WorldClass Hotel Marketing News

Twitter, la nueva arma social para las empresas de Fortune 500

2010-11-12T10:05:00.000-08:00

Según un informe presentado por el Center for Marketing Research de la Universidad de Massachusetts, las grandes empresas que forman parten de la lista "Fortune 500" son mucho más sociales gracias al incremento de participación en las conversaciones de Twitter.

Tres de cada cinco compañías dispone de una cuenta activa en Twitter, un dato que en 2009 no superaba el 35%. De esas empresas un tercio mantienen una conversación activa con sus consumidores a través de DM o retweets con el objetivo de llegar a los 26 millones de adultos norteamericanos que utilizan Twitter mensualmente.

Las empresas más activas de Fortune 500 en Twitter son las del sector del comercio minorista especializado, la categoría que integra alimentación, medicamentos y productos de consumo y el área de seguros. Estos tres sectores son también los más activos en Facebook. Sin embargo, así como el uso de Twitter se ha incrementado, sus posiciones en el ranking de Fortune 500 ha disminuido en un 25% para un 40% de las empresas y, las situadas en mitad de la lista, han logrado tener un mayor número de seguidores en Twitter.

Sobre el uso del resto de las herramientas sociales, el 22% de las empresas de Fortune 500 disponen de un blog corporativo que han actualizado en los últimos 12 meses. El 90% de las compañías reciben comentarios, dispone de RSS y tienen suscripciones a sus newsletters. Por último, el informe muestra que el 91% de las empresas utilizan, al menos, una herramienta social y el 44% de aquellas que no tienen un blog corporativo tiene previsto crear uno

Fuente: Puromarketing.com

How hotels are using Facebook

2010-11-11T07:26:00.000-08:00

Much like Twitter, Facebook should be considered as an extension to your existing customer service and communication functions rather than an outright sales channel. That being said, many hotels are using it as just that. Here is a new whitepaper on how hotel brands are using Facebook.

One of the major challenges of engaging in social media is the significant time investment required. It is not enough to create a profile and expect users to stumble across it – hotels need to be proactive and engage with consumers. Some hotels do just this with a combination of announcing news while also chatting with potential and past guests. Other hotels use Facebook as a broadcast only platform whilst some just create a profile and abandon it. Only those who engage and use it as an extension of their customer service department can reap any benefit.

Most social media platforms can only be used for marketing through engagement. Creating then abandoning social media profiles can reflect badly on a brand and will not be as effective at communicating to customers with. Engagement needn’t take a tremendous amount of time.

If you are undecided about whether to engage in Facebook then ask yourself if your core audience are already interacting on this space. If they are, then there is a good reason to engage with them and use Facebook to push brand awareness, solve customer service issues and promote special offers or late availability issues.

Fuente :Hotelmarketing.com

TripAdvisor unveils 2011 travel trends forecast

2010-11-10T08:36:00.000-08:00

Americans appear eager to pack their bags in the coming year, as 36 percent plan to spend more on leisure travel in 2011 than this year, while 42 percent expect to spend the same amount. Ninety percent plan to take two or more leisure trips next year - a slight increase on the 89 percent who said they have done so in 2010. TripAdvisor announced the results of its annual travel trends survey of more than 3,000 U.S. travelers. Americans appear eager to pack their bags in the coming year, as 36 percent plan to spend more on leisure travel in 2011 than this year, while 42 percent expect to spend the same amount. Ninety percent plan to take two or more leisure trips next year—a slight increase on the 89 percent who said they have done so in 2010.

While travelers named an increase in online travel deals as the best travel development of 2010 (39 percent), rising airfares (40 percent) and bedbugs (20 percent) are the top two travel concerns for 2011.

On the Road Again: Travelers Globetrotting in 2011

- 69 percent of travelers plan to take international trips next year, and of that group, 52 percent will travel to Europe, 13 percent will visit Asia and 12 percent will journey to South America.

- The top three international destinations U.S. travelers plan to visit in 2011 are Paris, London and Rome.

- 75 percent of respondents plan to visit a U.S. city next year, with Las Vegas, New York City and San Francisco the most popular choices.

- Vacation rentals will be a popular lodging choice in 2011, with 47 percent considering a stay in a vacation rental home – a significant increase compared to 39 percent one year ago.

Best and Worst in Travel for 2010 and the Past Decade

Best Travel Development of 2010:

- More online travel deals – 39%

- Cheaper hotel rates – 22%

- More in-flight Wi-Fi Internet access on planes – 12%

Worst Travel Development of 2010:

- Carry-on baggage fees – 69%

- New hotel fees – 10%

- TSA full body scanners – 10%

Best Travel Development of the Past Decade:

- Online check-in – 26%

- Candid traveler reviews – 16%

- Increased options for online travel bookings – 16%

Worst Travel Development of the Past Decade:

- More airline fees – 45%

- Carry on restrictions for liquids, gels and aerosols – 19%

- Longer security lines – 9%

Up in the Air

- Despite being fed up with airline fees, 24 percent of travelers plan to fly more next year, while 60 percent will fly the same amount.

- Shelling-out for in-flight extras is becoming second nature to travelers, with 77 percent expecting to do so in 2011 – up from 72 percent one year ago.

- In-flight manners leave much to be desired, with the top flyer faux pas revealed to be people kicking the seat back (28 percent). Rude seat recliners (20 percent) and passengers sneezing or coughing without covering their mouths (18 percent) further aggravate travelers.

- 27 percent would pay to sit in a child-free section of an airplane, while 19 percent would pay to sit in a quiet section, should such an option ever exist.

- 65 percent think passengers of size should be required to pay for an extra seat on an airline when necessary.

Popular Pursuits and Eco-Traveling in 2011

Top Five Vacation Activities for Next Year:

- Visiting an historic site – 85%

- Visiting a museum – 73%

- Visiting a national park – 46%

- Attending a festival – 43%

- Hiking – 42%

- Further popular pursuits among travelers for the year ahead include water activities (38 percent), visiting a spa (33 percent) and gambling (29 percent).

- When asked what travel activities they might try for the first time in 2011, 11 percent chose a cruise, while 11 percent are also considering taking an educational course on vacation.

- 47 percent will take eco-friendly factors in to consideration, such as their carbon footprint or “green” hotel policies, when making travel plans in 2011.

- 20 percent expect to be more environmentally conscious in their travel decision and choices next year.

Increase in Connectivity Leads to “Fake-ations”

- Technological advances in 2010 have led to 59 percent of travelers in employment being more connected to work than ever on leisure trips this year.

- 69 percent connect with work while on leisure trips, while 16 percent confess that work always or often impacts their vacations.

- 62 percent check their work e-mail on leisure trips, while 13 percent call the office to check-in.

- Eight percent admit to considering the remoteness of their destination, specifically to avoid connecting with work.

- 90 percent of travelers also connect with home on their leisure travels – but just 26 percent send postcards, instead favoring modern-day technology, including e-mail (74 percent), text messages (40 percent) and social networking sites (28 percent).

Hotel Highs and Lodging Lows

According to the survey, the top three hotel brands that travelers are loyal to are:

- Marriott – 24%

- Hilton – 18%

- Hampton Inn – 7%

- When it comes to booking hotels, travelers are significantly less brand loyal than one year ago, with 39 percent of travelers now faithful to one name – a significant drop from 59 percent in 2010.

- 96 percent believe that U.S. hotels offer room for improvement in 2011, with higher standards of cleanliness topping travelers’ wish-lists (22 percent).

- Of those who have stayed in international hotels, 90 percent believe these could be bettered next year, with wider availability of free internet access the most-wanted enhancement (20 percent).

Americans Deemed Friendliest and Most Annoying Travelers

For the second consecutive year, Americans are voted both the friendliest travelers – and also the most irritating.

Friendliest Travelers, According to the Survey

- Americans

- Australians

- Canadians

Most Annoying Travelers, According to the Survey

- Americans

- French

- Japanese

“With over a third of travelers revealing that they start planning their vacations more than six months before a trip, many Americans are already eagerly anticipating some terrific travel adventures for 2011,” said Karen Drake, senior director of communications for TripAdvisor. “Online travel deals, named as the greatest travel development of 2010, will continue to offer aspiring vacationers fantastic opportunities next year – whether they’re planning a nearby weekend getaway, or the dream trip of a lifetime.”

Fuente: Hotelmarketing.com

El mercado de la publicidad online en China se duplicará en 2013

2010-11-10T08:24:00.000-08:00

La economía china, al contrario de lo que pasa en el resto del mundo, está en plena efervescencia y su mercado de consumo es el segundo a nivel mundial, un dato que hace que, desde economistas, jefes de producto y departamentos de marketing, quieran meter la cabeza en este mercado.

