Ultimately, the main aim for marketing and sales teams at hotels is to create bookings. You could think that you’re doing everything right, but if customers aren’t booking to stay with you then you’re not making any money. A key technique to increase bookings is retargeting. When a potential customer browses your website or starts to complete the booking process then abandons it, then they can be re-engaged with.
Retargeting ads can bring those potential customers back and convert them. This is one of the best methods to really make the most out of your marketing budget. Do you know how to do this and get the best results though?
Retargeting is the method of reminding guests about your hotel brand after they have left your website. For example, if someone were looking at your hotel but then left the website without booking, you could then retarget them and remind them about your brand. This might then prompt the customer to again consider booking with your hotel. These retargeted ads can be placed within Google, on other websites they visit and on social media.
This marketing technique is beneficial for a number of reasons. It’s quantifiable, so you can actually measure the results and calculate the return on investment (ROI) from your marketing spend. In addition, it’s cost effective. The people that you’re targeting have already shown an interest in booking, and they might just need that additional reminder to become a conversion.
There are different ways that retargeting can be used in order to fit in with your marketing strategy and target audience.
Site Retargeting
The most popular retargeting tool is site retargeting. This reaches guests visiting other websites and directs them back to your webpage. This differs from traditional paid media because it ensures that consumers are only targeted if they have previously visited your website. It’s important not to annoy your customers though. If they see your ad on every page that they visit then they’ll get bored and may not then consider booking. You can put frequency caps on your retargeting campaign which will ensure that potential customers don’t see your ad more than once per day. In addition, you can use personalised messages so that you can target your customers specifically at the point which they abandoned the booking process.
Email Retargeting
Email is another effective channel that marketers can use to retarget potential customers. If you make sure to collect email addresses early on in the booking process, this then makes it a lot easier to target those customers that don’t convert into sales. You can then choose to offer a deal or discount if they complete their booking, or explain to them the benefits of your hotel. Daniel Hristov, CEO of Aurasel, said: “Email retargeting depends on successfully identifying the steps a subscriber needs to take to become a customer, and creating personalised content for each one of these. “By customising messages, you can then be sure to deliver what the customer needs to create a better opportunity for conversion.
Social Retargeting
Social retargeting can be very powerful, as it targets people on social media who have visited your website. This can be extremely successful, as you’ll struggle to find a potential customer who isn’t on Twitter or Facebook. This option also allows you to target customers in a slightly different setting. They are on social media and therefore are more relaxed, as they are there to connect with friends and see the latest trends. As this can be considered downtime, it’s the perfect time to remind them about that hotel booking they were planning to make. You can communicate in a more casual and friendly tone that will give you a better opportunity to connect with a potential customer. It is, however, important to get the right tone on social media. On Twitter this can seem tricky at first because you’re currently limited to 140 characters. Also, you want to seem like an approachable and friendly brand while remaining professional. It can be useful to experiment with different styles until you find one that works for you.
The stronger your brand is on social media, the stronger the power of your retargeting ads will be. Therefore, make sure that you find the style that works for your brand and keep your pages populated. This will ensure that customers recognise you as a reputable brand and are more encouraged to make a booking.
