and pre-defined, automated campaigns that leverage real-time business rules to manage online (e-mail, SMS, Web, popup/widget) and offline (direct mail, phone, fax, sales, service and operations) communications, as well as personal contact (including on-site hotel services, reservations, phone requests, face-to-face interactions and more). The ability to draw on real-time business rules that marketers define (as part of a strategic segmentation or individual transaction history, etc.) enables marketers to send highly personalized communications through any combination of channels. It is essential for the automated communications to “sense” and respond to guest-initiated requests and needs, such as those delivered via the Web, text messages or e-mail. Reservation confirmations are the most common example. However, they are rarely used as personalized messaging platforms, thus missing an opportunity for the intelligent marketer to increase revenue and customer satisfaction at the same time.

A true 360-degree campaign leverages a variety of tools and media, including:

• Powerful E-mail
• Web Sites and Applications
• Direct Mail
• Mobile Marketing
• Person-to-Person

Extensibility and Customization

Custom marketing solutions and integration with third-party data and application systems, including Property Management Systems, can be used to create and enhance a comprehensive, personalized marketing platform.

Even the most comprehensive digital marketing platform cannot – and should not – provide every automated function for multichannel marketing campaign management and execution. Companies need the ability to operate with existing and new tools to optimize their marketing efforts. This can involve custom modules or direct integration to third-party solutions. The key is that these solutions need to be extensions and links that enable data exchanges in real or near real-time. Some increasingly popular integrated solutions include such features as: friend referrals, e-mail/link forwarding, surveys, Web site integration, loyalty and personal portals, RSS and third party feeds, and more.

A hotel might want its digital marketing platform to integrate with a Web 2.0/social networking application that builds guest engagement by allowing them to share information. Or, the owners of a collection of rental properties might want to encourage interaction with their renters by providing a forum to share vacation pictures related to their stays at these properties. Make sure your vendor has the technical and client engineering expertise to develop custom Web applications as your marketing needs evolve.

Other customization options include:

• Loyalty Programs
  
• Channel Partner Portal
  
• Web Services/Web Support
  
• Custom Campaign Management
  
• RSS/Third-Party Feeds
  

Ability to Execute and See Real-time Results

A campaign is most effective when managers have access to accurate and up-to-date results. In a multichannel campaign, marketers must be able to view real-time progress of the performance of each component: e-mail, SMS, direct mail, telephone, and more. For instance, how many leads have been received this week? Or, what revenue have new guests generated today? This data not only enables mid-course corrections, it also feeds an ongoing campaign ROI.

The key to powerful relationship marketing lies in linking market intelligence and results to specific program touch points and guest engagement. The ideal solution offers a complete view of the guest, coupled with a unified program with built-in rules that dynamically execute actions based on changing events with a specific customer or prospect. Direct integration with all channels means that marketers are far better equipped to synchronize their engagement with the prospect. Each channel is aware of the other, which means the prospect sees a unified, coherent, and orchestrated stream of communication.

Solid IT Foundation

Robust functionality to work with (and cleanse) data, published API (application programming interface) specs and a scalable architecture are all requirements for dynamic, enterprise-class relationship marketing.

An enterprise digital marketing platform provides the ability to import, manage, transform and export data in smart, efficient ways. Automated database management is required to take disparate data and aggregate it into unified views of guests. Look for a solution that employs standard practices for data processing and cleansing routines, such as name normalization, genderization, phone/fax standardization, e-mail cleansing/hygiene, merge/purge, householding and more.

There are several critical considerations for evaluating enterprise-caliber digital marketing platforms. While every company’s needs differ, most businesses can benefit from a combination of the solutions outlined above. It’s important to acknowledge that much of what’s happening in relationship marketing today is being shaped every day by the world of digital platforms, the Web, Web 2.0, social technologies, mobile devices and more. As a result, any framework must be revisited on an ongoing basis. In order to compete in today’s markets, organizations need to leverage the newest technologies available for obtaining and retaining guests.

With more than 20 years of experience in the travel and hospitality industry, Robert King has held marketing, sales and senior management positions at a variety of organizations. Mr. King works with ClickSquared clients throughout North America, Asia and Europe to develop and implement highly targeted, timely, interactive customer relationship programs that result in increased ROI. Mr. King can be contacted at 480-603-9403 or bking@clicksquared.com Extended Bio...

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