Según eMarketer el gasto estimado en publicidad online en China será de 3,7 mil millones de dólares durante este año, lo que supone un incremento del 37% respecto al año anterior. Este fuerte crecimiento continuará hasta 2014, fecha en la que se alcanzará la cifra de 9,5 mil millones de dólares, más del doble de lo que se gastará en publicidad online este año.

Según Mike Froggatt, analista de eMarketer “los gastos en publicidad online superarán a los de cualquier otro medio o soporte ya que el público objetivo, los usuarios de internet, de las empresas nacionales e internacionales es mayor que la población total de Estados Unidos. La publicidad online más en boga actualmente son los banners y los contenidos multimedia pero el mercado de las búsquedas patrocinadas está aumentando cada vez más rápido”.

eMarketer estima que el mercado chino ha invertido en banners 1,78 mil millones de dólares comparado con los 1,44 mil millones de búsquedas patrocinadas y los 480 millones de dólares gastados en el resto de formatos de publicidad online. La previsión para 2014 es que estas cifras casi sean parejas, 4,28 mil millones dedicados a los banners y 4,23 mil millones de dólares a las búsquedas.

El incremento no sólo se verá únicamente en la inversión en publicidad online sino también en televisión, cine, radio… alcanzando los 60 mil millones de dólares en 2014 frente a los 33,64 mil millones de este año.

Fuente: Puromarketing.com

Social sites get people talking, but marketers must earn trust

2010-08-16T07:34:00.000-07:00

According to new social media market research, brands need to place a greater focus on non-advertising marketing activities, engaging on the social media user’s terms.

All those conversations, whether in person, via email, on the phone or elsewhere on the web, however, don’t make social site visitors loyal—internet users expressed the least loyalty for such properties, compared with portals or OPA member sites. They were also most likely to say social sites were not a very good fit for their information and entertainment needs.

The OPA’s findings are in line with the annual customer satisfaction report from ForeSee Results that found Facebook among the most disliked sites on the web after its many disagreements with its own user community and several privacy debacles.

Fuente: e-marketer.com

Turismo aumenta en Latinoamérica

2010-08-12T08:19:00.000-07:00

Más de 800 mil turistas recibió Buenos Aires, Argentina, en julio de 2010 durante las vacaciones que invierno, de acuerdo con las cifras planteadas por el ente de Turismo de la localidad.

La mayor ocupación la obtuvieron los establecimiento de cuatro estrellas con máximos hasta del 80%, y los de 3, 4 y 5 estrellas obtuvieron índice promedio de 71%. La mayoría de los visitantes fueron de Brasil, los cuales gastaron en promedio US$140 al día, un 40% más que los turistas de otros países, quienes gastan US$98 dólares por día.

El ingreso total de julio en Buenos Aires, por concepto de turismo, fue de US$430 millones. Los principales países emisores de turistas para Argentina fueron Chile, Uruguay, Colombia y México.

En Brasil, por su parte, en el primer semestre del año los ingresos por turismo extranjero alcanzaron los US$2.940 millones, con un crecimiento interanual de 14.5%, según informó el Instituto Brasileño de Turismo (Embratur). El organismo espera que para finales del año la cifra se acerque a los US$6.000 millones. Las divisas por turistas extranjeros alcanzaron en junio un crecimiento interanual de 3.3% para un monto de US$416 millones.

Fuente: Gerencia de Viajes

Top 10 Strategies to Promote Hotels on Social Media Channels

2010-08-03T07:01:00.000-07:00

Create

1. Create and Upload Custom Facebook pages - Facebook allows the hotel to customise the tabs to tailor it to your specific hotel or business. Some best practices to follow while creating Facebook page are:

a. Integrate Reservation widgets
b. Have event pages
c. Create custom tabs to highlight hotel specific items such as meetings and conferences, things to do, etc.
d. Sample Facebook Pages for a hotel
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Red-Lion-Hotel-Denver-Southeast/167741797528

2. Create/ Promote Destination Blogs showcasing local events, news, and specials. Information posted on the blog gets index right away.

a. Example of Destination Blog - http://blog.aquaresorts.com/
b. Example of destination blog – http://blog.rivernorthhotel.com/

3. Search Optimised video

a. Create and promote a search optimised video about your destination, local attractions and upload them on Video Search engines such as Youtube. Youtube is the fourth largest search engine and drives significant traffic.
b. Example of search optimized video - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HraOIiqdIn4/

4. Photo Sharing

a. Create a channel or an account on photo sharing sites such as Flickr, Picassa and post hotel and destination photos on the sites. Tag the pictures with relevant keyword phrases. Pictures about the destination that convey information to potential viewers are more likely to produce better results
b. Example: http://www.flickr.com/photos/8209088@N07/

5. Twitter

a. Create Custom Twitter Profiles with hotel phone number in the background
b. Example: http://twitter.com/vallartagv

Manage and Promote

6. Integrating and Cross-Linking Channels
Once your channels are set up, it is crucial to integrate and cross network all your channels. Make sure that the social media icons are displayed clearly on your website so that consumers can get to those channels. Cross-link Flickr, Twitter and YouTube to your Facebook account. Integrating and Cross-linking the channels will help you in optimisation, keeping it fresh as well as in expanding your network. Bring live feeds from your social media channels into your website. Example: http://www.nickhotel.com/html/social-media.asp

Integrate live feeds from social media channels on your website

7. Grow Fan-base

a. Facebook – Be My Friend - Become friends with organisation which are most important for your business
b. Promote Facebook Profile Page - Upload email list of your customers, business associates and ask them to become friends with you on Facebook
c. Convert your friends on Facebook by offering time sensitive specials
d. Network with local organizations and grow fan base
e. Twitter Follow - Stay connected and current by finding out relevant businesses in your area and following them

8. Press Releases and Articles - Using online news channels such as Business Wire and PR Web to release Articles and news information enhances search engine optimisation and web.

Monitor

9. Create Social Media Reviews Platform on your website to encourage users to upload viral content on your website. Example: http://www.nickhotel.com/guestreviews/orlando-hotel-guest-reviews.aspx

Encourage users to post viral user generated content on your website

10. Monitor Social Media Channels and Review Site

We recommend hotels should actively monitor social media channels and review sites. The success of social media efforts can be measured in many different ways:

a. Awareness
- Number of friends & followers
- Social media mentions
- New relevant links
b. Conversion
- Track through promo codes
- Google Analytics
c. Relationships
- How much interaction
- Who is initiating
d. Engagement
- Unique visitors
- Time on site
- Frequency of visit

There are many options available for hoteliers to monitor the social media activity.

a. Analytics –hotels can integrate Google Analytics code on Facebook pages, blog pages and track the activity on these channels. In addition, Youtube, Flickr, provide reporting tools that can help you gauge activity on those channels.
b. Using sophisticated social media and reputation management software such as eBuzz Connect. These tools tell you what people are saying about your property on different channels, video views, photo views, etc., and can benchmark your performance month-over-month to determine whether the social media strategies are effective. These tools also help in proactively respond to negative /positive reviews and minimize the risk of not knowing what people are saying about your hotel online. Here is a screen shot of one such tool from Milestone Internet Marketing, Inc. http://www.milestoneinternet.com/html/online-social-media-management-system-for-hotels.asp

eBuzz Connect Social Media and Review Monitoring Tool

Summary

Social Media is an integral part of the real-time search algorithm. Social media creates real connection between companies and customers, and that connection equals purchase intent. Ongoing connection and relationship with your customers will eventually turn them into a volunteer marketing army. Make sure that social media is an integral part of your overall marketing plan. If you are limited on budget and resources, still keep monitoring the social media domain and do the best you can. Hoteliers who want to be ahead of the curve, should invest today in the media that is fast emerging as the future of internet marketing.

Fuente: hotel-online.com

Social Media Marketing Value chain

2010-08-03T06:57:00.000-07:00

Social Media Optimization Value Chain

All the efforts that a hotel puts into social media marketing can be bundled into the following 3 categories.

Best practices on how to connect with hotel guests via social media

2010-07-19T06:32:00.000-07:00

By Max Starkov and Mariana Mechoso Safer

Today’s travel consumer is tweeting, texting, emailing, communicating with friends via Facebook, and commenting, often in real-time, on restaurants and hotels via review sites like Yelp and TripAdvisor. How will you reach these hyper-interactive consumers at multiple touch points during the research process? And once your hotel has their attention, what should you do to encourage loyalty to your brand, increase site stickiness, create buzz around your hotel, and ultimately increase bookings?

