Have you found the correct marketer for your property?
Marketing is an art form. Contrary to popular belief, it’s not something that everyone can do, or may want to do. There are exceptional marketers who do not have an iota of formal marketing qualifications, and there are mediocre marketers who have the kitchen sink of BBAs, MBAs and DBAs, but couldn’t sell a sink to a kitchen owner. That’s why operators need to seriously think whether they’re got the correct marketer for their hotel, restaurant, or other hospitality-related business.
Marketing in the hospitality space is no longer like it was twenty years ago. That’s primarily because of two new tools. Actually, the first, which is Social Media, leads, in a way to the second, which is Influencer Marketing. The fact is, most marketers (or marketeers, according to some), tend to throw these terms into marketing plans to impress senior management. When asked how they will use these terms, they tend to talk about campaigns, endorsement initiatives, social media posts, and paid boosting. But, if they are requested to delve deeper into these things, that’s where the head-scratching will start.
The correct marketer will not only know about all these tools, but how to use them in synergy. You see, it’s not as simple as creating a post, uploading it, sharing it to a bunch of groups and exploiting some boosting. You’ve got to think about the message, the target segment, the value proposition portrayed, and so much more. The correct marketer will be able to connect all these factors, and critically analyze how each factor influences the total outcome, as well as complement with each other. As you can imagine, it’s not exactly a ‘walk in the park’.
Another critical factor that marketers must keep at the forefront of their minds is sensitivity. We are living in an easily offended world, where wokeism is taking over everything. Personally, I think that wokeism has gone way too far, and everyone should take a step backwards before getting offended by the slightest thing. However, businesses can’t afford the negative publicity that one social media misstep can result in. The right marketer will be able to tread the fine line between producing great marketing content without offending anyone, or causing minimal offense to the smallest group of people (nowadays, being affronted at something, however trifling, can rub up the wrong way for certain groups of people. That’s how crazy the world is getting).
Meanwhile, the wrong marketer will try to be edgy and daring but end up making a mess of things. Take the example of an advertisement by a popular biscuit manufacturer some years ago. The use of two girls of opposite skin complexions to highlight a new biscuit product was definitely inappropriate. Several years later, I recall the ad and the biscuit company that the ad was made for, but not the product that it was marketing. Now is that the right kind of reminder advertising that you want the public to memorize?
This is particularly important if you decide to go down the Influencer Marketing route. You see, influencers are people too. They have their own tastes, views, and persona. They have their followers, as well as their haters. Most importantly, they may have their own skeletons in closets too. The right marketer will take some time to study a potential pool of influencers and identify how they best fit the business in a holistic manner.
Meanwhile, the wide off the mark marketer will simply choose an influencer who is currently trending, or one that they regularly follow. They won’t investigate whether their selected influencer is a good fit, or suitable for the brand and product. I’ve seen this happen in the automotive field. As an automotive enthusiast and writer, it amuses me when automotive brands pick influencers who wouldn’t know a crankshaft from a driveshaft. The resultant cringe-worthy content is a sure-fire way to dilute the brand’s value and respect among the more knowledgeable enthusiasts in the automotive community.
2024 is going to be a tough year for Sri Lanka’s hospitality industry, thanks to the rising cost of living. International tourism will help prop things up during the peak seasons, but the off peaks will be particularly tough, as domestic tourists face strict leisure spending cuts. Taking fancy hotel trips is going to become an unattainable luxury for most, and we know that there’s a limit to a hotel’s ability to offer rate cuts and special offers. Hence, the pool of potential customers is bound to shrink, and as a property owner, you want to have the best opportunity of attracting your fair market share.
Select the correct marketer and you will have an above-average chance of doing just that.
Ashraaq Wahab– Director of Marketing/Sales and Technical - Hospitality Sri Lanka, Automotive Journalist, Marketer, Photographer and Writer, who enjoys penning his thoughts, insights and ideas on a variety of topics.
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