blog

Tripadvisor has launched new Management Dashboard

2012-01-27T09:09:00.000+10:00

Tripadvisor has launched a new Management Dashboard which provides hotels with information on how they are engaging with their customers online, tips on areas where they can improve on, the countries where the most traffic is coming from and they can even get a list of their competitors who are most viewed by the same customers who viewed their page.

The new Management Dashboard is available for free to all registered business representatives and can be accessed via the Tripadvisor management centre. A more comprehensive version of the Tripadvisor Management Dashboard will be made available in the next few weeks exclusively to accommodations that have a paid business listing with Tripadvisor. The comprehensive version offers additional metrics and information, including graphics which depicts a property's Business Listings performance over time and how they compare to their competitors in the same geographical region.

At a glance, the features of the Management Dashboard include:

Free version

View your status at a glance: View total reviews, current popularity ranking and TripAdvisor rating
Reviews and comments summary: View latest review activity and top comments from reviews
Photos metrics: Total number of traveller and business-submitted photos, photos in the last 30 days and the number of visitors viewing photos
Most viewed competitors: A list of your competitors most viewed by the same people who view your business' page
Top visitor locations: View a breakdown of the countries generating the most number of traffic to your page

Features of the paid Business Listings Management Dashboard

The paid version includes all of the features of the free version
Trend Graphs: Dynamic graphs showing page-view trends over a period of time
Performance metrics: How your property's Business Listing compares to other properties
Top Special Offers by click-through: Special Offer recommendations based on the offers that are receiving the most clicks (this tool is shown when a property is not taking advantage of their Special Offers feature)

The free Management Dashboard is available immediately.

For more information about how you can take advantage of the new features in Tripadvisor, or if you would like to optimise your Tripadvisor listing, speak to TA Fastrack today on 07 3040 3588

How to increase engagement with your fans on Facebook

2012-01-23T12:44:00.000+10:00

According to research, you can increase your Facebook engagement with fans just be taking the following into consideration.

Research found that 60% of posts analysed were published between 10am and 4pm
Brands that posted before or after business hours recorded Facebook engagement rates that were 20% higher than the average
Research also found that the shorter the Facebook post, the more likely fans will read it
The research also found that the less people want to be at work, the more they are on Facebook
The highest engagement rates on Facebook occurred on Thursday and Fridays for the travel and hospitality industries
The lowest engagement rates occurred on weekends and Wednesdays
To drive more 'likes' or comments on your posts, ask your fans directly to 'like', 'tell' or 'comment' and this will drive the best results
'Liking' a post or page requires the least amount of effort, so if you tell them to do it, they will
Simple action words such as 'like', 'take', 'submit', 'watch', 'click', 'post', 'become a fan', 'share', or 'visit' worked best
Posts that end with a question have a 15% higher engagement rate - engage with your fans!
Questions that start with the word 'where', 'when' or 'should' have the highest engagement rates
Questions that start with 'why' have the lowest engagement rates
If you're running a contest on Facebook, use words like 'event', 'winner' or 'win' for best results. Direct words like 'contest', 'coupon' or 'promotion' don't work as well. Win/winning keywords give fans something to get excited about and they don't feel like they are being sold to.

If you would like to get started with Facebook marketing, speak to one of the marketing consultants at TA Fastrack or call 1300 659 289.

How to get found online with search engines

2012-01-16T16:03:00.000+10:00

1. Choose your keywords

Choose keywords that your target market will use to search for your product and services. For example holiday apartments mooloolaba, serviced apartments melbourne cbd
Choose keywords based on the search volume. Optimise your website for keywords with the larger number of searches for month. There is no point in optimising your website for keywords that no one will use. You might rank well for these, but if no one uses the keywords to find you, there is no point.
Remember that depending on the competitiveness of the keyword, it might take longer for you to rank higher for those keywords.

2. Website on-page SEO

Place your primary keywords in your page title, headings, within the content of your page and description tags.
Use your keywords as part of the URL. For example, www.yourcompanyname.com.au/serviced-apartments-mooloolaba.html
Make use of H1 and H2 headings
Place keywords within the meta-keyword tags and alt-text on images

3. Off-page SEO

Build inbound links to your website from other quality websites
Build links to your website using keywords as the anchor text. For example, the text that is hyperlinked to your website should be keywords you are optimising your website for (like serviced apartments melbourne), not the words 'click here' or your company name.

4. Always measure and analyse your data

Track the number of inbound links, keyword ranks and visits every month to ensure that it's building up.
Track number of visits to your website through organic searches using Google Analytics. It's free to set up and you just need your web developers to insert the code in the website to track the statistics.

If you need help with your SEO, speak to one of the search engine marketing consultants at TA Fastrack today on 07 3040 3588.

Tips to encourage fan engagement with your Facebook business page

2011-12-09T11:20:00.000+10:00

Below are some of our tips to boost fan interaction on your facebook business page.

Encourage your fans to post their questions or feedback on your Facebook page. Answer their questions, thank them for their reviews and feedback. Let them know that you're listening
Share photos and videos of your property on your page. Encourage fans to post their holiday snaps and videos on your wall.
Ask for their feedback. For example, get your fans feedback on their thoughts on a new colour scheme for your hotel renovations, or their thoughts on a menu change for the season etc.
Celebrate company milestones, achievements or awards. For example, the company's birthday, the 1000th guest who stayed at your hotel, staff birthdays or the total number of years employed at your company, industry awards etc
Participate in seasonal celebrations/holidays. For example, post photos of the Christmas decorations in your office, or a Valentine's Day special etc. Add a post on your wall wishing all Mothers a Happy Mother's Day and so on
Have fun! Ask your fans questions, use polls etc or get fans to finish the sentence or fill in the blank. For example, When I'm travelling, my favourite song on my playlist is.......
Play a game or post a puzzle on Facebook and get fans to respond with their answers. Eg guess where this photo was taken.
Runs contests, competitions, promotions
Share interesting content with your fans. It doesn't need to be just specials. Offer other content of interest or relevance to your fans, such as tips, whitepaper downloads, links to interesting news articles etc.
Offer content based on current news. Eg Did anyone watch Dancing with the stars last night? Who do you think will go?
Leverage events and create buzz around upcoming events. Post photos or videos after the event
Champion a good cause. Let everyone know the charity your business supports. Post photos of your staff participating in a charity event, eg Movember
Talk about other things besides your product. Mix it up with other content to interact with your fans and get them to talk to you.

To get started on Facebook, or if you would like more information about facebook marketing and social media management, speak to TA Fastrack today on 07 3040 3588 or visit www.tafastrack.com.au.

5 things your hotel should do right now with social media

2011-11-25T09:11:00.000+10:00

If you're on social media, have you considered what you will be doing next year? Below are some things your hotel should implement 2012.

Put your staff to work.
Your staff members are a wealth of information and you need to use it to your advantage. For example, your reception or concierge are experts on the area and can provide customers with tips on the best place to eat, best shopping or places to see that no one else know about. Your chef is an expert on food and could provide tips or recipes.

Get your staff to write a few sentences every month on various topics, and you’ve got yourself some tremendous social media content with hardly any effort or time at all.

Include more social media only offers.
Give your fans something of value that they can't get anywhere else, such as updates on events, sneak peek previews, news updates on your hotel or special offers that aren't available on the website.

You can use social media specific codes that can only be redeemed online and the codes can only be found via Facebook or Twitter if they are a follower.

Someone to really take a big foursquare/Facebook Places leap.
Many places offer people a free glass of wine if they check-in using Foursquare or Facebook Places, but why not go all out and really create some buzz! Give away a free room or upgrade for customers who check-in often.

Cross promote.
People need to know that your property has a social media presence, so make sure you include your facebook link on your website, in your email marketing messages, under your email signature, in ads in newspapers or magazines etc.

Fewer minutias.
There was a time when a post like “it’s sunny today” did the trick. It was simple, felt personal, and kept a social presence active. These posts aren't bad now, but the problem is everyone's doing this. Include more depth to your general posts. For example, tell your fans about an interesting event going on in the area that people from outside your location might not know about. Post a photo of the sunset, or wildlife near your property.

Social media can no longer be ignored and although it might not be perfect for every accommodation, it is an important option for most. There are many benefits to using social media and with a bit of effort, your hotel can use social media to generate leads and raving fans.

If you would like more information about social media marketing, speak to TA Fastrack today on 1300 659 289.

How to always have great Customer Service on Facebook

2011-11-08T10:44:00.000+10:00

Always reply to your fans

Facebook is all about engagement and interacting with your fans. Make sure you respond to questions, comments and feedback.

Enable your wall

Make it easy for your fans to comment or post photos on your wall - it's a two way street. Fans don't want to be bombarded with your marketing messages without the ability for them to post on your wall.

Monitor your page throughout the day

Just as you monitor your emails and answer phone calls throughout the day, make an effort to check in on Facebook throughout the day and try to respond as quickly as possible to questions.

Add some personality to your posts

It's ok to let your personality shine through. Let your fans see the light side to your company - a touch of humour can put a smile on the face and this will help to keep your brand in the minds of your customers.

It's not just about marketing

Mix up your posts with marketing messages, but engage your fans with photos, open-ended questions, surveys or get their opinion on something.

If you would like help with social media marketing and Facebook, speak to one of the marketing consultants at TA Fastrack today on 07 3040 3588.

What's in your marketing plan for 2012?

2011-11-03T12:43:00.000+10:00

Start the new year with a solid approach to your marketing! Below are some tips on what you should look at for 2012.

1. Improve the way you handle customer feedback

Analysis from more than 400 entrants in the 2010 Telstra Business Awards suggests it's worth taking customer feedback seriously. It found that 79% of entrants could identify their best customers and that 64% of Australian businesses frequently seek feedback from customers.

Set up a complaints handling process and make sure your staff are well versed in it.

And most importantly, don't forget to answer any negative reviews on Tripadvisor! According to PhoCusWright, 87% of travellers found guest reviews from people they didn't know influential in their travel decision. Research also shows that online reviews are second only to personal advice from a friend as the driver of purchase decisions.

2. Become the thought leader in your industry
Customers buy brands they trust and one way to build trust is to become a thought header in your industry. Send out a regular newsletter to your customers with interesting news articles, let your customers download a whitepaper or set up a blog.

3. Get on social media
Social media is a great way for you to engage with current and potential customers - and it's free. But before you get into Facebook and Twitter, make sure you have a solid social media strategy. For example, how often will you be updating your posts? What will you post? It's all about trying to find ways to communicate with your customers and add value to their lives.

4. Get a professional website
First impressions count, so make sure that your website looks professional with high resolution photos, there are no spelling errors and it's easy to read and navigate. Make sure you update your site regularly to encourage repeat visits and improve Google rankings. And Remember, it's important that you have original and quality content on the site - and Google will reward you for this.

Speak to a web design company to design a website that is user-friendly and SEO friendly.

5. Create a loyalty program
Securing a loyal following is not easy, but it can be worthwhile. It is around five times more expensive to find a new customer, than it is to keep a current customer. A loyalty program could include offering your customers discounts, freebies, invites to VIP nights, or a buy one get one free offer. What you decide will depend on what your customers will value the most.

A loyalty program also gives you a great opportunity to capture valuable data about your customers, so you can send them more targeted marketing messages, for example, birthday, hobbies, interests, wedding anniversary etc.

How to respond to an online review in real-time

2011-10-31T17:20:00.000+10:00

When customers take to social media to voice their grievances, how you respond to that review is important. Below are some tips on how you can acknowledge and address the issue at hand.

Be open and honest - you will of course be upset by the comments, but make sure that you address the negative review in a genuine manner. Be upfront and honest with your customers.
Respond in a timely manner - be prepared to act fast, preferably within 48 hours. Even if it is to respond and update your customers that you are working on rectifying the situation, your customers will appreciate that you are listening, you care and you are trying to do something about it
Apologize - take ownership of what happened. Your customers will appreciate this
Turn a negative into a positive - don't just stop at an apology - take this situation as an opportunity to show everyone that you are listening and you're doing something about it. Take advantage of the situation to engage with customers, build and establish a relationship with them and impress potential customers
Be professional - don't write your reply angry. Draft your reply, come back to it and relook at it and if need be, send it to someone to view.