Many hoteliers believe they do not have the resources to dedicate to Web 2.0 and Social Media, or in other words, they are unable to meet the needs of today’s hyper-interactive traveler . With more than 400 million users on Facebook, an average of 50 million tweets sent a day, and consumers expecting interactive and engaging hotel websites, the bottom line is that your hotel cannot afford to ignore Web 2.0, Social Media, or the hyper-interactive traveler.

Why a Sound Web 2.0 & Social Media Strategy Is Critical to Your Hotel Business

Numerous articles have been published that discuss the magnitude of participation on social media channels. Nothing exemplifies this more than the fact that recently, Facebook traffic surpassed that of Google’s .

By encouraging interaction on your hotel website and on social media channels, joining in on the conversation, and making changes to your business based on feedback, you are showing your current and potential guests that you are listening to them. This is invaluable for building brand loyalty and encouraging positive reviews.

As stated in the Social Media Revolution video on YouTube, “We don’t have a choice on whether we do social media; the question is how well we do it.” If you are not interacting with your guests via your hotel website and on the social media channels, your competitors surely are (more than 700,000 local businesses have active pages on Facebook).

Connecting with your Website Visitors Using Web 2.0 & Social Media Strategies

An integral part of the de-commoditization strategy, there are multiple cost-efficient ways to connect with current and future guests via Web 2.0 initiatives and Social Media. You may even find that in addition to further connecting with your key customer segments by utilizing the initiatives below, you are able to engage additional market segments, thereby increasing your market share. All of these initiatives to be discussed also serve to provide visibility and increase your web presence: essential for SEO.

Hoteliers must align the interactivity of the hotel website with the hyper-interactive behavior of today’s travel consumer both on the hotel website and on the social web. Create multiple opportunities for your website visitors to communicate with your hotel. If you do decide to engage your hotel website visitors with any of the Web 2.0 tactics described below, make sure to allow those participants to share their experience via all their social networks (i.e. if a website visitor enters a sweepstakes, make it easy for them to share that they entered with their friends on Facebook and to tweet the contest).

Before you launch your own strategy, start by assessing what your competition is doing. How many of your competitors have a Facebook page, a Twitter account, a YouTube channel, a Flickr account? How many of them have Web 2.0 functionality on their websites? Do their websites accommodate and encourage feedback? Many hotels do not have a solid, unified strategy, allowing your hotel to stand out and capture an audience that your competition is leaving in the dark.

When it’s time to work on your own strategy, it is important to remember that it’s not just about having a Web 2.0 and Social Media presence. It’s how you execute that strategy that determines your success.

Using Web.20 Initiatives to Engage your Website Visitors

Most websites are not equipped to handle the hyper-interactive travel consumer of today and offer dead, stale visual and textual content. There is minimal interaction with the user; all he/she can do is sit back and read what is on the website, as if reading a novel in a library. Many hotel websites offer dead, stale textual and visual content. There are no interactive Web-2.0 features engaging the travel consumer and soliciting his/her participation and input.

This is contrary to the mere nature of today’s hyper-interactive Internet user, who is tweeting, texting, emailing, communicating with friends via Facebook, and commenting, often in real-time, on restaurants and hotels via review sites like Yelp and TripAdvisor.

How can you add engaging content to your website that will solicit the participation of your website visitors?

1.) Initiative: Blog on the Hotel Website

42% of consumers accessed travel information on a blog, and 40% of consumers actually posted a review themselves (PhoCusWright 2009). Update your blog at least twice a week, and sprinkle keywords in your posts. Blogs are extremely SEO-friendly and the search engines index blogs almost immediately after a post is made. A well-developed hotel blog strategy could provide visibility to unique aspects of your hotel product and destination, and a differentiated approach to reach key customer segments.

2.) Initiative: Customer Feedback on the Site

By offering a comprehensive customer feedback form where customers can leave comments and complaints, you are communicating to your guests that their feedback is valuable to you. Make sure to include questions about the usability of your website. If possible, offer an incentive for people to fill out your feedback form, such as a free amenity or upgrade during their next stay, to encourage participation.

In addition to the positive SEO benefits (many customer reviews include keywords i.e. “We were looking for a Boston hotel that fit our budget and found the perfect fit!”), testimonials accompanied by photos if possible, make your hotel come to life for your website visitors. Also make sure that you are monitoring and responding to customer reviews on the major review websites.

3) Initiative: Interactive Sweepstakes

Contests and promotions are great for getting people excited about your brand and for building buzz. Additionally, contests offer a way to build your opt-in email and mobile list. An interactive sweepstakes on the hotel website will encourage daily visits to your website and significantly grow your opt-in email list. By offering an incentive for people to enter on a daily basis, people will become more familiar with your hotel and website.

Case Study: CVB in Southern California

A CVB client wanted to increase their social media following as well as launch a campaign on their website that would generate buzz for the destination. HeBS recommended an interactive sweepstakes that would reach consumers at every online touch point, a way to connect with consumers via mobile, email, and social media.

HeBS built an interactive sweepstakes on the website and participants were entered in a drawing to win a $1,000 free vacation. A second, third, fourth, and fifth place prize of a free hotel room was also rewarded. Lastly, an additional prize of a $250 Gift Card was awarded to the person who referred the contest to the most friends to promote viral marketing.

Results:

- 1,200 Unique Registrants
- + 300 Facebook fans in 5 days
- + 250 Twitter Followers in 5 days
- Over 800 mobile numbers added to mobile marketing list
- Over 500 new emails added to the email opt-in list
- Over 30 comments on the Facebook fan page regarding the contest
- Winner of a Major Award for Outstanding Integrated Campaign

4) Initiative: Interactive Calendar of Events

An interactive calendar of events is a great way to keep your website visitors updated on all the latest events happening at and around the hotel. It’s also a recommended way to keep your website content fresh, with a constant flow of new information to encourage repeat website visits. If your hotel has a) popular events such as dining events, tastings, leisure activities, etc. at the property, and b) events close or near the property, such as museum exhibitions, theater performances, sporting events, concerts, and more, a calendar of events is a must. The goal is that it become the go-to for website visitors that want to be kept in the loop of all happenings at your hotel.

Web 2.0 functionalities on the website have multiple benefits in addition to engaging your customer segments. They help overshadow any negative presence in organic search, build a stronger brand relationship, and they bring your brand to life for members and customer segments tying these initiatives into your social media presence.

Using Social Media Initiatives to Build Loyalty and Increase Traffic to Your Website

Four in five travelers read reviews on social media and 95% of those indicated such reviews were influential on the decision making process. (PhoCusWright 2009). There is no doubt that Internet users are increasingly influenced by social media sites and peer reviews. By utilizing a comprehensive social media strategy, hoteliers can create social media “buzz” around the hotel, target receptive audiences, and ultimately stimulate hotel website visits, interactions and bookings.

HeBS’ 2010 Benchmark Survey on Hotel Internet Marketing Budget Planning and Best Practices showed that half of hoteliers surveyed (50% exactly) responded that in 2010 they are planning to create profiles for their hotels on the social networks.

Social marketing should become an important component of any hotel’s marketing mix and part of the comprehensive Direct Online Channel Strategy for any hotel company. Naturally, it is important to use the right ROI metrics to measure the success of social marketing efforts of the hotel.

Create a positive presence and exude brand voice on the following high-traffic social media networks:

1) Initiative: Facebook

Create a Facebook page for your business. Make sure to respond as often as possible to posts, as it is easy to tell when a hotel is not listening to its audience, a sure way to start losing your fan base. Consider a ‘Reviews’ or ‘Discussions’ Facebook tab, where you may respond to customer feedback in a professional manner and show that you care about customer support. Include events, at least one photo album of the hotel, and videos when possible. Add value to your Facebook page with an email sign up form, a booking engine widget, and a customized tab describing the benefits of following your hotel.

Post about upcoming deals and promotions, area events and happenings, announcements such as new amenities, questions for soliciting feedback (“What is your favorite thing to do in San Francisco?”) and exclusive offers only available on Facebook. Always include a link in posts to a relevant landing page to create move value to followers who want more information (make sure this is often your own website), and choose a thumbnail photo for the URL to attract attention to the post.

2) Initiative: Twitter

Use Twitter to monitor what is being said about your hotel, to engage an audience that is talking about your hotel and/or its location, and to speak directly to your current and future guests. Make sure you are not only tweeting but actively engaging and responding to tweets. It you are only concerned with posting content, you are not listening.

Tweet about discounts, upcoming events in the area, general news about your hotel, and offer exclusive discounts for your followers. Always include a brief call to action and a link. Your following on Twitter should be based around your target market; however, if there are special events that you wish to push via Twitter, you should also build the following around those who might be interested in those events (and who are located in that area). The majority of your followers should be local if you’re looking to concentrate on last-minute events or special offers. To build your follower list, decide who your main audience is and who would be interested in your brand, and follow them (hopefully they will follow you back).

