Ever wondered how to set realistic marketing goals that actually drive bookings and revenue for your hotel?

I will walk you through nine practical steps to define and achieve your marketing objectives.

Why Should You Market?

Marketing isn’t just about selling rooms, it’s about educating your guests and community about what makes your property special. Think of it as showcasing your expertise and services. Here are a few reasons you might want to ramp up your marketing game:

• Increase bookings
• Boost your income
• Expand your customer base
• Stay ahead of the competition
• Promote both current and new services
• Enter a new market
• Gain or retain market share

Whatever your goal, remember to involve your staff from the start. Without their early buy-in, getting their support for the marketing plan and any extra work it entails could be a tough sell.

Crafting Your Marketing Plan

Creating a strategic marketing plan involves nine key steps

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1. Set Your Marketing Goals

Establish realistic and measurable goals for the next 18 to 24 months. This timeframe allows you to align your activities with community events that match your marketing objectives. Break your goals into categories. immediate (1-6 months), short-term (6-12 months), and long-term (12-24 months).

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2. Conduct A Marketing Audit

Review all marketing activities from the past three years. Be thorough—examine every ad, post, brochure, and evaluate their success. This audit helps you understand what worked and what didn’t.

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3. Conduct Market Research

Market research paints a clear picture of your property and your region. It’s time-consuming but crucial. This step helps you identify your property’s strengths and areas for improvement.

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4. Analyze The Research

Summarize your raw data into meaningful insights. This analysis forms the foundation for determining which marketing strategies will yield the best results for your property. It also helps you understand your guests’ wants and needs, defining your target audience.

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5. Identify A Target Audience

Use your market research to pinpoint your “target audience”—the specific group you want to reach. The key to effective marketing is targeting the audience your property serves better than the competition and communicating this effectively.

6. Determine A Budget

Before choosing your marketing strategies, examine your financials to set a budget. Traditionally, properties spent 3-5% of their annual gross income on marketing. Post-COVID, it’s suggested to budget 8-15% of annual revenue. This ensures a good balance between profit and visibility.

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7. Develop Marketing Strategies

With your budget in place, define specific strategies that address your goals, reach your target audience, and grow your customer base. Each strategy should align with a specific goal and include several actions.

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8. Develop An Implementation Schedule

Create a timeline showing when and by whom each marketing action will be done. Include the cost of each activity and how it fits into your budget. This schedule helps you monitor the progress of your plan.

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9. Create An Evaluation Process

A marketing plan’s value lies in its effectiveness, which requires timely implementation, monitoring, and evaluation of results. Measure your progress against your goals and review your plan quarterly.

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Do you have any tips or experiences with marketing your property that you’d like to share?

Let me know in the comments.

In Conclusion

A solid marketing plan outlines realistic goals, strategies, and actions based on sound research about your property and community. But a plan is only as good as your commitment to it. Implement it diligently, allocate sufficient resources, involve your staff, and communicate openly. Your marketing plan should be a living document, guiding your efforts and monitoring your success.

In the next episode, I will talk about Crafting A Winning Marketing Strategy.