How have you responded to a negative review online? What other tips can you add to this list?

Build brand loyalty with Twitter

2011-10-19T10:08:00.000+10:00

Below are some tips on how you can use Twitter and build brand loyalty.

Tweet about something worthwhile
This seems obvious, but what will your corporate Twitter account say and will your followers actually read it? You would never follow a brand that constantly sent out marketing messages all the time, so make so you don't do this. Just remember that every post that you tweet should provide some value to the reader. This could include links to interesting articles or news, relevant articles, blog posts, photos, videos, upcoming events or places to see and do around your area.

Let your staff tweet - with guidance
Get your staff involved! People like to feel they are connecting with actual humans online and your staff will be the best people to answer questions, provide advice and respond to feedback.

Respond to feedback
If customers complain on Twitter, make sure you respond in a timely manner.

Give something of value to your followers
This could include special Twitter' specials or offers or run a competition with genuinely attractive prizes. While specials and competitions is a good way to enhance brand loyalty, make sure your tweets don't become too spammy.

Keep it fun
Show some personality and keep it fresh and fun for your followers. Let them see the lighter side to your brand. By making your brand more personable, it will help people feel a greater connection with it and enhance feelings of brand loyalty.

10 things you should be doing on Facebook

2011-10-13T09:17:00.002+10:00

1. Create a customised URL name for your Facebook page
If you haven't already created a customised URL for your Facebook page, make sure you do it now! To do this, just visit http://www.facebook.com/username and follow the instructions. Remember that once you confirm your URL, it cannot be changed, so make sure you choose it carefully.

2. Embed videos
Nothing sells your hotel, facilities, location and apartment rooms like video. Host them on Youtube and share them on your Facebook page, or upload them directly onto Facebook. Videos are also great for SEO as they will appear in search results.

3. Use Facebook insights
As an administrator of your business page, you will have access to Facebook insights, which is a powerful tool for tracking the fan growth of your facebook page. You can analyse which types of posts were the most popular and engaged fans to respond, you can also monitor fan growth and interaction, see page views and track impressions. Monitoring these key metrics will enable you to better adapt your posts and facebook marketing strategy.

4. Add your hotel on Facebook places
Encourage users to 'check-in' via Facebook places. Offer an incentive, like a free drink voucher, or discount when they check-in. Every time a facebook user checks-in, it gets promoted across their network, thus giving you extra exposure and boosting brand awareness.

5. Use the reviews app
Facebook has a reviews app which you can add to your page and allows guests to leave their reviews of the hotel. These reviews can give new and potential clients what to expect when they stay at your property. You can also pull reviews from Tripadvisor into your page if you like.

6. Run a competition
A competition is a great way to increase fans and encourage engagement. Just remember that you will need to comply with Facebook's promotions guidelines.

7. Include a welcome page for new visitors
It's so much better for a new visitor to land on a customised welcome page instead of seeing your wall. Your Facebook welcome page can include links back to your website, photos, videos, a book now button and more.

8. Use Facebook questions
Create a poll and gather opinions about what your fans are interested in, or create a fun poll to encourage interaction.

9. Facebook ads
You can fully customise your facebook ads to target a certain demographic, location or interest.

10. Most importantly, allow your fans to book directly from Facebook
The average Facebook user spends over 15 hours a month on Facebook, so it makes sense for them to be able to book with your hotel directly from Facebook. You can include a book now button in your welcome page.

If you would like more information about Facebook marketing, or if you are interested in a Facebook welcome page design, speak to one of the marketing consultants at TA Fastrack today on 07 3040 3588 or visit www.tafastrack.com.au.

How to improve Facebook fan engagement

2011-10-06T11:49:00.000+10:00

Give your fans the opportunity to engage and comment
Enable the comments functionality on your wall so that fans can post content on your wall.

Ask questions
Ask your fans advice on a certain topic, get them to share their favourite tips, photos, videos, ask open ended questions, use polls and surveys and get them interacting with you!

Request feedback
Ask your fans to share their thoughts on a new product or service you are offering or about to launch. Listen to what they have to say and thank them for their feedback. Make them feel like a valued member of your community.

Start a discussion online
Use Facebook's discussions feature to get feedback on what your fans want, like or think, either about your business, a certain hot topic or industry issue. You might learn something new about your fan base, which you could use to bring your hotel to another level.

It's all about participation!
Don't just sit back and watch - get involved! You should be an active member on your page too! Join their conversations, thank them for their comments, feedback, ask questions etc.

Let us know if you have any other tips you would like to share or if there is something you tried and worked!

How to generate positive reviews online

2011-10-05T12:00:00.000+10:00

Start by paying attention to the reviews you already have - make sure you resolve any complaints or issues. Following up on existing negative reviews show potential customers that you care and you're listening and you are doing something about it
Ask for reviews - Don't be pushy, but at the end of the transaction, ask customers to review you online or to fill out a survey
Always respond to negative reviews straight away - thank the customer for the review and apologize for the bad experience. Often, the customer just wants acknowledgement that the hotel understands there is a problem is wants to fix it. If the bad review is unwarranted, it's especially important to resist the urge to get defensive.
Reach out to negative reviewers directly - take it offline and provide your contact details. Alternatively, try to contact the reviewers directly and try to resolve the issue.

For help with social media reputation management, speak to one of the marketing consultants at TA Fastrack today.

The 5 do's and don'ts of email design

2011-09-29T15:15:00.000+10:00

Withouth a clear, consistent and well designed e-newsletter, your email may not get read, or worse, deleted. Consider the following tips for your next email marketing campaign to ensure that it gets read and forwarded.

1. Maintain a balanced ratio between text and images
If your email newsletter contains too many images, or too much text, it could be flagged as spam. Integrate images with text properly to ensure that your messages can be easily read, and most importantly, stays out of the spam box.

2. Always assume that embedded images won't appear properly
Don't you hate it when you get emails where every image is replaced with a red 'x'? Not all email clients automatically display images without prompting the user to take action first, eg click here to view images. It's important that your key messages - the information that you want your readers to take away from your email - aren't embedded within an image. Use HTML body text to deliver the most important information.

3. Do provide a backup option for emails with image-rich backgrounds
Not all email clients (like gmail or outlook) provide support for background images. Provide a backup option, such as a coloured background if an image is usually used as the backdrop for your email.

HTML allows both an image and a colour to be coded in the same tag, which means that if a mail client supports background images, the image will show, but if it doesn't then your chosen colour will appear in its place.

4. Consider using a table of contents for emails with several articles
Create a simple table of contents at the top of your email if your e-newsletter contains several articles or sections. Make it easy for your readers to navigate and read the articles that interest them.

5. Have a strong call to action
Whether you want your readers to click a link, email or call you direct, visit your website, or share the content with their friends, make sure you have a clear call to action where readers are most likely to see it.

Always remember that a great email design will help you in three areas:

A well-organised and visually appealing email is more likely to be read and shared
Proper email design can help avoid delivery hang-ups and will ensure that it always looks good regardless of the mail client used and it will always get delivered into a person's inbox
Optimal integration of text, images and a clear call to cation leads to increased ROI

To get started with email marketing, speak to one of the marketing consultants at TA Fastrack today on 07 3040 3588 or visit www.tafastrack.com.au.

How you can use video marketing for your business

2011-09-27T11:51:00.004+10:00

Below are some ideas on how you can use online video for your business.

Company profile - Online videos can be used as a great introduction to your busienss, for example, provide an overview of your company, your services and products, industry, history, the team and your company culture
Staff profile - Find employees who come across naturally on video and have positive personalities. Let them tell their story, eg why they love working at your company, what they are passionate about, or love about their job etc
Tell everyone what you are doing for the community - What notable causes is your company involved in or passionate about? A video about what your company is involved in shows you care about your community and that you're not just about money, but you care
Customer testimonials - showcase why clients use you and any successful stories, or what your products and services have done for your clients and helped them achieve.
Training - a training video or a series of videos is a great way to educate yur clients on how they can use your products and services. They can also learn at their own pace and is an alternative to the usual and boring text training manual
Industry news/commentary - this needs to done in real time. You could consider using video to offer commentary on relevant news/breaking news and then post this on your blog, website or youtube channel. This will showcase your company's responsiveness to breaking news and industry awareness
How to guides and tips - share your expertise with your how to videos. Be seen as the expert and it could also help with search exposure for potential customers who need help and are searching for how-to content related to the products and services you are providing
Interviews - interview vendors, thought leaders, key influencers, staff or clients on a topic of interest
Events - if you are presenting or attending an event, don't just capture the event, but the people associated with the event or who attended the event. Eg get people to share their experience and what they thought of the event, interview presenters etc
Presentations - consider a video presentation to better showcase information in an informative and enthusiastic way

How to handle negative feedback online

2011-09-26T11:51:00.001+10:00

1. Your first priority is to quickly respond. The longer you leave a negative comment go unanswered, the more credibility it will gain with other viewers. If you respond immediately, it will show that you are listening and you care and are willing to do something about the problem.

2. Apologise. Even if it is to acknowledge the problem. Don't go into who is right and who is wrong as this will accomplish little. And most people will see petty complaints for what they are.

3. Move ongoing/difficult conversations offline. Provide an initial response in public and provide contact details for further follow-up. Move on-going discussions with difficult customers to private channels.

4. Thank the customer for their feedback. Treat any negative comments as though it were constructive criticism. Apologise to the customer for their unsatisfactory experience and let them know that their feedback is appreciated and that you will take their comments into consideration for further improvement. Make sure you follow up with your promise.

4 tips for better video marketing

2011-09-20T10:57:00.000+10:00

Did you know....

The average online user watches about 16 hours of online video a month
A person watches about 5 hours a month watching videos on Youtube
The average attention span for online videos is about 60 seconds

So how can you ensure that your videos stand out from the crowd?

Keep it short and sweet - people are busy and their time is important. Keep your videos short and sweet for maximum effectiveness. It's ideal to keep it under 2.5mins
Put the important things first - people can be easily side-tracked or distracted, so make sure you lead in your video with the most important information first. That way, you'll have a better chance of getting your audience to take action
Be specific - give people specific benefits or the success they will achieve if they use your product and service. Don't be afraid to show examples, eg testimonials from real customers
Keep it personal - make it personal, so your audience will identify and relate with you more, which will result in longer viewing times. Show your personality and the 'human' side to your company

For more information about digital marketing and how the marketing consultants at TA Fastrack can help you with your video marketing, call 07 3040 3588 or visit www.tafastrack.com.au.

Learn the lingo for Facebook

2011-09-16T12:22:00.000+10:00

Facebook provides businesses with a powerful one-to-many communication vehicle. When you update your status, the message appears on the profile of all other Facebook users who have 'liked' the business page. It's also easy to comment on fan posts, upload photos and videos and send messages directly to users to further establish relationships, answer their questions and drive loyalty.

If you are new to Facebook, we have provided some information below to help you familiarise yourself with some of the features and how it works.

Like – a virtual thumbs-up you can give to Facebook content.
Status – answers the question “What’s on your mind?”- a brief update to your ‘friends’.
Wall – shows all your latest activity including comments, photos, events, videos, and more.
Wall Post – when people post comments to your wall.
Friends – anyone you’re connected to on Facebook.
Newsfeed – a stream of content that updates you on the status, likes, and posts of your friends and brands or causes you follow.
Mobile Upload – content that comes directly from your mobile phone, like a photo.
Tagging – identifying a person or brand in a photo or post.