Case Study: Boutique Hotel in Boston

HeBS created, customized, and launched a twitter profile for a boutique hotel in Boston in September 2009. We began to build a following by tweeting and hinting about the launch of the new hotel website. We also did branded and informational tweets about the property—its reputation, its services, its location, etc.

By mid-December, we built a loyal following and were an established presence in the Boston-based “twitterverse.” We had already generated revenue from Twitter and established a reputation as a good place to check for upcoming Boston events. We also introduced “{Hotel Name} Chirps”—last-minute deals for Twitter followers.

Having made the most of its smaller following, HeBS saw that the hotel needed more followers to expand its reach and capitalize on its Twitter successes. In order to increase followers, generate buzz about the property, and strengthen relationships with current followers, HeBS launched a one-day free-room giveaway exclusively on Twitter. Over 120 people entered the Hotel free-room giveaway on 12/18/09 between 10 AM – 5 PM. The week of the contest, Twitter generated almost 12% of the click to the site and over 2% of bookings initiated.

3) Initiative: YouTube

Why is YouTube so important? YouTube serviced over 6.6 billion streams in Oct 2009 alone, followed by Hulu (632 million) and Facebook with over 217 million streams. YouTube is the second largest search engine–second only to Google.

Create a YouTube channel, with a look and feel customized to your brand and hotel website. On this channel, feature videos that highlight your destination, your hotel, and any positive news or press coverage. By including optimized tags on videos to increase your presence in organic search you will help overshadow any negative videos that may be present on YouTube, and ultimately increase your brand presence.

4) Initiative: Flickr

Create a Flickr account and upload albums that highlight your hotel and destination. If possible, include photos of your guests enjoying themselves at your property. All photos may include an optimized description. A Flickr account that is well organized with optimized descriptions of photos is sure to stand out in the search engine results, and an account in Flickr helps your official photos show up in image results –making the threat of non flattering photos showing up at the top of search results much less likely.

Once you have established these profiles and accounts, find a highly visible place to link to these from your hotel website. Also make sure to pay special attention to how you set up the profiles – always include photos and marketing messages and maintain a consistent image that represents your brand.

Measuring Results of your Web 2.0 & Social Media Efforts

In a world where we now have the tools to measure the return on investment of every dollar, the big question remains: How do you measure the results of your Web 2.0 & Social Media efforts? Web 2.0 initiatives on the website need to be budgeted for, and is it worth it to devote a significant amount of time (or even hire someone) on Social Media?

What is the Payoff of Having Web 2.0 Initiatives on Your Website?

Here are some of the positive, concrete results of having Web 2.0 Initiatives in your hotel website:

- Increased time spent on site: a sweepstakes, blog, calendar of events and even a customer comment form encourage your website visitors to spend more time on your website. The more time they spend on your website, the more familiar and invested they become with your hotel—and the more likely they are to make a reservation.

- SEO: fresh, new content on the site in the form of blogs, calendar of events, and a sweepstakes provides original content on the hotel site for customers and for the search engines.

- Email capture for future promotions: a sweepstakes on the hotel website is a great way to build your email opt-in list. Case in point: A HeBS client recently hosted a sweepstakes on their website, and when the sweepstakes was over they had 12,000 new email addresses to add to their opt-in list. In addition, over 3,000 people forwarded the sweepstakes to their friends.

- Pathing towards a booking: use analytics to study where your visitors are going after they interact with a Web 2.0 initiative. Are they on their way to make a reservation? Many times they are. Case in point: in 2010, one HeBS client had 21.1% of its visitors attempt to make a reservation after visiting the calendar of events page.

How do you Measure the Success of Your Social Media Efforts?

Social marketing initiatives, if judged on their own merits, rarely generate outstanding ROIs if measured in bookings and revenue. Social media and social marketing initiatives should be reviewed with “sober eyes” and within the context of the impact of the multi-channel marketing strategy of the hotel. Instead of only focusing on bookings and revenue when measuring results from social media marketing, remember that currently the best uses of social media are:

- An important component of hotel’s multi-channel marketing
- Buzz-building
- Brand-building
- Interacting with and engaging customers
- Keeping up with the times, making the hotel look current, cool and up-to-date
- Driving engaged and relevant traffic to the property’s own website

Unleashing a multi-channel marketing campaign simultaneously across all available marketing channels such as social media, mobile Web, search engines (SEM and SEO), display advertising, email marketing, etc produces compounded effect and far greater returns than each individual marketing format. In other words: The Whole is Bigger than the Sum of its Parts.

Social Media efforts may certainly result in bookings, yet direct revenue should not be the only metric in which you measure results. If you solely focus on bookings then you are ignoring other valuable metrics such as increased visits to the website, brand loyalty, and SEO. Here are some of the ways you should be measuring the results of your Social Media efforts:

- Brand loyalty/engagement: If people are following your brand and commenting on Facebook and Twitter, then they are interested in what you have to say and are more likely to book your hotel over the competition. You are in fact building stronger relationships with current and future guests.

- Real-time search: the search engines have started integrating tweets into their search results. Google even offers the ability to search by ‘Updates,’ which are really just tweets. Case in point: recently, a HeBS client showed up second on the first page of search results for the very competitive term of ‘Boston Hotel’ because of a recent tweet containing that keyword.

- Customer service improvements: are you using feedback about your hotel from Facebook and Twitter to better your business? Are you monitoring for disgruntled guests and potential guests with questions, and answering them quickly? If you are truly listening to your audience, you will find ways in which your customer service is lacking and work to improve in these areas.

- Increased traffic to your site: while social media is still not a major revenue generator, HeBS clients have seen significant traffic to their website driven by social media. Case in point: for a HeBS client located in Northern California, visits from Twitter accounted for 4.5% of total traffic generated to their website in Q1 2010.

Measuring the results of your Web 2.0 & Social Media efforts should not be based strictly on direct revenues. Have you been successful in creating more awareness about your hotel and its value proposition? Are you generating more positive buzz about your hotel? Are you listening and engaging with your audience? If the answer is yes, then you have begun to harness the power of Web 2.0 & Social Media.

Conclusion

Every web savvy hotelier knows that the Internet, especially Web 2.0 and Social Media, has changed the way in which customers plan and purchase travel. Hoteliers need to tailor their hotel Internet marketing strategy to include these initiatives and evolve with these changes in the travel purchase process.

It is no longer a question of whether your target markets are engaging with Web 2.0 initiatives or active on Facebook and Twitter. Social media is popular even among the mature generation (63-75): 36% of them had a social network profile in 2009 vs. 10% in 2007 (eMarketer). If you are not reaching the hyper-Interactive traveler using Web 2.0 and Social Media initiatives, then you are going to quickly lose market share as your competitors gain.

Consider partnering with a full-service hotel website development and Internet marketing firm to build a strong and cohesive Web 2.0 and Social Media strategy.

La Sociedad Necesita mas Marketing

2010-07-11T20:16:00.000-07:00

Algunos detractores critican al marketing como un generador de necesidades superfluas o un vendedor de malos productos, pero un análisis objetivo muestra que es justamente lo contrario, ya que un producto que nadie necesita o que no cumple con las expectativas fracasará más rápido cuanta más gente lo pruebe, algo que puede resultar de un marketing exitoso.

Pero el calado del marketing en la sociedad es aún más importante por un simple hecho que pocos entienden.

La función del marketing es, en términos muy simples, identificar necesidades insatisfechas y en base a esa información desarrollar, distribuir y comunicar productos o servicios que sean relevantes y diferenciales para satisfacer esas necesidades.

Si una empresa lleva a cabo esas actividades está haciendo marketing, aún si no lo llama de esa manera.

Así, el objetivo último del marketing es encontrar cómo diferenciar un producto de manera relevante.

El marketing logra, si es exitoso, productos que tienen algún elemento diferente, con lo cual los consumidores eligen qué producto comprar en función de ese elemento diferenciador, ya sea una característica funcional o un valor intangible como puede ser la marca y sus atributos emocionales.

Ahora imaginemos un mundo sin marketing.

En ese mundo, sin el marketing para desarrollar un elemento diferenciador y relevante, todos los productos serían iguales.

En ese mundo de productos indiferenciados, la única forma que tendrían las empresas para competir sería a través de los precios.

La empresa A para quitarle mercado a la empresa B solo tendría la alternativa de bajar sus precios, y la empresa B solo podría responder bajando a su vez sus propios precios.

