Marketing: What does your customer want?
Think like your customer
The old habit is to use our marketing pieces to tell others about ourselves. Here's who we are. Here's what we do. That's good information to include. But it doesn't always answer your customer's main concern: "What's in it for me?" Make answering that question the focus of your marketing and you'll be able to keep their interest. Here are a couple examples:
Turns of Phrase
The best bed & breakfast in Chilton.
vs.
Ahhh... homemade breakfast in bed. Experience Chilton B&B.
The first line has a narrower appeal, pretty much targeting "B&B people." The second one reaches more broadly. It encourages anyone to place him or herself in that experience. It gives a reason to consider a B&B rather than another type of lodging.
Visual Cues
Location is a HUGE factor when visitors consider lodging. Regional attractions and events are the main reason visitors are in your area. Website and brochures succeed in part because, at a glance, the viewer knows the inn is close to where they're headed.
Keep track of what your customer wants
Personalized marketing efficiently targets the people who want your services. How do you do this? You must keep track. Maintain databases, especially with email addresses. In the same database, try to keep track of how long and why your guests stayed. Maybe they arrived because of the Kite Festival? Then send out an e-newsletter before the Festival, personalized for your kite enthusiast guests.
Keeping your records up-to-date is an important task, but your returns on a relatively small investment of time and energy are well worth it! Repeat business is much, much higher when you target your marketing. Your guests will appreciate that you've paid attention to what they care about. If you're short on time, InsideOut can help you maintain your online marketing lists.