Anatomy of a personal page

Notifications – This bar will show the number of friends you need to approve, the number of unread messages and your unchecked notifications. Notifications let you know if someone has commented onto your Wall or commented and liked something that you’ve posted.
Your Post – You can post to your Wall or respond to posts that your friends have left. You are able to comment on these posts or click ‘Like’ to show that you like the comment.
Account Photo – Your account photo accompanies all your posts so make sure that it’s professional, identifies you and stands out.
Wall - The wall is the area where your friends can post questions, comments, photos and videos. The activity is public for anyone who you have approved as a friend.
Info Tab – Where people can find information about you. This can include everything from your education, employers and age to interests and activities.
Facebook Ads - Facebook sells advertising on the right side of the page. While you can’t determine what ads show up, you can purchase your own targeted ads that either drive people to your page or to any other site.
Friends – Facebook allows you to see how many friends you have. These are people who receive your statuses or updates in their news feed and have access to your page.
Post from Friend – People who you have approved to be your friend are able to post on your Wall.

TA Fastrack regularly holds marketing webinars on a range of topics, including website design, search engine optimisation, social media marketing and more, or if you would like more information on how Facebook can help your business, speak to one of the marketing consultants at TA Fastrack today on 07 3040 3588 or visit www.tafastrack.com.au.

Be a Negative Optimist

2011-09-14T09:26:00.000+10:00

The most important quality for success in entrepreneurship and in life is the quality of optimism. Optimists have an unrealistic expectation of success. As a result, they are willing to try far more things without becoming discouraged. In addition, because of their unrealistically positive attitude, they are willing to persist much longer than the average person. Optimism is a wonderful quality as long as you have it under control.

Taper Your Optimism
In order to be successful in business, and in any activity where your money is involved, you must temper your optimism with negativism. You must be enthusiastic about the possible upside of the investment but you must be sceptical, critical, suspicious and demanding about all the different ways that your money can be lost.

Listen to Negative Viewpoints
Seek out and listen carefully to people who are negative towards your idea. Look for negative thinkers, because their viewpoints can be invaluable and save you a fortune in time and money. I have a friend who is a lawyer. And he recommends and gives advice to many people on investments. And what he does is this. When someone comes and they want to make an investment that he's unsure about, he says, all right, I want you to come to my office and I want you to sit behind my desk. And then I'm going to come in and I'm going to present this investment to you and I want you to critique this investment as if you were me.

Help Others to Evaluate Honestly
And he says that when his clients begin critiquing the investments they're thinking about going into, when they begin becoming negative thinkers about the investments, he says they are astonished at how bad the investments really are. He said he has saved his clients millions of dollars by forcing them to be negative thinkers about their own ideas, simply by switching roles and sitting in front of the desk while they sit behind the desk.

Keep Your Mind Open
But don't be overly influenced by negative thinkers. Just take their viewpoints into consideration. There's a famous story of Mary Hudson, who started off with 200 dollars in the middle of the Depression and leased a gas station that two men had gone broke running at two different occasions. And from that she built a company called Hudson Oil, which is now the biggest independent distributor of gas and oil in the United States. From a 200 dollar investment, even though everybody told her she would fail. So remember, listen to negative thinkers, but don't necessarily accept their advice.

Action Exercises
Here are two things you can do immediately to get these ideas into action.

First, view your idea as if you were an outside consultant. Ask, "What are all of the possible risks or flaws in this cause of action?"
Second, seek out the opinions of others. Listen without responding or defending. Thank them for their input. They may save you a lot of money.

5 items on your website you need to also include on Facebook

2011-09-07T11:39:00.000+10:00

Just a few years ago, your website was the most important marekting tool used to deliver relevant content about your brand, products and services to your target market. However, with the increasing popularity of Facebook, things have changed dramatically.

More and more each day, it's becoming apparent that a significant portion of the user web experience starts and ends with Facebook. If businesses want to garner the attention of consumers, they need to be in front of them where they spend most of their time - which right now is on Facebook. (According to statistics, a user spends up to 15 hours a month on Facebook).

But how far should we take this? Should we put all our marketing dollars on Facebook and forget about having a website? At this point, we recommend that businesses maintain a balance between their own web presence and their investment in Facebook. Company websites should still be left in place for the purposes of corporate communication. There are still some things that don't belong on Facebook -- and legal information happens to be one of them. But what about more creative and compelling content?

We've established a list of five items on your website that we feel would work great on Facebook. Let us know what you think.

Online fan communities

Without question, Facebook should be home to your fan community. While some might argue that it's important from a branding standpoint to provide an outlet for discussion, the sheer volume of Facebook users is enough to drive marketers to select Facebook in this case. For example, your facebook page can be used to engage with fans on new topics of discussion and fans can use the wall to declare their fandom all day, every day. This is very good for the brand. Facebook and its viral functionality make it easy for your fans to share and connect. And of course, it's no secret that peer endorsements are more influential among users than commercials or celebrity endorsements.

Photos and videos

Photos and videos hosted on your website can also be uploaded onto your Facebook page. For example, you can upload new phtoos of your room/hotel renovations on Facebook, include behind the scenes video, sneak peek videos on events held at your hotel etc.

Special offers and rewards programs

Upload your special offer and promotions on Facebook. If you have a rewards card or loyalty program, users can manage their subscriptions to rewards cards/programs through Facebook. This makes perfect sense for an audience that is already on Facebook each day.

Polls and surveys

In May, Facebook reintroduced Facebook Questions, reviving the service as a means of polling users on certain issues. Your business can use this functionality to drive more engagement among users. Eg ask questions on what fans think of your new menu, room renovations etc, or get their opinion on a topic.

Some companies are going all in

While some companies are testing the waters with Facebook and seeing what works and what is ineffective for their brand, other companies are going all out and fully integrating their products into the platform. For example, some businesses now give fans the opportunity to purchase clothes from the Facebook page, share their favorite items or suggest gift ideas to their friends via the share button. Your hotel can make it easy for fans to book accommodation straight away on Facebook.

For more tips and information about social media marketing, speak to TA Fastrack today on 07 3040 3588 or visit www.tafastrack.com.au.

Top 5 ways of how to manage tripadvisor comments

2011-08-31T08:51:00.000+10:00

During check-out, ask your guests to review your property on social network sites and booking sites, including Tripadvisor, Expedia, Booking.com, facebook etc)
Send your guests a “Thank you for your stay” email and ask them to review you on Tripadvisor.
Show your guests that you are listening and you care - monitor the reviews and make sure you answer all negative comments. Use the manager’s response field to reply. Be apologetic, explain what happened and offer an incentive to come back. You don't need to reply to all the positive reviews, but it's a good idea to acknowledge some of them to show you are monitoring the site.
Make it easy for your guests to find your tripadvisor page on your website. Display a tripadvisor badge on the homepage or on a testimonials page. Include the Tripadvsior badge at the bottom of your email signature.
Use guests quotes to your advantage. Display the links to your latest tripadvisor reviews prominently on your website or on Facebook. Lift positive experiences and use them as content on different pages on your website.

In addition, there are two important don’ts:

Don’t ignore tripadvisor. Just because you ignore it, doesn't mean it's not there and it will go away. You may not be managing it, but your competitors are. So, guess who’s getting all the better guests?
Not answering all comments. Answering all comments makes you look like you have someone whose job is just to use “canned answers” for tripadvisor. This will hurt your credibility when answering negative comments.

Finally, ensure that you use social networks like Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and Flickr to promote your property and to communicate your special offers. Invite your guests to join your networks. This will improve brand loyalty and ensure that you keep a close relationship with your guests, particularly those that write positive reviews about your hotel. They are your best reference and your best bet, as an independent hotel, to get new business from their social network.

Half of Australian businesses do not use social media

2011-08-29T08:55:00.000+10:00

Australians are among the highest users of social media in the world (over 10 million users), yet Australian businesses have not kept pace with others around the globe and are missing out on the opportunity to connect with consumers.

According to a recent analysis by KPMG Australia among business managers, only 42% report using social media, with 50% reporting their business did not use social media, and the remainder not knowing whether their business used social media at all.

"Organizations cannot afford not to be listening to what is being said about them, and at some point, interacting with customers in the space where they are spending their time - and increasingly, their money too," said Malcolm Alder, National Managing Partner for KPMG's Digital Economy Practice.

"Our analysis demonstrated that we can look at the experiences of both early business adopters and our overseas counterparts, to learn from them. If businesses do not get on board quickly, they may very well be left behind." Earlier this year comScore reported that the largest chunk of time spent online by Australians is dedicated to social networking. Their analysis of activity in December, 2010, found approximately one in every five minutes, 22%, was spent with various social networks.

Email still backbone of cross-channel marketing

2011-08-23T17:10:00.000+10:00

Email continues to be the backbone of cross-channel marketing in Australia despite the clear emergence of multi-channel and segmentation trends, a new report has confirmed.

Mobile channel use has grown by over 300% and social marketing now has 10 times more activity than a year ago, according to the Responsys Big Australian Report on email, mobile, social and web marketing.

Despite this, email remains the central and most used channel, and the highest volume by some considerable margin. Of the marketers surveyed, not surprisingly 100% are sending emails to customers and members. The report found, however, only 14% of marketers send according to customer preferences.

“16% of companies send all messages via all channels,” the report read. “We would expect this will drop as sophistication in targeting increases.”

Much like email being the spine of multi-channel, data is emerging as the centrepiece of converged web-focused marketing, with 2010 seeing a major breakthrough in targeting according to the report.

“For the first time a majority of marketers engaged in segmentation to target the more relevant members of its data base with certain messages or offers.”

More than half the marketers surveyed incorporate data metrics into their measurement, and around 40% feed it back into CRM systems, so the insights and results can be fed back into the database and applied across many channels.

The findings were based on the analysis of more than 1 billion email, mobile and social messages sent between 1 July 2010 and 30 June 2011, and survey of 350 enterprise marketers in Australia.

8 Ways to Test Your Website

2011-08-15T14:10:00.000+10:00

Your website is the "storefront" of your business (even if you have a literal storefront, too). Your website needs to attract customers and keep them coming back for more.

So pull up your website and ask yourself a few questions:

Where do your eyes go first?
You only have a few seconds to capture the attention of your audience...make sure they're seeing something important.
Can you tell what the website is about?
You only have a few seconds to communicate your unique value, so be clear and compelling
Is important information above the fold?
Make sure your opt-in forms and Unique Selling Proposition are available without scrolling down.
Are the benefits highlighted?
Your visitors want to quickly learn "what's in it for them." Spell out the benefits clearly on the homepage.
Is there a clear call to action?
If they like what they see, prospects need to know what to do next. It can be to buy now, start a free trial, or simply download a free report.
Are the colours and font distracting?
Jarring colours, quick animation, and gaudy fonts can really be distracting. And if your visitors are distracted, they'll click away.
Do you feel personally connected?
Consumers want to buy from people, not machines. Connect with your prospects by being honest, straightforward, and using a conversational style.
Are there links to social media?
Many people want to do a little more research before buying. Linking to social media sites gives your potential customers another glimpse into your company (and perhaps a few testimonials from other customers)

Once you determine a few areas where you can improve, develop a plan to start implementing changes. You don't have to do them all at once - just do a few at a time until you have a website that really converts.

For more information about website design and development, speak to one of the marketing consultants at TA Fastrack today on 07 3040 3588.

Increase repeat visits to your hotel website with hotel internet marketing

2011-08-08T09:31:00.000+10:00

Hotel Internet marketing should result in the four ‘R’s - a high Retention rate, Repeat business, increased Referrals and improved ROI. Below are some marketing strategies to help your hotel can increase repeat visits to your website, increase hotel bookings and rely less on OTAs.

Know your target market

Who is your target market? Any marketing strategies or activities you implement must focus on your core target market and address their needs. For example, if the majority of your client base is corporate, then promote the business features of your hotel (internet access, business centre etc). If you rely mainly on families, then showcase the family-friendly facilities at your hotel, and it’s close proximity to sightseeing attractions.

Use Social Media wisely

Web 2.0 applications, such as blogs, forums and social media networks (facebook, twitter, foursquare) can all help build brand loyalty. Make sure all hotel Internet marketing tools work in cohesion. For example, add social media icons on your website, so guests know you’re on Facebook and Twitter, encourage people to follow you or become a fan of your business pages. Add social media icons at the bottom of your email signature etc.