Esa competencia solo basada en precios sería inicialmente beneficiosa para los consumidores, pero eventualmente llevaría todos los precios al nivel de los costes y en ese punto las empresas comenzarían a quebrar, imposibilitadas de obtener el beneficio que les permite existir.

Como consecuencia, en el caso extremo, las empresas quebrarían una a una hasta que todos sus empleados quedaran desempleados o hasta que una empresa, la última, se convirtiera en un monopolio cobrando el precio que quisiera.

En ambos casos los consumidores se verían seriamente perjudicados. En el primer caso porque ellos mismos son también empleados, ahora sin trabajo ni ingresos. En el segundo caso, porque todos serían empleados de la misma compañía, pero estarían a merced de cualquier precio que la empresa monopólica quisiera cobrar.

En resumen, un mundo sin marketing llevaría a las empresas a competir solo en precio, reduciendo éstos a un nivel donde no serían viables, dejando a los consumidores desempleados o sujetos a la voluntad de un monopolio.

El marketing evita esa circunstancia apocalíptica al facilitar que las empresas diferencien sus productos y compitan en atributos más allá del puro precio.

La publicidad, aparente vendedora de productos innecesarios, en realidad es la forma de comunicar esos aspectos diferenciales. La investigación de mercado, aparente laboratorio de creación de necesidades inútiles, en realidad es donde se identifican las necesidades insatisfechas que definen los elementos diferenciadores.

La sociedad se beneficia del marketing. De hecho, cuánto más y mejor marketing tenga una sociedad, mejor le irá.

Por consiguiente, la sociedad necesita más, no menos, marketing.

Fuente: Marketismo.com

Ventajas del Benchmarking

2010-06-22T08:19:00.001-07:00

El benchmarking puede ser, y es aconsejable que sea, un proceso continuo de mejora. Por ello se han representado los cuatro grupos de beneficio: Información, motivación, innovación y concentración, encerrados en flechas que giran circularmente simulando un proceso interactivo.

Fuente: Propia

El Arte de Predecir

2010-06-21T10:30:00.001-07:00

Nota de un Circuito de Estrategia de Intermanagers

A fines de la década de 1960, el Grupo de Planificación de Escenarios de Shell predijo la invalidez de las premisas básicas de la industria petrolera, años antes de que la "crisis del petróleo" emergiera con toda su fuerza. Tres décadas más tarde, la planificación de escenarios reafirma su vigencia en un mundo más incierto y cambiante que nunca.

En el año 2001 ocurrieron varios hechos fuera de lo común: la primera recesión en una década; el horror del 11 de septiembre y el posterior fantasma del ántrax; el escándalo de Enron y el resquebrajamiento de la confianza de los inversores; la alta tensión en Medio Oriente y su repercusión en la economía global. Todos ellos, acontecimientos imposibles de prever. Sin embargo, la planificación de escenarios puede mejorar la habilidad de las organizaciones para responder de forma ágil en ambientes que experimentan cambios vertiginosos. Hay, al menos, cinco razones por las cuales las firmas necesitan, hoy más que nunca, esta técnica capaz de aplicarse en una amplia variedad de situaciones.

1. Tener la certeza de que, al poner el foco en las catástrofes, no se excluyen las oportunidades. A la luz de lo ocurrido en 2001, los ejecutivos serían irresponsables si no cuestionaran la manera en que sus organizaciones están preparadas para enfrentar el desastre. Pero la planificación de escenarios no contempla sólo una visión del futuro, sino un conjunto de acontecimientos factibles que podrían ayudar o dañar significativamente a la organización. Por lo general, estas alternativas se describen mediante una narración vívida y detallada que les permite a los planificadores situarse en el escenario. ¿El resultado? Mejores ideas sobre la forma en que la organización podría responder efectivamente a los acontecimientos futuros imaginados.

2. Asignar recursos de manera prudente. Como herramienta que tiene en cuenta varias áreas al mismo tiempo y sirve para imaginar un rango de acontecimientos potenciales, la planificación de escenarios ayuda a identificar las acciones que pueden tomarse ahora y que beneficiarán a múltiples escenarios eventuales, en vez de responder a una sola contingencia.

3. Preservar las opciones. La fortaleza de la planificación de escenarios se apuntala en lo que parece su principal debilidad: desconocer el resultado final. El tratamiento de los eventuales resultados surge de imaginar los cursos de acción que podrían dispararse a partir de un evento, y luego esperar y ver qué sucede. "Reconocer la variedad de incertidumbres que amenazan a una empresa es una maravillosa forma de cultivar la flexibilidad", sostiene Paul J.H.Schoemaker, director de investigaciones del Mack Center for Technological Innovation de la Escuela de Negocios Wharton y CEO de la consultora especializada en estrategia Strategies International. Como la planificación de escenarios describe, para cierto evento, un conjunto de desenlaces factibles, los planificadores están menos propensos a inclinarse por un solo resultado posible y más sensibles para detectar, a partir de una sucesión de eventos específica, cómo se resolverá el incidente.

4. No quedar pegado a la última batalla librada. La planificación de escenarios no mira hacia atrás; su mirada está puesta en el futuro. Los mejores escenarios, a juicio de los expertos, son factibles y sorprendentes. La factibilidad mantiene a los planificadores dentro de los límites donde, con seguridad, el futuro no los llevará. Lo sorprendente los conduce a territorios en los cuales, de otra forma, no incursionarían.

5. Brindarle a la compañía una oportunidad para ensayar. El ejercicio de proyectar eventos hipotéticos es útil porque permite discutir funciones, reacciones y responsabilidades de los miembros de un equipo "sin involucrarse intensamente con las emociones —sostiene Schoemaker —. Esto se convierte en una herramienta muy poderosa cuando los escenarios se concretan". Aun cuando las cosas no se desarrollen de la forma esperada,"los miembros de los equipos aprenderán sobre la manera en que reaccionarían en distintas situaciones extremas. Por ende, es menos probable que los participantes se sorprendan del comportamiento de sus compañeros durante una crisis". Y si la crisis futura nunca tiene lugar "el proceso en sí mismo fomenta la confianza mutua,-continúa Schoemaker-. Se trabaja mejor en conjunto, uno tiende a estar más abierto y menos a la defensiva".

Fuente: Intermanagers

Traveling with Twitter

2010-04-12T07:42:00.000-07:00

For wired travelers everywhere, Twitter is increasingly becoming the go-to site for everything from getting hotel recommendations to sniffing out midtrip dinner companions, writes The Wall Street Journal.

The travel industry, it seems, has good reason to home in on tweeters; while only about 46% of all Internet users report using social networks like Twitter, a recent survey by travel-research firm PhoCusWright found that the figure jumps to 60% when you count just people who buy travel online. With the economy still keeping many would-be vacationers at home, getting in front of so many proven travelers is a no-brainer for companies. What’s more, Twitter gives providers a chance to spot unhappy customers and, ideally, to fix the problem before their griping has a chance to spread through cyberspace.

But by all accounts, traveling by Twitter remains a bit buggy. To begin with, the technology is so new that travelers and companies alike are still working out the best ways to use it. Too many companies are missing the chance to engage travelers with tips or news, says PhoCusWright analyst Douglas Quinby, and instead are using the site only for self-promotion.

Fuente: Wall Street Journal.com

New opportunities arise in online travel marketing

2010-04-05T08:58:00.000-07:00

It has been an interesting week for online travel. There have been a couple of key announcements from Google that could dramatically change hotel’s PPC strategy and on the mobile side of things, John Tigg, head of mobile at Yahoo, claimed that the travel sector are playing catch up when it comes to mobile marketing.

Google first stirred up a bit of a storm in the travel sector last week, when they announced a trial of hotel price listings in Google Maps. Google brought up text results to the left of the map, that showed a dropdown of hotel price listings.

So why did this create quite a furore? Because the text results are based on an advertiser’s prices in PPC ads. Anyone that has ever worked in the online travel sector will know that hotels and travel agencies have an aggressive SEO strategy – being number 1 in Google is a hallowed ground that is fought tooth and nail. So what this potentially means is that while you may have successfully fought your way to the number 1 spot, that could quickly be irrelevant if the hotel in position 3 has a PPC ad that advertises a cheaper rate hotel.

From a consumer point of view, this is an excellent move by Google. As they are also going to allow you to search by available date, it has made searching for a hotel room that little bit easier - entire trips can theoretically be planned out without ever having to leave your first search destination - Google.

Fuente: simplyzesty.com

What social media ad types work best?

2010-04-01T09:47:00.000-07:00

A new study tested seven different types of ads on two different publisher websites, Facebook and Allrecipes. Of the seven advertising types, banner ads and newsletter links were the most successful at encouraging purchase.

