17 great marketing articles

I recently added Conversation Marketing to my Google reader (thanks to Google's recommendations built into Google reader).

I was really excited to see this article:

17 Conversation Marketing Articles You May Have Missed

One of the best articles was 3 Ways to Kill SEO Suicide.

All 17 have some excellent ideas. For tourism operators I would add the following additional items in relation to your booking system.

• Is it easy and simple to use.
  
• Ask a friend to test it out
• Check the email responses are ok.
  
• Can you to track bookings from all your agents, websites and other marketing sources
  
• Does it display the correct rates to the general public but provide the ability to display agent rated as appropriate
  
• Is it hosted on a secure, backed up server.
• Are credit card details stored securely.
  
• Will the system update other booking systems
• Is their a simple calendar to display availability
• Does the system allow you to enter a start date and then a choice of departure day or number of nights.
• Do you control the booking and payment terms?

These are just some of the items to consider and is why I recommend Seekom as the booking system of choice for accommodation and rental car operators.

If you are interested in discussing further feel free to contact me.

Internet Marketing Strategy

The following two interesting posts today turned up in my newsreader:

10 Steps to a Sound Internet Marketing Strategy with some great ideas

and more for amusement

11 Internet Marketing Trends to Ignore for 2008

The key point of the blogs is to not have a Marketing strategy - rather have a business goal.

So you then build your marketing to meet you business goal.

I particularly like item 6:

Write down the clinching questions. These should be 3-5 questions that, when answered, virtually guarantee your customer will buy.

For tourism operators this is important with so many options available the question is why would a consumer choice your business over others.

So you internet marketing strategy should answer that question and then you can work with a good SEO company to ensure your internet presence achieves this.

If you would like assistance in developing an effective presence you should feel free to contact me.

What 21st Century features do you offer?

So you have a good website and booking system but how do you distinguish yourself from the competition.

You can always try price but ultimately that won't work as everyone can meet your price.

You have your rack of information brochures, great breakfast service, warm and comfortable beds but is that enough to get someone to book you place and also as importantly recommend your place.

So what you 21st century features do you have - some things you might want to consider are:

• Free wireless internet and/or a free computer so visitors can access there email accounts. If you are on ADSL a wireless network can be established very easily at little cost but your guests will love you for it. Having been charged $25 a night at some Australian hotels means you never ever use their service and also know next time not to book there as effectively you are paying another $25 a night.
  
• Provide a VOIP phone. Whether it be Skype, your local ISP or some other provider. This means you can charge a minimal amount for phone calls - and most systems allow you to track this in real time so you know what to charge guests.
• After hours phone answering service. At a minimal cost why not have your phone calls when your are not able to answer go to an answering service. Better still use a call centre service like Global Help linked in with Seekom and you can have all booking inquiries managed centrally saving you time and money. Simple requests of do you availability, I am lost how do I get to your place can be answered quickly and promptly allowing you to attend to guests. Any calls that need to can be transferred directly to you. In some cases the service may even be able to handle foreign languages.
  

These are just a few things that a good operator should consider. They are not expensive but make your business more professional.

Yes there is a cost to all these services but if you look at it from the number of extra bed nights booked you will see it won't take much to payback. Remember a guest who also gets a bit extra will recommend your place.