Member only special offers

Offer member only promotions via social media networks, email marketing campaigns or other your hotel marketing strategies that you employ. For example, offering promotions or a ‘sneak peek’ which are not offered to the general public will help to increase your fan base, subscriptions or registration rate. Guests will then find more value in what you’re offering and sign up for your e-newsletters or ‘like’ your business page as these special offers aren’t available on your website.

Regularly update your content

Updating your website with blog articles, customer reviews, seasonal promotions and special offers or information about local attractions and upcoming events is a great way to get people to return to your website. If potential guests can’t find the information they want about your hotel and local attractions on your website, they will go somewhere else that will provide them all the information they need to make a booking decision.

Quality of the website design

It’s important that your website design reflects the quality of your hotel and showcases your rooms, facilities and other selling points of the hotel, for example, the views, or proximity to the beach or quiet retreat in the mountains. Your website must also be easy to navigate, show up-to-date information, a easy to use online booking engine, and straightforward enquiry forms. If you’re website doesn’t look good, it won’t entice a customer to book with you. So maybe it’s time to think about getting a new website!

Pictures say a thousand words

Put high quality images on your website of your rooms, facilities, the scenery, the surrounding area and the property. Images can make or break a hotel booking and the more visual information a customer has, the more confident and reassured they will be that booking at your hotel is the right decision. Make sure that your pictures are also high quality.

Fast loading times

The hotel industry is a ruthless, cut throat industry and you are competing with travel agencies, wholesalers and travel products companies where a customer can potentially make a hotel booking. Don’t make it any harder for the customer with a slow loading website because it’s an easy option to book at another website if they can’t find the information they need quickly.

While a large part of your hotel Internet marketing activities should be focused on attracting new customers to your website and building your customer base, there should be a continued focus on getting existing customers to re-book at your hotel and increase brand loyalty.

Speak to one of our marketing consultants at TA Fastrack on 07 3040 3588 to find out how we can help you with your hotel Internet marketing, social media marketing and client retention campaigns.

Keep your customers with email

2011-08-05T09:41:00.001+10:00

Email marketing enables you to proactively communicate with your existing customers instead of passively waiting for them to visit your website, store or call you.

With email marketing, you can solidify existing relationships, start new ones (when they forward your emails to their friends and family), and convert your one-time visitors and buyers into repeat business and long-term customers or contributors.

According to research:

A five percent increase in retention yields profit increases of 25 to 100 percent.
Repeat customers spend, on average, 67 percent more than new customers.

It's All About Communication
Communication is a vital part of any relationship. Your business needs to keep in touch with customers on a regular basis to ensure you remain "top of mind." Research has shown that it takes about six to seven contacts before you can turn a prospect into a buying customer. All that contact can be expensive and time consuming and that’s where email marketing becomes a critical part of any business’s marketing efforts.

Why Is Email Marketing the Answer?
Email marketing is easy, affordable, direct, actionable, and highly effective. When you add email marketing to your marketing mix, you spend less time, money, and resources communicating with your customers than with traditional marketing vehicles (e.g. direct mail or print advertising). And, with email marketing, you can communicate more quickly and regularly.

Communicate More Information More Often
Email marketing is an affordable way to stretch a tight marketing budget. With a response rate five times greater than direct mail and 25 times the response rate of banner ads, email marketing is an effective way to increase sales, drive traffic, and develop loyalty.

Unlike direct mail, there is virtually no production, materials, or postage expense. Best of all, you can use email marketing to send newsletters, preferred customer promotions, sale notifications, new service announcements, event invitations, holiday greetings, and so more.

Use Email Marketing To Educate Your Customers
Your customers are more likely to buy when they can make an informed decision. Why force them to look elsewhere for the important information they need? Your email communications can gently lead a customer through the sales process, provide all the important information they require, and drive them to your website for more details or a purchase.

Foster Long-lasting Relationships
Email is an easy and inexpensive way of establishing early and long lasting relationships with your past customers. When you inform and educate your clients, they begin to perceive you as capable of addressing their needs. Even better, they start to look to you as an expert. This develops trust, opens the door to two-way communication, and allows them to share their pain points with you.

Use the information you gain from your customers and you will be able to better serve their ongoing needs. In the process, you may discover hidden sales opportunities that you may not be addressing or even considered.

Measure and Improve Your Results
With email marketing, you can easily measure the number of emails sent and opened, bounce backs, and unsubscribes, as well as your click-through rates.

You can also see who opened your email, which links they were most interested in and who clicked on what link. All of this useful information can help you send highly targeted campaigns to the people most likely to respond to your offer, thus improving your results going forward.

If you would like more information about email marketing and how it can help your business, speak to one of the marketing consultants at TA Fastrack today on 07 3040 3588. TA Fastrack can assist you with setting up an email template and email marketing campaign.

Click rates highest in the morning: Report

2011-07-25T09:04:00.001+10:00

According to a report by MailerMailer, most people tend to open emails between seven and ten in the morning.

Below are other findings from the July 2011 Email Marketing Metrics Report.

Subject Lines: Emails with shorter subject lines tend to outperform those with longer lines: Subject lines with 4-15 characters generated a 14.1% open rate, whereas those containing 51 or more characters had the least amount of opened emails (9.9%). The highest click rates were generated by emails with subject lines between 16 and 27 characters long (4%).
Bounces by mailing frequency: Marketers who send emails more frequently garner fewer bounces. Emails that were sent to subscribers less than once a month (5.1%) generated the highest bounce rate. Emails that were sent more frequently, like once a day or more, registered the smallest bounce rate (0.4%).
Personalisation: Personalised emails (ie personalisation in the actual message) registered an average open rate of 12.6%, compared with those containing only a personalised subject line (4.1%). Click-rate trends closely mirror open-rate trends: Messages that contained a personalised subject line only generated a 0.8% click rate, whereas personalisation in the message portion of the email generated a 3% click rate.
The survey also found that emails are typically opened during the morning hours of 7am and 10am. During that period, email open rates maintain a steady climb until noon, at which point, open rates begin to slowly decline.

The survey found that the average overall unique click rate at the end of 2010 was 2.9%, up from 1.6% one year earlier. Similar to open rates, click rates registered a decline from the first half to the second half of 2010.

The positive click-rate trend indicates that businesses are maintaining their database and ensuring links work properly. It also indicates that they are becoming savvier overall with how they create, design, and distribute their email campaigns. In addition, an increase in the click-rate trend may indicate that messages are becoming more relevant and contain clearer calls-to-action messaging.

If you would like more information about email marketing and how it can help your business, speak to one of the marketing consultants at TA Fastrack today on 07 3040 3588. TA Fastrack can assist you with setting up an email template and email marketing campaign.

An introduction to video

2011-07-19T10:14:00.000+10:00

Why use video

Video is currently the fastest growing website feature for small businesses and statistics show that videos are a powerful way to communicate key selling points and are far more effective than text or photos alone. Studies show that 80% of online users recall seeing video, 52% take action and 16% make a purchase after viewing a video.

Adding video to your website can be a great way to help you improve customer relationships, increase profits and brand awareness.

How Can Video Help My Business?

Using online video to market your business can help you:

Raise awareness of your business, products and services
Generate word of mouth
Improve search rankings
Increase referrals - viewers will forward your video link to their friends and family
Personalises your brand

There are many different online video sharing sites available. We look at the most popular ones being used.

YouTube

YouTube is currently the 2nd largest search engine in the world after Google. If you decide to post company videos, this is the place to do it.

Pros: You can reach a much bigger audience by posting your videos to YouTube compared to other sites, including iPhone and iPad users. Plus, you’ll benefit from YouTube search.

Cons: Videos are limited to 15 minutes in length.

Facebook

Facebook is another great site to share your video with your fans. They will be able to view it whenever they wish and forward it to their friends and family to also view.

Pros: You can tag Facebook friends and colleagues in videos. This will send them a notification, encouraging them to watch and share.

Cons: Your videos won’t reach as wide an audience as on YouTube, and it won't be indexed or searchable with Google. This means people can't search or find your video using Google.

Vimeo

Vimeo is great for high-end videos like documentaries, short features, and full-length movies that are longer than 15 minutes.

Pros: You can post videos longer than 15 minutes. Vimeo also accepts High Quality HD video.

Cons: Your videos won’t reach as wide an audience as on YouTube. There is also the option to purchase a premium account with Vimeo if you wish to take advantage of all Vimeo’s great features.

Blip.tv

Blip.tv is perfect if you're creating online TV shows and generating revenue from your content.

Pros: You can create a personalized channel that is easy to embed on your website or blog. Monetizing your content is also simple and encouraged.

Cons: Your videos won't reach as wide an audience as on YouTube. The site is more obscure and can be complicated for beginners, compared to YouTube or Facebook.

So what are you waiting for? Get started with an online video now for your business. If you would like more information about getting a professional video for your business, speak to one of the marketing consultants at TA Fastrack today.

How to Get your Hotel’s Facebook Account to Stand Out

2011-07-13T10:00:00.001+10:00

Avoid using Facebook simply to post your promotions and packages that you already have on your website. Below are five tips on how you can stand out from the rest.

1. Your posts are boring.
Get your fans involved and ensure they feel a part of your community. Encourage your fans to post comments, pictures and videos of their holiday or stay at your hotel. Actively engage with your customers with organized, quality content and brand new, up-to-date information about what's happenin at your hotel, the area, upcoming events etc.

2. You don’t have a social media roadmap.
If you don’t have a map, chances are you won’t make it to your destination, especially if it’s in an unfamiliar area. Outline your objectives and goals so you can coordinate your marketing efforts and cross-utilize the various social media applications that will work best for each of your targeted market segments. It is essential to know what you plan to do, how you plan to do it and, most importantly, why you are doing it in the first place.

3. Your promotions are just like everyone else’s.
According to the 2010 Social Media Marketing Industry Report, more than 75% of marketers plan on increasing their use of Facebook in 2011. But with more than 5 million active Facebook business pages, how do you get your promotions and your page to stand out from all of the others? Avoid using Facebook simply to post your packages and promotions that you already promote on your website. Give your facebook followers special perks and discounts that they can’t get anywhere else. Eg, a free upgrade for the first 10 people that redeem the coupon using a special facebook promotion code, or a facebook only sale for one day only. Th options are endless!

4. Guests have no reason to keep you in their primary news feed.
Remember Field of Dreams and the whispered message to Kevin Costner, “If you build it, they will come.” They might come once, but will they stick around or make a repeat visit? Take a long, hard look at your business facebook page. Are the posts lively, compelling and unique? There’s nothing worse than a dull Facebook page. Take photos of staff and put them on Facebook - personalise your page and let followers know more about the people behind your business. Take photos of guests during check-in or check-out or at an event you held and tag them.

Make the most of your facebook page’s tab settings by distributing special offers and coupons or holding contests and sweepstakes (be sure to follow Facebook’s full terms and conditions). The idea of winning something is a great incentive to keep fans coming back for more, not to mention it helps to attract new fans. Reward your loyal supporters and don’t forget to remind your users to like and share.

5. Commitment!
Your Facebook page is a daily commitment, so if you're not ready, don’t go there. If you strive for one post a day, you’re on track to creating a successful page. Watch the activity on your page and post when your followers are most active, usually between mid-morning and mid-afternoon. And don't be afraid to mix it up by posting observations, tips, travel-related topics, breaking news and, without fail, open-ended questions to get followers to join in the conversation.

If you want to be liked, you have to be likeable. Test various approaches to determine what works best with your fan base. Show your personality, be warm and inviting and have fun with your page!

For more information on how to get your property’s Facebook page to stand out from others and drive more bookings to your website, please contact one of the marketing consultants on +61 7 3040 3588. TA Fastrack can also assist with a personalised welcome page design for your facebook page. Call us now to find out more.

10 Types Of Tweets That Work Best For Hotels

2011-07-11T12:38:00.000+10:00

If you’re running out of things to tweet about, then we have some ideas for you...

1) Respond to questions, comments and mentions.
For many hotels, Twitter still remains a service and conversational medium. The majority of content should be @replies to people talking about your hotels, your brand, or your area. Responses to yoru followers build relationships and show that it’s not all about pushing commercial messages.