But what type of ads on Facebook or other social networks work the best? To find out, Psychster Inc. teamed up with Allrecipes to determine which kinds of ads are most effective and whether the platforms advertisements appear on make a difference.

- While sponsored content provided the most user interaction (and was the least likely to be perceived as advertising), it also triggered the lowest level of purchase intent and the fewest viral recommendations.

- Corporate profiles are effective but they work better when users can become a fan of the profile and add a logo to their own page.

- More people engage with give/get widgets than with banner ads, however widgets do not increase purchase intent or viral recommendations.

- Regardless of format, the most effective advertisements were those that were related to the content on the publisher’s website (i.e. a soup advertisement on a cooking website).

- Of the seven advertising types, banner ads and newsletter links were the most successful at encouraging purchase intent.

Fuente: Mashable.com

Why Google still beats Facebook for online hotel marketing

2010-03-31T06:46:00.000-07:00

Facebook is definitely here to stay and has experienced tremendous growth, but it is not going to replace Google as a travel planning tool anytime soon. Though Facebook initiatives drive traffic to hotel websites, this trackable traffic is not directly responsible for any significant revenue.

On March 15, Experian Hitwise reported that Facebook.com has surpassed Google.com as the most popular Web site in the United States. Indeed, Facebook accounted for 7.07% of all U.S. Web site visits for the week ending March 13, compared with Google.com’s 7.03% share.

eedless to say, last week the industry was abuzz with this exciting news. We heard questions tossed around like: “Is Facebook going to replace Google?” and “Are we missing big revenue opportunities by not advertising on Facebook?”

You can relax. Facebook is definitely here to stay and has experienced tremendous growth, but it is not going to replace Google as a travel planning tool anytime soon. Here are the reasons why:

When consumers want to buy books online, they go to Amazon.com. When people want to buy new laptops or PCs online, they go to Dell.com, Apple.com or BestBuy.com.

When people plan travel they go to:
- Search Engines: Google, Yahoo, Bing
- Meta Search Engines: Kayak.com
- OTAs: Expedia, Orbitz, Priceline, etc.
- Major hotel brand websites: Marriott.com, Hilton.com, etc.
- Independent/boutique/luxury hotel Web sites
- Consumer review sites like TripAdvisor.com to check out what their peers think of certain hotels, once they have narrowed down their choices

About 84% of Americans plan travel online, according to Travel Industry Association, using the above approaches. In other words, social networks are not the first options that come to mind when planning a business trip or family vacation. Many travel consumer surveys attest to the above behavior, time and again.

Fuente: Hotelsmag.com/blog

Concepto Fuzzy Front End of Innovation

2010-03-28T07:49:00.000-07:00

Se muestra un proceso de innovación ideal que se desarrolla en una empresa. El punto de partida es la identificación de oportunidades para la empresa y el marco de acción, a través de la identificación de las exigencias del mercado y de las exigencias de la empresa. Partiendo de éstas, se buscarán novedades en la fase de generación de ideas. En la fase de evaluación de ideas, se valorarán y escogerán nuevas proposiciones y planteamientos. Estas tres fases pueden resumirse en el concepto “Fuzzy Front End of Innovation”, y complementadas con la elaboración de un plan concreto componen la etapa de planificación de la innovación. Ésta es particularmente importante para el éxito del proceso innovador dado que al seleccionar la idea de innovación hay que definir parámetros fundamentales como sus características, costos, requerimientos de tiempo para el desarrollo de un nuevo producto o servicio, etc., y naturalmente, que la idea responda a las exigencias del mercado y la empresa.

Fuente: in4in

Hotels responding in big ways to negative reviews

2010-03-26T05:43:00.000-07:00

Less than 4% of negative reviews on TripAdvisor get a response, according to TripAdvisor, which has more than 30 million reviews. But the review site says it saw a 203% explosion in responses from hotels last year.

Armed with a log-in account and numerous travel websites willing to give them a forum, customers are increasingly vocalizing their experiences online for other travelers to read. That’s prompting more hotel managers to respond quickly or fear losing business.

Hotel managers may ignore customers’ reviews at their peril, some analysts say. Others say they’re just another way for hotels to find ways of improving operations. And those who are paying attention and responding to customers can earn some goodwill points at a time every room night counts.

Large hotel companies have always solicited customer surveys from guests. But they’ve relied mostly on numerical rankings and have rarely contained descriptive explanations.

Managers still regularly receive customer survey scores tabulated by the headquarters, but online reviews are being used to improve training, adjust restaurant and staffing hours and add or remove amenities, says Bjorn Hanson, a hospitality professor at New York University.

Fuente: USAToday.com

Google testing hotel price comparison features on Google Maps

2010-03-23T10:49:00.000-07:00

Google started experimenting with a new feature on Google Maps, which shows specific prices for selected hotel listings, very much like hotel price comparison websites. But unlike Kayak & Co., Google is not retrieving hotel rates from supplier XML feeds, but Google AdWords advertisers.

Google Maps is often one of the first stops travelers make to find and compare hotels. Today Google started experimenting with a new feature, visible to a small portion of users, to help make that process even easier by showing specific prices for selected hotel listings.

With this feature, when you search for hotels on Google Maps you’ll be able to enter the dates you plan to stay and see real prices on selected listings. You can click on the price to see a list of advertisers who have provided pricing information for that hotel, indicated by the “Sponsored” text, and click through to reserve a room on the advertiser’s site.

This new feature will not change the way that hotels are ranked in Google Maps, the company says. Google Maps ranks business listings based on their relevance to the search terms entered, along with geographic distance (where indicated) and other factors, regardless of whether there is an associated price.

Fuente: Google earth and map team blog

Death of the travel brochure as travelers opt for online reviews

2010-03-22T21:32:00.000-07:00

Reviews written by strangers on independent websites such as TripAdvisor, search results on Google and word of mouth advice from family and colleagues are more influential than brochures, advertising, media reviews and advice from travel agents when it comes to booking holidays, according to a new study.

The survey of 1,375 consumers found a quarter now used online reviews by strangers to determine their travel plans, compared to 13 per cent who used travel programmes and 11 per cent who used magazines and newspaper supplements.

The results found that almost 50 per cent of travellers over 45 are using websites to recommend or warn fellow travellers by posting a review of their travel experiences online.

Nick Oram, director of media agency Total Media, who commissioned the report, said: “There has been a decline in the traditional glossy brochure in favour of the internet and that’s not necessarily a bad thing. The traditional glossy brochure was expensive to produce and the travel industry has embraced e-commerce as a way of making the booking process far more cost effective.

“The impartial online opinion of travellers who have firsthand experience of a destination is second only now to what you hear from friends, family and work colleagues.”

Fuente: Telegraph.co.uk

Guerrilla Marketing, 4th edition: Easy and Inexpensive Strategies for Making Big Profits from Your Small Business

2010-03-21T16:43:00.000-07:00

My personal recommendation of every Sunday

When Guerrilla Marketing was first published in 1983, Jay Levinson revolutionized marketing strategies for the small-business owner with his take-no-prisoners approach to finding clients. Based on hundreds of solid ideas that really work, Levinson’s philosophy has given birth to a new way of learning about market share and how to gain it. In this completely updated and expanded fourth edition, Levinson offers a new arsenal of weaponry for small-business success including

* strategies for marketing on the Internet (explaining when and precisely how to use it)

* tips for using new technology, such as podcasting and automated marketing

* programs for targeting prospects and cultivating repeat and referral business

* management lessons in the age of telecommuting and freelance employees

Guerrilla Marketing is the entrepreneur’s marketing bible -- and the book every small-business owner should have on his or her shelf.

About the Author

Jay Conrad Levinson is the author of more than a dozen books in the Guerrilla Marketing series. A former vice president and creative director at J. Walter Thompson Advertising and Leo Burnett Advertising, he is the chairman of Guerrilla Marketing International, a consulting firm serving large and small businesses worldwide.

Social media empowers new modes of travel

2010-03-20T11:40:00.000-07:00

Analyzing the findings of its study of 2,357 adults in the U.S., France, and the U.K., Euro RSCG reveals how changes in consumer consciousness are molding entirely new modes of travel - and a new industry to service them.

Travel is undergoing a profound and even revolutionary shift, according to a broad new study by the leading global communications agency Euro RSCG Worldwide. The results of the study were released this week in KNOW magazine’s “The Future of Travel: The New Vocabulary of Travel and Tourism.” KNOW is a publication of the Euro RSCG Worldwide Knowledge Exchange, a global initiative that pushes knowledge and insights across the Euro RSCG network of agencies.

