where their potential guests are, capture their attention at every point of contact in the cus- tomer journey (research, planning, booking), and thus turn lookers into direct bookers.” Harry Fielder, chief executive at digital mar-
keting agency for hospitality Umi, says there are some simple steps operators can take to ensure they are maximising their online reach. “Make sure your Google Maps and your
Google Business Profile are absolutely bang on. Around 30% of all hotel bookings now start in Google Maps. And also, over 50% of searches in Google never leave the site. They’ll either go into Google Maps or something else.” He agrees
there are numerous channels to take into account – par- ticularly when it comes to social media. The purpose of social media is to gen- erate awareness – not to sell, he says. This is often referred to as a “top of funnel” activity – where the primary purpose is to create a buzz around the prod- uct or service. “You’re trying to showcase your brand and personality,” he says. “Different social media
14 | Technology Prospectus 2024
channels have different purposes. TikTok, for example, is not about being curated – it’s about showcasing your personality, it’s very authentic and it’s about the people behind the business not the business itself. Whereas Ins- tagram is very curated, polished content. Face- book is probably a bit more of community/ ranting area. And Twitter – or X – is more about customer support and engaging with people in conversation. Each channel has its own pur- pose within that funnel.”
WELL-EXECUTED CAMPAIGNS
Done properly, digi- tal marketing cam- paigns should function as part of the over- all marketing strategy. For Pizza Pilgrims, which is mov- ing into the next phase of its expansion plans,
this approach has been key to raising awareness with new
audiences. “One campaign that
really moved the dial for us was our 10th birthday campaign,
which we celebrated this year,” says Ruth Carpenter, head of marketing at Pizza Pilgrims. “We went back to Naples and built an even more ridiculous pizza wagon: the Pizza Vespa.
Website wise
A good, accessible website is the backbone to any successful digital marketing. “The aim is always to direct traffic there, so if the destination is underwhelming, people won’t be quick to hang around or revisit,” notes HOSPA’s Pendlebury. “The relationship between [digital marketing and website design] is undeniable, so rather than treating them as separate entities, consider how they can complement each other.” Pereira echoes this. He says it’s essential
operators have a “fast, sleek and customer- centric website that showcases their unique brand and drives direct bookings through optimised design and state-of-the-art integrations. Ultimately, this will lead to an increase in business.” That was certainly true for resort spa
hotel Rockliffe Hall, says Teresa Kingston, commercial director. The site underwent a huge website redevelopment during Covid. “Our frustration was the customer couldn’t
book everything in one journey. They could book a room and then if they wanted to book a restaurant, they had to go off somewhere else or ring the hotel. If they wanted to book a spa or golf, again they had to ring up the hotel or go off somewhere else. As a hotel, we really wanted to create that ‘one basket’ approach.” She says: “We went live with our website in
December 2021 and since then, the majority of our bookings now come in from our website rather than by the reservation office… But actually, by moving everything onto web-
www.thecaterer.com
▲
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52