2) Retweeting positive feedback.
Retweeting positive messages from customers will act as salespeople for your brand. You don’t need to share every comment, but the occasional recommendation as a retweet will show you that acknowledge advocates and appreciate their comments.

3) Retweeting other resources.
This helps you curate what is cool while giving credit to the source. You could always tweet links directly, but retweeting other content will help build important relationships by raising their own Twitter profile. Plus, retweets introduce your followers to new sources of information.

4) Sharing recommendations.
This strategy helps build a brand personality. Lifestyle information can be very popular on Twitter, so define the image you are building and then share information and recommendations around this.

5) Spotlighting media mentions.
If your hotel get mentioned in the media, pass that information along to your Twitter followers. Highlighting stories on Twitter can amplify the coverage by providing an opportunity for additional exposure through retweets and viral word of mouth.

6) Ask questions.
Twitter can act as a 24/7 virtual focus group, and can be a powerful way to do market research. Next time you have a question - or would like to get a second opinion – ask your followers what they think. Eg a menu change, what they think of the new paint colour for your renovations etc

7) Running contests.
Some of the best contests leverage the power of questions to increase participation. Eg ask your followers to submit their favourite thing about the location/area.

8) Offering real-time information.
Twitter is by design a real-time media format, and this can be very helpful when up-to-the-minute information is required. We see this often in breaking news situations: Twitter becomes the best source for knowing what is happening right now.

In the context of hotels and hospitality, it is possible to use this real-time medium eg if there is a storm or bad weather. By following and acting quickly on a news event, you can help stranded travellers. It can also work well for events, sharing timely tips for attendees.

9) Sharing personal thoughts.
Depending on the voice and style you want to communicate in your Twitter account, it may be appropriate to include personal thoughts in your hotels’ Twitter stream. Typically this approach works best for small hotels where the owner also acts as the public spokesperson. Eg instead of just promoting your hotel services and promotions, you can include links and resources on topics you’re interested in, such as food, travel, design etc. It brings a personality to your brand.

10) Staff recruitment.
Twitter can be a valuable way to recruit talented team members. You can use Twitter to offer career advice, CV tips, and guidance to potential applicants.

For more information about social media marketing, speak to one of the marketing consultants at TA Fastrack today on 07 3040 3588.

Does Your Property Need a Website Design Makeover?

2011-06-30T16:31:00.002+10:00

People always say, “don’t judge a book by its cover.” Well, it sounds nice, but people usually don’t take the advice, and often do judge a book by its cover. Whether it’s right or wrong is another topic, but it happens for all sorts of things, including hotel websites.

Based on an instant feeling from the look and feel of your property’s website, a travel shopper can move on faster than the speed of light. This is the worst case scenario for any property. After all, the shopper’s interest is not the only thing lost. You can kiss increased online bookings, revenue, branding and potential guest loyalty goodbye.

Let’s review five signs that your site needs a makeover. If none of these apply to your property, you’re in good shape. If any of them do apply, it’s time to make some tweaks.

Five signs that scream YES!

1) Dated Imagery
How current are the photos on your website - have they been updated in the last year or two? Have your property’s rooms recently been remodelled?

Photos, especially if they’re rotating in flash or the largest feature on the page, are what visitors notice first, meaning photos should constantly be up to date and professional. If a visitor sees photos of a dim, empty lobby and a room with old TVs and fixtures, it may immediately cause them to start their search over. And hiring a professional photographer is usually worth it in the long run. The difference between professional photos and random photos taken by the hotel staff can be significant.

2) Non-compelling Imagery
Does you property look empty, with no cars in the parking lot, or zero guests walking the grounds? Does your property have vibrant photos of local attractions – whether it’s the outdoors, shopping areas, theme parks, etc.?

Your property’s website should have exciting, professional photos at all times, especially on the homepage, since it’s seen by nearly 100% of your website visitors. Don’t have two rotating photos of an empty lobby and a bed. Have four rotating photos of guest/staff interaction in the lobby, a wide angle of one your best rooms, an active pool that show guests relaxing, and most importantly, a photo of nearby local attractions, such as people enjoying a theme park, businessmen interacting at a convention centre or hikers enjoying the outdoors.

3) Non-engaging Content
Does your site’s content instantly spark interest in the travel shopper?
With the short attention span of consumers and the assault of ads and content they’re exposed to, they hardly ever read an entire page worth, but they do at least skim it… after they’ve been engaged with the imagery of course.

Besides the fact that your content has to be written with keywords and key phrases to help with search engine rankings, it’s crucial that it sells what the travel shopper wants. If you’re a luxury resort, you should sell the luxuries and amenities of your property – things like a spa and room service. You should also, even on the homepage, have relevant content about local attractions or demand generators. Often times, guests search for a property with close proximity to a place or event, not just for the property itself. If you’re located within a mile from the zoo or a botanical garden, emphasize that in your content. Capitalize on your proximity to the attractions, and try to form an emotional connection with the shoppers immediately.

4) Poor Navigation
Is your site map organized in a manner that’s easy for visitors to navigate?
Once a visitor sticks on your website, easy navigation is a must. First and foremost, no matter where a visitor navigates to, there should always be a clear link directly back to the homepage. Think about the goals of your website, and make sure the most important links are prominent and easy to reach from anywhere.

Second, the booking engine should be a distinct call to action on the homepage, always above the page break. Visitors should be able to quickly select a date range and click search. Third, don’t have too many sub pages on different levels. If a visitor clicks on “Event Space” from the homepage, gets to a second page, clicks on “Ballroom,” gets to a third page and clicks on “Weddings,” before clicking to yet another “Bride and Groom” page, then it’s too deep in the navigation. A visitor should never have to go through more than two or three clicks from the homepage to navigate anywhere on your site.

5) Alarming Website Statistics
Are travel shoppers staying on your site longer and viewing more pages than they did last year? Is your site ranking higher in the search engines for crucial keywords and phrases? Is your overall site traffic growing?

All of these questions and more need to be answered regularly at your property. Review how shoppers find your site, which pages they are visiting and how much time they’re spending there. Look at your Web analytics, and learn what every statistic means to your bottom line. These are key indicators about how well you’re engaging shoppers, and how you can improve your site to increase online bookings. An overall “health review” of your site should be done quarterly.

So, your site does or doesn’t need a makeover…
Now that you’ve thought more about your property’s website and considered the aforementioned five potential issues, how do you feel about your site? Does it need a design and/or layout makeover. Do you feel your visitors are engaged with photos and content and compelled to book? Your website is your 24/7 sales tool, so it must be up to par to consistently fill the rooms.

If your property clearly does not have any of these five issues, chance are, the design and layout is in excellent shape. But if any of these signs ring true, whether it’s one or all five, it’s probably time for a site revision, including updated images and content and a professionally diagrammed layout.

This is where hiring an hotel Internet marketing company would be beneficial. A content management system that allows you to make updates to the site without much design or technical knowledge is also a cost-effective, beneficial option. Because after all, improving your site will only help increase the time visitors spend on it, which will in turn, boost your direct online reservations.

For more information about website design and development, speak to one of the marketing consultants at TA Fastrack today on 07 3040 3588.

Our Top Tips to Start Using Social Media

2011-06-20T12:22:00.001+10:00

Treat it like a party!
Your team should have fun while conversing with your target audience. Keep it light and fun – no need for corporate speak! Bring your personality across when you ‘speak’ with your followers!

Address issues in a timely and honest fashion.
Try to respond to your customers within 24 hours where possible. Be transparent and let them know that you appreciate their feedback and what you’re doing to solve the problem. Integrity matters!

Involve multiple departments
Get your HR, customer service, PR, IT, Marketing department involved! If you don’t deal with them while you’re setting up the program, you will have to deal with them later!

It’s OK to fail.
Don’t be afraid to try something new. If it doesn’t work, stop doing it! Don’t be afraid to push the limit. There’s no shame in trying and failing. It’s not trying and not failing that will get you in trouble.

Dedicate someone to oversee the efforts.
It’s good to have multiple people involved, but not having a point person will result in chaos. Putting someone in charge is never a bad thing.

Create relevant and valuable content.
Give your followers content that they are interested in.

Get to know the people who can help you.
Reach out to bloggers. Understand what blog seeding is, and give bloggers something to work with. Having friends in all the right places is never a bad thing! This means you need to be totally committed to the platform and engaged in the process. It’s no different than the chief maintenance guy at your hotel knowing the best plumbers in town.

Learn how search engines work.
It never fails to know how it all works...

Have a message and a reason for it.
Simply having a social media presence for the sake of having one isn’t worth the effort. Everyone on your team should know your message. This sounds so simple, but it is probably the most abused tip of all. Too many social media platforms exist for the sole purpose of the owner being able to say they have one.

It’s not a popularity contest.
The number of followers you have isn’t as important as the quality of the people interacting with you. Quality, not quantity counts here.

For more information about social media marketing, speak to one of the marketing consultants at TA Fastrack today on 07 3040 3588.

3 Ways To Tap Into The Power Of Social Media

2011-06-07T11:58:00.001+10:00

Over 75% of Internet consumers use social media in some form or other, so if you're not using it you may be missing out on a big opportunity. Getting involved doesn't have to be complicated.

Here are three things you can do to get in the game.

Start a blog
Blogs are easy to create and maintain. You can use blogspot or wordpress to set up a blog and you won't even need to consult a web developer for help! Best of all, it’s free to set up a blog account with these sites.

The key is to create high quality content that is relevant to your target audience. Keep it consistent and keep it real. Other than that, just have fun with it! Some suggestions for blog posts include:

Industry-specific tips and insights
Special offers or give-aways
Analysis of recent news items
Product tutorials
Humorous anecdotes
Interviews with employees, customers or partners

Start a Facebook page
Facebook is one of the most popular sites in the world (along with Google). To get started, simply create a Facebook page where you can post updates, link to your blog articles, and receive feedback from your customers. As you post relevant content and interact with customers on your Facebook page, your fan base and your revenue will grow.

Post videos on YouTube
If a picture is worth a 1,000 words, a video must be worth 1,000 pictures (and 1,000,000 words)! Plus videos get priority in search engine results and allow you to show a little personality. Start with a video on your company, resort, staff members and build your video library from there.

If you implement these social media elements in your marketing, you'll be pleasantly surprised by the raving fans waiting for you.

If you would like more information about facebook marketing or how you can maximise social media for your business, speak to one of the marketing consultants at TA Fastrack today on 07 3040 3588.

The Truth About Networking

2011-06-03T12:41:00.002+10:00

If you're like most sellers, you detest making cold calls. Just the thought of picking up the phone and calling a stranger sends shivers down your spine. And the brutal fact that nobody ever answers the phone or returns your call, makes it even worse.

That's why so many people are out networking these days. They're looking for connections and ways to establish relationships with prospective buyers first. And referrals - oooh, how we dream of getting someone to put in a good word for us with our ideal client - especially if they work for a big company!

Several years ago, I hit the networking circuit after refocusing my business direction. It was time to expand my client base. Like everyone else, I believed the standard wisdom about the value of networking.

Since I'm not a shy, tongue-tied person, I figured it would be a snap. All I needed to do was:

Focus on the other person; ask lots of questions and make them feel important.
Share ideas and resources to help them achieve their objectives.
And keep in touch so I wouldn't be quickly forgotten.

I did it all. Every single bit of it. I went to a variety of organizations and associations. I became involved in several that were really tied to my business. I got on committees and helped out during the meetings. I had a booth at a networking trade show. I even spoke to a number of the groups.

But I never saw the results I was hoping for. In fact, I barely saw any positive results for all the time I invested in networking.

As someone who thinks a lot about sales-related topics and experiments with all sorts of approaches to see what they yield, I was stymied.

Finally it hit me! If you wanted to do business with large corporations, everything that I assumed to be true about networking was a fallacy.

Here are the 4 biggest myths I uncovered:

Myth 1: Local business organizations and professional associations are great places to meet prospective contacts from big companies.