“For years, people have regarded travel as a way to splurge, an indulgence centered on escapism and fun,” said Marian Salzman, president of Euro RSCG Worldwide PR, North America. “Now, we’re looking to make our travel experiences more meaningful and better aligned with our personal values and goals. With millions of people wanting to feel good about the impact they have on the world, there’s been a reboot of travel values and expectations.”

The study places a special focus on the segment of respondents identified as Prosumers. This highly influential group is ahead of the curve in adopting a more mindful approach to consumption that incorporates concern for the environment, local communities, and the global citizenry. For Prosumers, travel is about much more than getting from Point A to Point B and back again.

According to the study:

- 66% consider themselves “Citizens of the World,” suggesting a more globally minded attitude and approach.

- 73% believe extensive travel is key to making a person more interesting.

- And 59% contend that where and how they travel says a lot about who they are.

Where and how Prosumers travel is undergoing a decisive shift, as detailed in the report. Their objectives for vacation periods are changing and so are the demands they are placing on their brand partners. To lead in the category going forward, it is vital that brands fulfill these four imperatives:

- Accept and embrace “green” as the standard way of doing business

- Offer products and services that satisfy Prosumers’ desire to live more mindfully

- Master social media in order to engage Prosumers before, during, and after each travel experience

- Embrace the new models of luxury and customer service Euro RSCG has identified

Awareness of environmental impact has been all but absent from most travel considerations until recently. “Whereas not so long ago the issue of ‘going green’ was one of exhortation and persuasion,” KNOW magazine explains, “now it is more a matter of shade, degree, and implementation.” Brands and companies are finding that eco-consciousness has progressed from a fringe notion to a business mandate. Euro RSCG research into the New Consumer (2009) has found that 74% of Prosumers feel good about making environmentally friendly choices, and 63% are paying more attention to the environmental and social impact of the products they buy. Travel and hospitality brands are speaking to this heightened consciousness through such means as eco-accommodations built with reclaimed and recycled materials, “100 mile” menus centered on locally produced foods, energy-efficient “EcoRooms,” and rewarding travelers for their green behaviors.

Also revolutionizing the category is an emerging mindfulness among consumers fed up with excess consumption and our increasingly artificial, disconnected way of living. Euro RSCG has found that people are hungry for greater meaning in their lives:

- 79% of Prosumers worry that society has become too shallow, focusing on things that don’t really matter.

- 66% worry that people have become too disconnected from the natural world, while 53% worry that digital communications are weakening human bonds.

- Alarmed by current realities, 84% are making a real effort to improve who they are and how they live.

“New modes of travel—including cultural and educational tourism, geotourism, voluntourism, and so-called slow travel—are catering to this newly emerging desire for more,” said Claus Lindorff, managing director of Euro RSCG agency BETC Luxe. “The shifts in mindset behind these new modes of travel have been building strength for years. What has brought them to a broader market is the ascendancy of social media. Now that mainstream consumers can participate in real-time communities focused on a new approach to travel and living, this hyper-focus on social values in travel has blossomed.”

For brands, social media offer creative ways to keep Prosumers engaged well before and long after each actual travel event. New York City’s Pod Hotel saw sales and traffic spike 40% after it created PodCulture, a closed social network in which guests can connect with one another and schedule get-togethers in advance of their stays. Such smart use of social media keeps brand conversations going and carries tremendous scope for a new generation of customer service offerings. This is of particular importance at a time when luxury and service are being redefined by consumers sick of tinny smiles and canned responses, and eager to engage with the real people behind the brand.

Understanding this emerging world of travel—with all its overlapping and interconnected trends—will be vital for any brand looking to grow in the space.

Fuente: Erurorscglife.com

Neuromarketing: La ciencia hace Marketing

2010-03-19T16:47:00.000-07:00

Tu no decides, Tu cerebro primitivo, si!

¿No le ha parecido que toda acción de promoción o ventas que realice para que sus posibles compradores se enteren de lo bonito de su producto, no tiene el impacto esperado?
Ha probado con publicidad en medios gráficos, televisión, radio e inclusive internet, pero tampoco ha obtenido los resultados que esperaba o le contaron que iba a tener.
La ciencia ha investigado, donde radica las emociones humanas de forma práctica, dónde se originan, y también donde se localiza las necesidades mas básicas del ser humano en el cerebro.
Ha descubierto cosas interesantísimas:

Nuestro cerebro está compuesto por 3 cerebros:

* Primitivo (Reptílico)
* Medio (Donde se encuentran las emociones o límbico)
* Corteza (Donde razona, elabora, analiza o Neomamífero)

Funciona de la siguiente manera, ante un estímulo externo e inmediato, ingresa rápidamente por nuestros sentidos y lo detecta nuestro cerebro medio "el de los sentimientos y emociones" luego pasa al nuestra corteza cerebral o cerebro superior (el analítico) luego estas dos partes del cerebro, pasan su propia envían esta información "analizada" y "sentida" al cerebro primitivo quien estos datos de información, finalmente toma la decisión.

Ejemplo:

Piense: cuando va caminando por la calle y de reojo nota en segundos que algo va hacia su cabeza súbitamente, de repente tiende a agacharse para evitarla, pero al ver que era una sombra provocada por una rama de un árbol moviéndose, no llega a terminar la acción de agacharse.
Que ha pasado: el estímulo fue el movimiento de la sombra, que fue detectado por nuestros sentidos al micro segundo nos fuimos agachando lo primero tomó las riendas, por así decirlo su cerebro primitivo, que actuó y le hizo reaccionar pero luego pasado unos microsegundos, recibió la información procesada de la corteza cerebral, avisándole que era una sombra y no un objeto amenazante, y decide abortar el "agacharse" por completo.

Lo que quiero decir con ello que siempre, siempre decidimos sin darnos cuenta y luego nuestro cerebro lógico, analítico, lo justifica con una respuesta razonada a lo que decidimos hacer.

A partir de este entendimiento fisiológico del cerebro humano, podemos interactuar de manera mas directa comunicando nuestro servicio, y hablarle directamente al verdadero decisor del nuestro cliente potencial: Nuestro cerebro primitivo. Y nosotros aplicaremos esto al posicionamiento potenciándolo y haciendo neuroposicionamiento.

Fuente: Tuposicionamiento.com

Where German travelers are headed in 2010

2010-03-19T12:34:00.000-07:00

HotelsCombined reports the top 10 domestic and international travel destinations for Germany residents in 2010. Statistics are based on the Web site’s current booking leads for the upcoming year. Berlin and Hamburg top the list for domestic destinations while New York and London rank highest for international destinations.

The largest metropolitan cities in Germany and around the world rank at the top of these lists, and travelers find the largest variety of hotel deals in these cities on HotelsCombined.de. In Berlin alone, travelers choose from 922 hotels on HotelsCombined.de, and in London, 1,437 hotels are available to choose from.
Berlin, Germany’s number one destination for meetings and conventions is also the number one HotelsCombined.de destination for German travelers in 2010. According to the Berlin Tourismus Marketing, the number of visitors and events in Berlin continues to increase, an indicator that the global economy is on the rise.
New York City ranks as the number one international destination, indicating that a high average room rate does not deter Germans from visiting this city consistently ranked the number one travel destination worldwide.
Of the top 10 international destinations, seven of those cities are within Europe, indicating a strong desire among Germans to stay close to home.
One of the most budget friendly cities (Bangkok) and one of the highest cost destinations (Dubai) are both within the top five international destinations. HotelsCombined General Manager Michael Doubinski comments, “This indicates German travelers focus travel choices on the unique experience and not on the overall cost. However, due to the continually increasing number of visitors to our site, travelers are definitely still interested in hotel deals, and they can find both budget and luxury options at HotelsCombined.de.”

Fuente: Hotelscombined.de

Turismo y Neuromarketing: innovar generando emoción

2010-03-18T19:39:00.000-07:00

La crisis del sector turístico exige innovación en formas de venta y estrategias de comunicación. El neuromarketing se presenta como una herramienta para ayudar a entender las razones y emociones por las que se guía un turista y su elección final hacia un determinado servicio y no otro. Gracias a dicha técnica, tanto el turista como el proveedor de los servicios, son los beneficiados.

Grandes multinacionales como Pepsi, pero también empresas más pequeñas y vinculadas al sector, como Mindness Hotel, han investigado en esta rama del marketing. Verónica Aimar , e-Tourism Project Manager de Prestigia Online, ha elaborado un artículo en el que recoge ejemplos de diferentes estudios de neuromarketing, y se centra en la idea que “se trata de vender productos o servicios turísticos que hayan sido capaces de emocionar al turista y ‘emocionalizar la marca’, con la finalidad de fidelizar una futura compra o elección”.