Reality: People in big companies today rarely attend these functions. Due to all the changes, turmoil and downsizing in their own organization, they have all they can do to stay on top of things.

They're literally too swamped to take time out of their busy days to attend this kind of meeting. They don't want to go to these functions and be hit up by all these vendors who are looking for an "in" to their company. They don't need the education because their own firm provides for that.

Besides, networking for big company decision-makers means meeting with their counterparts in other divisions or attending industry specific events such as trade shows.

If you take a serious look at the groups you're participating in, most all the people who attend are from small to medium sized businesses. That's great, if that's who you sell to.

But if you're trying to work with General Mills, General Electric or General Dynamics - you'll seldom, if ever, see their decision makers at these events.

Myth 2: It takes time to see the results of networking, therefore it's imperative to keep at it.

Reality: Yes, it does take time to see the results. But, if the big company decision makers aren't there - and won't be coming, then you're wasting your time. And the longer you keep at it, the more time you're wasting.

Hope is not a powerful strategy. In fact, it's downright delusional. How many times do you have to beat your head against the wall before you know it's time to stop?

Myth 3: It's important to build relationships with people before trying to talk about your products or services.

Reality: People from big companies don't have time to build relationships first. Much as you may want to, they're too busy. They don't have time to chitchat about golf or family vacations. Get down to business quickly. Focus on your value proposition or ideas that can help them grow their business or save money.

A positive relationship develops over time; it doesn't happen first. Show your value, demonstrate your worth, make a difference. Then these decision makers will really want to have you as a friend.

Myth 4: People you meet at networking meetings are highly likely to refer you to prospective buyers in large corporations.

Reality: Many people you meet at networking meetings are really, really nice. In fact, if you meet them later for coffee or breakfast, you'll have a wonderful conversation. You'll learn even more about what they do and have a chance to share your story in more depth.

And you'll find out that they're hungry for business. Just like you, they're hoping to find that elusive person who will magically fling open the doors of a corporate giant for them. They're hoping for the connection to "just the right person" and a great referral besides.

Believe me, if one of them is ever lucky enough to meet your ideal decision maker, the likelihood that he or she will put in a good word for you is slim to none. They're too busy worrying about how to get their own business.

Besides since they're just getting to know the decision maker, their referral would hold little credence.

Beef Up Your Opt-In Email List With an Offer Your Visitors CAN'T Refuse!

2011-05-31T12:52:00.004+10:00

If there is one piece of advice I would give to every business operating on the Web today, it would be this:

You MUST collect the opt-in information of visitors to your web site!

Why? Because if you're not constantly building your opt-in email list, you're letting MOST of your sales opportunities slip right through your fingers! I can't say it often enough!

Studies have shown that it takes an average of FOUR TO SEVEN points of contact to make a sale — and you won't make it to the second point of contact if you don't have a way to reach your visitors after they've left your site.

Think about how many websites you visit in an hour of surfing the Internet — do you remember the salescopy and products from each of those sites? Could you find a particular site again if you wanted to re-check their information? Even if you Googled it, there's no guarantee that exact URL would show up in your keyword results.

In most cases, visitors come to your site, they look around, then they leave, and they're gone forever.
But simply by collecting their first name, last name, and email address, you can stay firmly on their radar and expose them to your products time and time again — all at nearly no cost to you! These people are your opt-ins, and an opt-in email list is the very foundation of any online business.

That's why it's amazing to me that many people don't take advantage of opt-in email marketing.
Especially when statistics from PostFuture back up exactly what I'm saying:

82% of online buyers have made at least one purchase in response to an email promotion
67% of users open at least 60% of opt-in emails they receive
32% have made an immediate online purchase in response to an email!
59% have gone on to redeem an email coupon in an online OR offline store

People pay close attention to their email, and more and more people are buying online every year!

But consumers know that their personal information is gold, and they won't give it to you unless you give them something they want in return. If you provide your visitors with a targeted, valuable opt-in offer, your opt-in email list will grow — and so will your revenues.

So now that you know WHY you should be collecting your visitors' information, let's take a look at...

WHO you should be considering when you build your opt-in strategy
WHAT to offer your visitors to get them excited about opting in
HOW to promote your offer
WHERE to put it on your web site

Once you've got the answers to these questions, you're ready to put together the best possible opt-in offer for your target market.

WHO? Know your target market — and build an offer they can't refuse!

The first step in creating a solid opt-in strategy is to consider the people you want to opt in to your list. Just as the best businesses are created in response to the needs of a specific niche market, so are the best opt-in offers!

That's why the first, most important question is always WHO. Unless you can specifically say who you're aiming your strategy at, you're going to have a hard time running any kind of an opt-in campaign... AND your business, for that matter.

You can find out a lot about your site visitors' preferences and habits by looking at the server logs that your web host supplies. What's the most popular page on your web site? What pages do visitors stay on for the longest time? Build your opt-in offer around what's on those pages.

Where do people most often click away from your site? Obviously whatever's there isn't something your market considers valuable, so a related opt-in offer wouldn't work.

When do most people visit your site? If they're visiting during work hours, your offer will be much different from one aimed at people visiting in the evenings.

Also consider the questions or comments you get from customers after a sale. What do they want to know? What do they like or dislike?

The more hard information you have on your target audience, the easier it will be to come up with an opt-in offer that answers their specific needs.

Now's the time to think about WHAT your target market really wants...

WHAT? Discover the opt-in incentive that will provide maximum value for your opt-in email list — and get your subscribers in the mood to buy!

There are tons of different incentives you can use to encourage people to give you their personal information — but not every offer will suit every web site or business.

Because people already get so much email these days, you need to provide them with a really compelling incentive to opt in to your list.

Most people think of newsletters right off the bat when they are first developing an opt-in incentive for their web site. Starting your own online newsletter is one of the most effective methods of building your opt-in list. It's an incredibly powerful way to position yourself as an industry expert with your customers and subscribers, and it reminds them regularly of your presence.

For some businesses, however, offering a free newsletter isn't the best way to collect email addresses. Let's suppose, for example, that your site sells washers and dryers. You're going to be hard pressed to come up with interesting, relevant information about laundry for your free newsletter every month!
According to an Ipsos-Reid poll, 71% of all Internet users have unsubscribed from at least one email list because the information delivered wasn't sufficiently interesting or relevant.

Before you start a newsletter, think about how much interesting and relevant information you can deliver to your specific audience and how much time you have available to put it together so it can be delivered on a regular schedule.

If a newsletter isn't a good fit for your business, don't worry — there are other ways to collect email addresses, and they require less time and effort.

1. Offer a free brochure

A free brochure can be a great incentive, depending on the kinds of products or services you offer.
If you offer a free brochure, you'll have to take the time to actually write it. But a brochure doesn't need to be hundreds of pages long to be useful. An information-packed brochure can be as short as 8 to 10 pages, and still provide a ton of value for your opt-in subscribers.

Not only does a free brochure help build your list, it also helps familiarize your visitors with you and your products or services.

You can also make your brochure viral — and no, that doesn't mean you're making anyone sick! "Viral marketing" is a strategy in which you encourage your customers to pass on a marketing campaign or message to others. Like a virus, your message has the potential to spread throughout online communities.

With viral brochures, word about your business spreads quickly. For example, let's say that you persuade 10 people to pass your brochure on to their friends. And if they share it with even a few of their friends? That's a number that multiplies pretty quickly — and can convert into tons of highly targeted potential customers!

You can even create a new opt-in offer for people who've received the brochure from friends. Put a link in the eBook to a special landing page that features the offer and collect a "second generation" of opt-ins.

2. Offer downloadable articles

If your site contains a lot of useful, original, content-rich articles, one of the best ways to collect email addresses is to require that visitors to your site opt in toyour list if they want to download those articles.

As long as you offer useful information, and as long as the downloadable articles contain something that people can't get for free in the version you have posted on your site, you can expect to get a TON of sign-ups using this strategy.

Now, maybe you're not comfortable writing, or your business isn't suited to offering a written opt-in incentive. But don't worry! There are a number of opt-in offers that don't require much writing at all — just a bit of creativity!

3. Offer a contest, puzzle, or game
Running a contest on your web site works on the same principle as dropping your business card in a jar at the local cafe in hopes of winning a free lunch for your office.

The cafe collects information about its customers, and the customers get the chance to win a valuable prize. Both parties benefit, and it doesn't really cost the cafe anything more than a few burgers for the winner.

Depending on the kind of business you run, there are a ton of different options for this type of opt-in incentive. Some examples include:

A contest to win an item (or a coupon for a percentage off an item) related to your product.
A contest to win one of your products. But remember — don't offer to give away the primary product you sell. People will enter the contest hoping to win — and leave your site without considering an actual purchase!

A weekly puzzle or quiz. The type of puzzle is up to you: a crossword with words that relate to your business, or a "multiple choice"-type quiz, an animated jigsaw puzzle, or a game of "Hangman"! You can set it up as a contest and draw a name from the winning entries to award a prize — or require that people give you their opt-in information to get the answer.

4. Offer members-only specials
One of the easiest ways to encourage visitors to opt in with their personal information is to offer them a chance to save money! It can be as simple as the following text:

"Do you want to receive our special MEMBERS-ONLY offers? Every month we bring exclusive deals to our subscribers that you can't get anywhere else! To start saving now, just sign up below!"

This is a great way to drive opt-ins AND sales, and to make your potential customers feel appreciated before they even buy your products!

There are many different opt-in incentives available — you just need to apply a little creativity to choose the one that's right for you and your target market!

But even the BEST opt-in offer can be ignored if you don't know how to present it to your visitors.
Let's check out HOW to get your potential customers interested in your offer...

HOW? Build a compelling opt-in offer that no visitor to your site will ignore!

Opt-in offers aren't tough to write, but they do require a little bit of thought and time on your part. We've worked with some of the best (and highest-priced!) copywriters in the business, and here are the three hard-and-fast rules they follow when writing an opt-in offer:

Rule #1: Emphasize benefits, NOT features

To persuade visitors to sign up for your offer, you NEED to answer their biggest question: "What's in it for me?" The best way to do this is by always emphasizing the benefits of your product or service, as opposed to the features.

Here's an example: Suppose you are offering an eBook on your tax advice site. If you were to write...
"Download our FREE eBook, written by a real CPA."

...you'd be advertising a feature. You are telling your visitors a fact about your eBook.

Here's how it reads if we emphasize benefits instead of features:

Don't pay a penny extra on your taxes! Discover 10 simple things that you can do to save hundreds — even thousands! — of dollars on your return this year! Just enter your name and email address below to get your FREE eBook!

That's a pretty dramatic difference, isn't it? You've hooked your visitors by letting them know how THEY will benefit by signing up for your offer — by avoiding costly taxes in the future.

Rule #2: Include a call to action

If you want people to take action on your site (such as sign up for your eBook), you need to have a call to action that tells them exactly what you want them to do.

For example, if you want your visitors to opt in to your list (and of course, you do!) you should include a link that says something like, "Subscribe here to receive dozens of FREE PowerPoint templates every month!"

You might think it's obvious that you want people to opt in to your list — especially if you've written a great sales pitch that explains how your opt-in offer solves their problem.

But no matter how convincing your copy is, if you don't provide your potential customers with a very specific call to action, you're just leaving them hanging.

Rule #3: Include a link to your privacy policy
A lot of people still feel a bit reluctant to hand over their personal information to someone they've never met before. The best way to ease their fears is to include a link to your privacy policy whenever you ask for personal information. In fact, you should have a link to your privacy policy on every page of your site!

This lets people know that you are committed to protecting their privacy, and makes them feel safe leaving their email address with you.

Your privacy policy should state explicitly what information you collect from your visitors and how you intend to use it. You don't even have to create your own privacy policy from scratch! There's an easy-to-use "privacy policy" generator at:
www.the-dma.org/privacy/creating.shtml

Now that you've learned about HOW to craft a winning opt-in offer, let me show you WHERE on your site it should go to get you the maximum amount of opt-ins!

WHERE? Place your opt-in offer in the RIGHT spot and send your opt-in rates through the ROOF!

Believe it or not, there are still a lot of sites that hide their opt-in offer, making it almost impossible for their visitors to find it. In fact, a 2005 MarketingSherpa study showed that only 52% of e-commerce sites have a prominent call to register on their main home page!

If your homepage contains a long salesletter, you'll want to put the opt-in form somewhere around the second "page" of text. By this point, you'll have grabbed your visitors' attention and shown them that your site offers some valuable information. They'll be more inclined to give you their email address once you've established your credibility.

If your homepage DOESN'T have a long salesletter, you'll want to place your opt-in form prominently within the "first fold." (This is the portion of your web site that is visible to a visitor without scrolling.) That's where you'll see our opt-in offer on this page.

Place the opt-in box in the same place on every single page of your site. The more chances you give your visitors to opt in, the higher your conversion rate is going to be. Of course, you don't want to overdo it... one opt-in offer per page is plenty!

You can create an opt-in offer that is specifically targeted to a particular page on your site. For example, if your web site is a catalog site selling home aquarium products, and you have a special page dedicated to different kinds of fish food, you can include an opt-in offer on that page for a free report on "The Top 5 Mistakes People Make When They Feed Their Fish."

And on your page dedicated to exotic breeds of fish, you could offer a free eBook on "Tips and Tricks for Caring For Exotic Fish". That way, you could establish yourself as a fish expert with your potential customers at the same time as you capture their information for your marketing purposes.

Final thoughts

An opt-in email list that you build with great opt-in offers will generate profits for you starting immediately — and continuing well into the future! If you follow these suggestions, there's no reason you shouldn't be able to get at least 10% of your site visitors converted to subscribers!

If you are getting less than 5% of your traffic opting in to your offer, you know you need to tweak your strategy.

I'll say it again: Building a successful opt-in email list is one of the most important things you can do for your online business. That's why we've spent years learning and testing how to create the kinds of opt-in offers that will have a DRAMATIC impact on your conversion rates — and your bottom line.

For more information about email marketing, speak to TA Fastrack today.

How to respond to negative reviews on TripAdvisor

2011-05-24T09:14:00.001+10:00

Research has found that over 84% of internet users say that online reviews influence their purchasing decisions. Furthermore, research has shown that Internet users trust recommendations from people they know and opinions posted by unknown consumers online more than advertisements on TV, radio,magazines, newspapers or any other traditional media. With the increasing popularity of user-generated reviews on sites like TripAdvisor, many hotels, resorts and motels may be lamenting the loss of control over what is being said about them online, but the fact is that you are still in full control of how you react to these reviews.

Below are just some of our suggestions on how you can respond and use negative reviews to to your advantage.

Speak up
We would never ignore a guest shouting and getting aggressive in your hotel lobby, so why would you not respond back to negative reviews on TripAdvisor? (According to TripAdvisor, only 7% of negative reviews on their site are responded to). This is your chance to show everyone you care and you're listening. Thank the guest for their feedback, apologize and explain what happened and clear up any misconceptions. On TripAdvisor, reviewers can’t reply to hotel responses, so effectively you get the last word.

Engage
Hotels used to hire mystery shoppers to tell them what they were doing wrong, but now your guests are doing this for you. User reviews keep hoteliers in touch with guests. Wherever possible, engage writers of negative reviews and try to make amends. With expert handling, your harshest critics could become your most powerful advocates.

Show leadership
Accept the fact that sometimes, you will be the victim of unfair criticism, and other times you simply screwed up. Don’t let it bring you down. Treat every review as a learning experience to better your hotel and customer service. If need be, discuss the negative feedback with your staff and how it could have been prevented, support them and move on.

Take the high road
If the review is petty or vindictive, there’s no need to stoop to that level. Travelers are smart enough to read between the lines. If allegations are false and defamatory, dispute the review with the review site and post a diplomatic response to set the record straight. For example, in most cases, if the reviews are false, TripAdvisor will remove the post from the site.

Make reputation management a priority
Whether your property is a five-star hotel or a three star motel, your guests are evaluating you on how well you communicate and deliver on your brand promise. Subscribe to a social media monitoring tool and start tracking your market share of guest satisfaction. There are many free social media monitoring tools around where you can track when people are talking about your hotel. For example, Google Alerts. Formulate a strategy for optimizing your online reputation, set goals, and meet regularly with staff to review your progress.

Create a cycle of positivity
Use guest feedback to invets in more training for your staff, upgrades to your property etc. Little improvements over time will only help to generate positive reviews, which in turn will attract more travellers and generate incremental revenue for your property. You will find that if you ignore the negative feedback hoping it will go away (which it won't), it will only create a cycle of negativity, with the opposite results.

Prevent escalation
If you listen closely, bad reviews are often less about the issue itself than how staff responded when it was brought to their attention. Train your employees to prevent on-property issues from escalating to online complaints by listening, empathizing, offering solutions and following up to ensure guests are satisfied. Some issues take time and money to fix, but in the meantime, ensure your front staff are minimizing fallout by expertly managing complaints.

Take the good with the bad
In addition to occasional false and malicious reviews, we also receive reviews that overstate our virtues. Exaggerated praise can be just as damaging, setting expectations we can’t meet. And yet nobody is threatening to sue these reviewers. In the end it all balances out, and the wisdom of the crowds prevails over the folly of the few.

For more information about social monitoring or how you can use social media for your business, speak to one of the marketing consultants at TA Fastrack today. We also hold Australia-wide workshops and webinars on social media. Stay tuned.

Email is still the main way consumers share

2011-05-19T09:06:00.001+10:00

A survey recently conducted by Nielsen Online, which analysed more than 10,000 social media messages to see how consumers share content online, has found that 93% of internet users turn to email to share content. 89% of those surveyed use social networks and 82% use blogs to share content.

Web users, however, use different platforms to share online content with different groups of people. The April 2011 'Content is the Fuel of Social Web' report found that social networks are the top method for sharing content with friends, with 92% of users doing so, while email is the most popular way to share with family (86%) and colleagues (26%). In sharing online content with the general public, consumers prefer to use message boards or blogs, at 51% and 41% respectively.

At The One Club’s Creative unConference in May 2011, Paul Adams, global brand experience manager at Facebook, said that the average person has four different friend or influence groups. Each has an average of 10 people and they are based around life stages, experiences or hobbies.

“We are highly influenced by people who are up to three degrees away from us,” he said, which presents a tremendous word-of-mouth marketing opportunity via social sharing.

For more information about using social media marketing to reach your consumers and encourage word-of-mouth, speak to one of the marketing consultants at TA Fastrack today. We can also assist with facebook marketing, social media online reputation management and more.

What's So Hard About Customer Service?

2011-05-16T16:02:00.002+10:00

Written by Jim Barnes, Barnes Marketing Associates, Inc.

"You'll never believe what happened to me today." Everyone's got a customer service story. One of the problems with customer service, though, is that everyone has a unique view of what it entails. It's the epitome of a moving target.

One person's excellent service may represent barely adequate service to someone else. What impresses one customer may make absolutely no impression on another. To complicate matters, what a customer believes to be good service in one context may be unacceptable in another situation or at another time. Service is perceptual; it is individualized; and it is situational.

So how can you figure out what customers want from you in terms of service? The kind and level of service that you must deliver depends on who the customer is, what her expectations are, what experience she has had with you and other firms, what your strategy is and what role customer service plays in its delivery—along with a host of other things.

Many managers and executives are uncomfortable with this notion of variable service delivery; they would much prefer to be able to pin down service and to be able to standardize it so that it can be consistently delivered. But I don't believe service should be the same for everyone. In fact, the value of service as a relationship-building tool is its customizability. Simply out, some customers require and deserve better service than others. In some situations, you will want to be able to provide service that will impress customers so as to make an emotional connection. Whenever your employees can say to a customer, "Let me take care of that for you," you are delivering a higher level of service than the customer was expecting.

Yet customer service gets far less attention than it deserves in many companies, simply because managers do not realize or accept its importance in influencing customer satisfaction and loyalty. Many view customer service provision as a cost, rather than an investment. Many spend a great deal of time looking for ways to reduce that cost, without appreciating the impact it has on the customer's feelings toward the firm.

At the same time, managers tend to focus on what I call the functional side of service provision: the speed and accuracy of service delivery, in particular. Do we arrive on time? Do we have things in stock? Do we answer incoming calls within 20 seconds? These are the aspects of service with which managers in many firms are most comfortable, mainly because they are most easily and frequently measured in conventional customer satisfaction surveys. But they are a dangerously limiting view of service and not nearly as all-encompassing as the customer's view of service.

Four levels of service
Another element that gets in the way of impressive service delivery is management's very simplistic view of customer service. I can think of at least four levels of customer service, each of which involves the creation of progressively more emotional value for customers.

To the customer, service involves more than just the functional delivery of service (the first level, which, in a world where companies like FedEx have practically perfected technical service provision, customers take as a given). Customers care how easy you make it for them to communicate with you. This opens the door to a discussion of your phone system, your web site and your customer service center—not to mention whether customers can find someone to serve them in your store. Increasingly, when you keep them on hold for 20 minutes, don't respond to their email inquiries and ask them to deal with unknowledgeable and unhelpful staff, they will walk away.

At the third level, companies need to understand how customer service is linked to the people they employ. My experience suggests that customers are most likely to equate the notion of service with the way they are treated by employees.

Finally, the level of service that customers experience is a powerful influence on how customers feel emotionally toward a company. Poor service can make a customer feel neglected, unimportant, frustrated, angry or even humiliated. Surprisingly good service leads to emotions such as comfort, relief, delight or excitement.

That holistic view again
Yet, many companies have a less-than-holistic view of their value proposition. Customer service must be seen to be an integral part of what we offer the customer. I recently encountered a major company that has separate marketing, sales and customer service departments, each of which prepares its own annual plan and sets its own budgets, without consulting with the others. In that firm, customer service is defined mainly as the operation of the call center. To the customer, service means much more.

It is far too simplistic to ask customers to rate your customer service on the predictable 10-point scale. It's much too complex a concept for customers to reduce it to a single number. You can't interpret it, anyway. So last month they gave us a rating of 8.1 on customer service. What does that mean? Very little. There's no direction on how we can improve. Anyway, the only people who are rating you are current customers. How would those customers who stormed out or hung up in disgust rate your customer service? You will never know. Yet theirs is a much more important number.

Customer service is not optional. It's not trivial. And it's not easily standardized. Don't make the mistake that one Canadian bank made of treating customer service as a promotion. That bank offered customers $5 if they had to wait in line more than five minutes in its branches. Customers were generally not impressed. To them, a wait time of five minutes was not the issue. Of course, wait time is important—but not nearly as important as being served politely and efficiently once you reach the counter.

Customer service is extremely complex, much like value, satisfaction and the increasingly popular customer experience. To apply such concepts effectively, management must appreciate their complexity. To utilize customer service to increase customer loyalty, to reinforce the positioning of the brand and to gain a competitive advantage, companies much have a strategy to guide its development and implementation.

How hotels should respond to negative online reviews

2011-05-10T17:54:00.001+10:00

Social media now provides hotels with the opportunity to respond to negative reviews easily and effectively. Below are some ideas on how you can respond to negative reviews to preserve your good online reputation and let potential and past customers know that you're listening and you care.

DO

Make sure senior management is involved in the process
Be timely - try to respond to the negative review within 24 hours
Thank the reviewer for their feedback to show that you are listening
Apologize that the stay did not go as planned
Be transparent
Point out that this is a rarity when compared with your regular service
Explain how you will be reacting to their feedback or action you will take. Eg you will follow up with the department involved, fix the problem, give them your personal email or phone number to call etc
Highlight any positive aspects that the reviewer left
Offer a direct line of communication (e-mail, phone line, etc.)
Fix the problem if there is one

You can also write a press release about any significant changes made due to the review.