Verónica Aimar explica la existencia de diversas técnicas aplicadas al neuromarketing, como el fMRI (Funtional Magnetic Resonance Imaging o Resonancia Magnética Funcional por Imágenes) y el EEG (Electroencephalography o Electroencefalografía), para medir el espectro de actividad regional específica de las respuestas del cerebro.

La autora centra su discurso en que el neuromarketing es una ciencia que puede ayudar a determinar qué experiencias, servicios o productos turísticos emocionan a una persona, aunque hasta el mismo cliente lo desconozca. La especialista se centra en que la emoción es la clave del turismo, y su gestión, la garantía de su éxito.
Fuente: Prestigia Marketing

2010-03-18T13:04:00.000-07:00

Función del Marketing La orientación de la empresa al mercado es el punto crucial del marketing como actitud o filosofía. Todos los integrantes de la organización deben ser conscientes de la importancia del consumidor en la existencia, progreso y rentabilidad de la empresa. Fundamentalmente se establece una doble función del marketing, atendiendo al área funcional en donde se desarrolla.

10 Travel innovation trends for 2010

2010-03-18T07:55:00.000-07:00

It is not enough to rely on existing technologies and legacy systems. In this turbulent economic environment, you must harness the power of innovation to find competitive edge and profitability, writes PhoCusWright.

PhoCusWright’s analysts and authors of the newly rebranded PhoCusWright Innovation Edition have identified ten game changing innovations that will forever alter the way consumers search, shop and buy travel.

10 Travel Innovation Trends for 2010

- Alternate Distribution Systems: The Next Round of Attack on GDSs
- Mobile: Going Where No Platform Has Gone Before
- Communicating Anywhere: The Twitter Effect
- Merchandising Simplified Through Offer-Optimizer Technology
- New Technologies Improve Web Presence
- Social Media Monitoring Supersedes Reputation Management
- Social Media and Location-Based Services Converge
- Travel Information: Anytime, Anyhow
- Cross-Channel and Viral Marketing: A Brave New World
- Emerging Computer Capabilities Catapult Business Opportunities

Marriott on best practices in hotel-OTA relationships

2010-03-17T20:56:00.000-07:00

March 16, 2010 | Hospitality Industry
Greg Albertini, Regional VP Revenue Strategy Asia Pacific, Marriott International, says the best partnerships do not take inappropriate advantage of a specific situation but have a long term view in mind.

The nature of the lodging business is that there are always peaks and troughs of demand related to the supply available in any given market. This can be seasonal, development-related, or economic, which the industry is seeing most acutely right now. Can one believe that the best partnerships between companies are those that can flex to the varying demands and needs of each party across time?

Providing his insight into this debate, Greg Albertini, Regional VP Revenue Strategy Asia Pacific, Marriott International, says the best partnerships do not take inappropriate advantage of a specific situation but have a long term view in mind.

“When demand is down and hotels are desperate the OTAs have a bit more power than they do when demand is strong and hotels are selling out. In order for all to thrive we need to work together to augment each others’ strengths. When demand is strong, I will remember the OTA that took advantage of me when demand was low, just like they will remember hotels that did not give them availability when demand was high” says Albertini.

In an interview with EyeforTravel’s Ritesh Gupta, Albertini spoke about trends in the industry, price parity and the hotel-OTA relationship. Excerpts:

What do you see as the biggest changes in the industry as far as RM is concerned?

Greg Albertini: Globally there are a lot of exciting changes taking place; many companies are focused on price optimisation, CRM integration and effective distribution of both rooms and space across a portfolio. The markets here in Asia are rather young from a RM deployment perspective, so I would say biggest changes here in Asia are more around acceptance and willingness to invest in the discipline.

Price parity is an important element, and plays a key role in today’s revenue management and hotel distribution strategy. The concept of profit parity disregards that there are varying levels of value and fluctuations in demand depending on the distribution channel. In this context, how does the online channel offer unique benefits?

Greg Albertini: True, e-channels have built incredible brands with unique value propositions that speak to specific customers. Expedia has told us that 2 out of 3 customers shop on Expedia.com but then go buy on Brand.com; Expedia is okay with this as they see the one customer that books with them as a loyal Expedia customer. You can discuss profit yield all you want, but at the end of the day, if you want access to Expedia’s loyal customer base you will need to be a good partner and offer parity in both rates and availability. The key is to find strategies that provide good partnerships with your e-channels yet also promote loyalty among your own customers to avoid channel / loyalty shift.

OTA’s say that they offer services to hotels that are very much tailored to market demand factors. The key factor is that prices and promotions can be created, adapted, in real time for real customers. Rates are not set seasonally, but rather daily. How do you assess the utility and efficacy of this channel in today’s environment?

Greg Albertini: This issue really depends on a brand’s pricing strategy and technology platform to distribute that strategy across all the distribution channels. We do not see OTAs as being more effective than we are at distributing our own pricing strategies; we can implement in real time any changes we decide need to be implemented.

What some OTAs do bring to the table is access to a loyal leisure customer base that is more price conscious than a typical corporate customer. We look for opportunities to fence away these customers from our typical business traveller with pricing products that are available to both the OTA customer as well as our buy direct customer, otherwise we are telling our loyal buy direct customer that they must become an OTA customer to get the same great deal.

Do OTAs share their rate research with hotel partners so that hotels can be aware of how their rates are being sold online?

Greg Albertini: Some do. The research we like is around parity shops that ensure the OTA in question is not at a price disadvantage in the market. This type of research helps us to better police our own hotels and ensure we have sound execution of our intended strategy.

However, many OTAs work hard to share data that supports missing opportunity that can be realised by offering exclusives in exchange for preference. The problem with this type of thinking is that you alienate other OTAs and you also promote channel shift away from your own lower costs channels which has very negative long term implications.

How can one work on strategies which would allow customers to purchase where they want without encouraging them to book a costlier booking path?

Greg Albertini: There are two significant areas:

1) Parity. If your customers can find a cheaper rate on a costlier booking path, then they will go there to buy.

2) Invest in your online buy direct technology! Marriott spends significant amount of money each year to improve the customer experience on Marriott.com. If price is the same, but the shopping experience is much better on an OTA, then it is just a matter of time before customers go for the better experience. Of course, you could entice with better offers on your own website, but this will put the OTAs at a disadvantage and as a result don’t be surprised when your page placement falls to `page 14’ on their website.

What according to you is the next big thing for travel in Asia? Or can we have a prediction about where the industry is heading in the next few years?

Greg Albertini: Let’s all just cross our fingers for the sustained return of business and MICE demand over the next few years. The price wars in some markets have really hurt profitability of the industry and getting back to the profit levels we had prior to the economic crises (once adjusted for inflation) would be a general blessing!

Greg Albertini is scheduled to speak at the forthcoming Travel Distribution Summit Asia 2010 (to be held in Singapore, April 28-29).

China’s Internet obsession

2010-03-17T20:12:00.000-07:00

March 15, 2010 | Online Travel

Just how big (or small) a market would Google leave behind were it to pull out of China today? People in the country’s 60 largest cities spend 70 percent of their leisure time online. Seismic changes in the consumer market are likely as a result.

In January, China Internet Network Information Center, the country’s official domain registry and research organization, reported that by the end of 2009, the number of Internet users in China had touched 384 million, more than the entire population of the United States. That’s an increase of around 50 percent over 2008. Moreover, 233 million Chinese—twice as many as in the previous year—accessed the Net on handheld devices, partly because China’s cellular providers started offering 3G services widely last year.

The Chinese are obsessed with the Internet. People in the 60 largest cities in China spend around 70 percent of their leisure time on the Internet, according to a survey we conducted in 2009. In smaller towns, the corresponding number is 50 percent. The PC is fast replacing the TV set as an entertainment hub, and emotions run high over who gets to log on and for how long. In a small city in northwest China, for instance, a man told one of us that domestic squabbles over using the PC got so out of hand that his wife and he discussed spending, for them, a large sum of money to buy another machine—or filing for divorce. They eventually bought a second PC and saved their marriage.

Top ten best practices for today’s online hotel marketer

2010-03-17T20:00:00.001-07:00

Smart hotel marketers keep a laser sharp focus on the channels that are driving maximum return on investment. According to Milestone Internet Marketing, the following are the top 10 promotion ideas, channels, and strategies, that are driving maximum returns

Starwood runs loyalty pilot program that targets rivals' customers

2010-03-17T19:56:00.000-07:00

As the hotel loyalty war among the big chains intensifies, USA TODAY has learned that Starwood Hotels is running a top-secret loyalty program that targets some of its best customers - in addition to those of its biggest rivals (Marriott, Hyatt and Hilton)