DON’T

Ignore the negative review and think it will go away - if you don't respond, people will think it's true or you don't care
Write a response back when you're angry
Question the reviewer’s legitimacy
Reply with a discount which could only encourage negative reviews
Respond insincerely or automatically
Remove negative reviews (most sites do not allow this anyway)
Forget to respond to positive reviews (only responding to negative ones can make you look defensive)
Write fake reviews (you will be found out!)

For more information about responding to negative reviews, or about social media management, speak to one of the marketing consultants at TA Fastrack today.

Facebook posts worth trying for hotels

2011-05-05T13:36:00.001+10:00

Below are some ideas to help you increase fan engagement:

Link to guest comments from TripAdvisor - Let everyone know what others thought about your hotel. Research has found that online reviews can influence a person's purchasing decisions and online reviews are second only to personal advice from a friend as the driver of purchase decisions. Research has also found that user reviews are more influential than third-party reviews.
Surveys - Ask your fanbase about their opinion on menu items, names for new product, renovations etc
Lucky draws - Just ensure you use a fair system with chances to win for everyone. Be creative with what you offer as prizes and what you ask your fans to do to be able to win these prizes. Before you do any promotions or lucky draws on Facebook, make sure that you are aware of Facebook promotion guidelines and ensure you comply with them.
Keep a social calendar and post little comments or well wishes for holidays. Eg Easter, school holidays, events in your area etc.
Photos - Try to post photos with people on it (check if they are ok with it and avoid tagging unless they agree). If you post photos from staff events, your employees will be delighted and will spread the word. Additionally, the public can see what a great place to work your hotel is and makes it more personalised.
Encourage your fans to post something personal. Eg a picture of their pet, their favourite cocktail recipe or a photo of them on holiday or in your hotel.
Promote other businesses rather than your own. You can feature your suppliers, a partner hotel in another country, a restaurant/spa that you have tied up with, an event in the city or something you found while being online. Anything that seems worth sharing and that creates emotions.
Videos - make sure it's not too long. Record one in your hotel with a simple webcam or your smart phone and upload it to Facebook, your website and on YouTube.
Post job vacancies in your own hotel and make sure you encourage your fans to tell their friends as well. Or ask them for candidate recommendations they can send by e-mail to keep them private.
Post hotel promotions, such as F&B activities, special packages etc. Post it, link to your website, write a note, upload a video or create an event. But make sure that you stick to the 80/20 rule - only promote your hotel directly at a rate of 20 %. Fill the other 80 % with the above.

For more tips on Facebook marketing, speak to one of the marketing consultants at TA Fastrack.

Business Tip: The Law of Positioning

2011-04-28T17:11:00.001+10:00

The customer's perception of you and your company is his reality and determines his buying behavior with you. The way your customer thinks about you, talks about you, and describes you to others determines everything he does or does not do in relation to you and what you sell.

Customer Perception

Every product or service must be perceived positively by the customer before the customer can make any kind of buying decision. The most successful products and services are those that the customer perceives are from the most desirable and trustworthy suppliers of these products or services.

Proper Positioning

With proper positioning, your product or service will be seen by the customers as the product or choice, against which others are compared. Some examples of excellent positioning are Coca-Cola, Kleenex, and Xerox. In each case, these products are the standard. When you refer to a drink, you say, "I feel like a Coke." If you have a runny nose, you ask someone to "get a Kleenex" for you. If you need a copy of a document, you ask someone to "make a Xerox of this." This dominant positioning gives these products an edge in the market, which translates into more and easier sales at higher prices with better profit margins.

Appearance

Every visual element of dress, product, packaging, printing, and promotion creates a perception of some kind. Nothing is neutral. Everything that you do or neglect to do, everything that the customer sees or fails to see, hears or does not hear, contributes to the customer's perception of you and your company. Everything counts.

Position Yourself at the Top

Top salespeople position themselves as the preferred suppliers of their products and services. Everything you do adds to the customer's perception of you as the ideal person to do business with when it comes to buying your particular product or service. The customer will often pay more for a similar product or service for no other reason than that it is you who is selling it and backing it up. Your position in the customer's mind can be so strong that no other competitor can get between you and the customer and replace you. The most successful companies and the more successful salespeople are those who have developed such strong positioning in their marketplaces that they are considered to be the standard against which competitors are compared.

Action Exercise

Determine the words that your customers use to describe you to others. How do they think about you, your products, your services, and your company overall? Do you know? Find out your exact positioning in your marketplace, and then decide what you could do to take maximum advantage of it.

If you would like any advice on your current marketing activities please contact TA Fastrack on 07 3040 3588

15 Marketing Strategy Alternatives Every Tourism Business Should Know

2011-04-15T09:29:00.001+10:00

Do you know the direction that your travel or tourism company is going in? I don't mean downhill or nowhere. I mean do you know the final destination, where it is that you want to get to in one year, five years or ten years. If it's all in your head and not written down then you may end up struggling with the effective marketing of your small tourism and hospitality business.

Consider this. Let's say you have just arrived in a foreign country for vacation. You've rented a car and along with the car come either a road map or a navigation system. Getting from point A to point B will be relatively easy for you because you have the directions, where to turn, when to stop, when to go, and if you get lost you can get back on track with relative ease. Now, what would you do without the map or the GPS? You'd be pretty lost wouldn't you?

That is why you need a marketing strategy. If point B is your destination, that is, your marketing objectives, then your strategy should outline the methods you will use in order to reach those objectives.

However, a marketing strategy can cover many different functional issues so, determining the best marketing strategy for your small tourism and hospitality business could require your consideration of some alternatives. Here are fifteen marketing strategy options you can consider.

1. Local, Regional or National Marketing Strategies
2. Seasonality Strategies
3. Product Strategies
4. Target Market Strategies
5. Competitive Strategies
6. Branding Strategies
7. Pricing Strategies
8. Packaging Strategies
9. Promotion or Event Strategies
10. Public Relations Strategies
11. Social Media Marketing Strategies
12. Advertising Strategies
13. Sales Strategies
14. Merchandising Strategies
15. Web and E-commerce Strategies

Having a combination of these strategies is really what you are aiming for. If you can organize your companies marketing objectives under a selection of these strategies then you have a much better chance of staying focused and ensuring you arrive at your destination on track and on time.

If you would like assistance with business coaching to move your travel or tourism business to the next level, or if you would like more information about our marketing services, including website marketing design, email marketing, social media marketing, public relations and more, speak to one of the marketing consultants at TA Fastrack today on 07 3040 3588.

What Donald Trump Can Teach You About Direct Marketing

2011-04-08T16:44:00.002+10:00

I never thought of Donald Trump as a direct marketer. In fact, from what little I had seen, he seemed largely ignorant of the principles of DM.

For instance, on the first season of "The Apprentice," the two teams had to come up with an ad campaign for a company that made corporate jets. The planes (complete with flight crew) would be available to clients who wanted to fly in private jets but did not have the budget to buy their own.
In particular, Trump praised one team's campaign, which featured slick color photos of various parts of the jet shot at angles that made them look like phallic symbols.

"Idiot!" I complained to my partner, who was watching the show with me. "The ads should have offered a Membership Card entitling the recipient to take his first 30 minutes of any flight FREE!"

(That's how we direct marketers think. Offer, offer, offer.)

But an episode in the second season of "The Apprentice" was much more encouraging in its demonstration of direct-response principles.

This time, the two teams had the task of putting together and running, for one evening only, a bridal shop in NYC. The contest was simple. Whichever team had the highest gross sales for the evening would be the winner.

Team A printed huge stacks of pink fliers inviting people to their bridal sale. They distributed these fliers by handing them out at Penn Station as morning commuters got off the trains.

Trump correctly questioned the wisdom of Team A's marketing strategy. He asked, "How many people are thinking about getting married when they're on their way to work in the morning?"

Team B took a more targeted approach. They rented an e-list of thousands of women who were planning to get married and e-mailed them an invitation to their sale.

I think you can guess the result.

Team A had only a handful of customers in their shop, sold only two dresses, and grossed around $1,000. Team B had customers lining up on the sidewalk to get into the store, as if it were an exclusive Manhattan nightclub. They sold 26 dresses for gross revenues of more than $12,000, outselling Team "B" more than 12 to 1.

The project manager of Team A was fired by Trump that night.

The lesson for direct marketers is clear: The list is all-important.

In this case, Team B knew that everyone on their list was planning to get married. Team A, by comparison, handed out their invitations to anyone and everyone who happened to be at Penn Station that morning.

How many of those people had any interest in getting married? Was it one out of a hundred? Or maybe one out of a thousand?

The "list" used by Team A had maybe 90% to 99% "wasted circulation." In other words, most of their ads went to the wrong people: those not interested in buying their product. The list used by Team B had maybe 1% or as little as 0% wasted circulation. Because virtually everyone on that list had indicated a planned wedding.

And the result? B outpulled A by approximately 12 to 1 . . . a differential that is not uncommon in actual direct-marketing tests.

Using the best mailing list vs. the worst mailing list can increase your response rate by 1,000% or more. That makes testing different mailing lists perhaps the best marketing investment you can make this year.

If you would like more information about our direct marketing service please click here or speak to one of the Marketing Consultants at TA Fastrack today on 07 3040 3590.

10 Facebook Marketing Tips For Small Businesses

2011-04-04T17:37:00.002+10:00

Small business owners mistakenly think they need a lot of time, money and resources to get online and start using social media like Facebook. But it doesn't require a full-time social media coordinator, or much of a budget, if any to started.

The adage “keep it simple” goes a long way with Facebook. Below are ten ways for small businesses to maximize their presence on Facebook with minimum resources.

Manage expectations
Set realistic goals for your approach to social media and you won’t be disappointed. Don’t expect to get thousands of fans within your first month of getting on Facebook. Think more along the lines of a two or three digit number. Then, when you hit something larger than you originally anticipated, you’ll be pleasantly surprised and that will give you momentum.

Make time
Cultivating a Facebook presence doesn’t have to be a full-time job, and it doesn't need to eat up all your free time. Try to set aside an hour a day to work on your business’s page, post updates and communicate directly with customers and fans.

Learn as much as you can
Take notes based on your experiences with Facebook’s pages and other business services — at the very least, write down notes about things you don’t understand so you can research them up later. You’ll find just about anything you need to know within Facebook's s official help centre. There are also other great help articles/resources on Google Search.

Start with a small budget
It is possible to promote your business on Facebook without spending anything via word-of-mouth and referrals. At some point you might decide to buy advertising on Facebook, but resist the temptation to overspend. If you do decide to spend on Facebook Ads, you’re better off starting out doing small test ads to see what kind of performance you get for your money, and then ramp it up when you figure out which demographics and keywords you want to target.

Create a page, not a profile
Don’t open a second account on Facebook to make a profile for your business. Not only does that go against Facebook’s rules but it also moves you one degree of separation away from the people who are already on your friend list. These folks are the first people you want to invite to become fans of your business’s page.

Post cool status updates
Make your profile work for your page by posting witty status updates that encourage your friends to engage with your Facebook business page. Apply that same sense of wit to the goal of one post per day to your page’s wall. If you can phrase it as a question, so much the better, because that will encourage responses from your community.

Have one-on-one conversations
Send a thank you and personalised message right after someone clicks “like” on your page. Make a point of responding to messages and wall posts within 24 hours. Pay careful attention to what fans tell you on your page and try to respond to their needs.

Don’t spam
People have gotten pretty tired of mass messaging and excessive numbers of posts filling up news feeds — don’t contribute to this noise and fans will appreciate it. When you have something to say to your followers, put it on your wall, not in their inboxes.

Create coupons and promotions
Discounts for first-time customers really work toward generating repeat business. But don’t limit the promotions to the first time someone engages with your company, lest they lose interest. Periodically put special offers or promotions that they can only access as a Facebook fan in order to keep people coming back. By creating a special code for your fans, you can also track the number of bookings that come through from Facebook.

Encourage check-ins
Get your fans to check-in when they arrive at your business. You can even give a small gift when customers check-in, for example, a voucher for their next visit, bottle of wine etc. When customers check-in, their friends and family will see the status update on their wall, which will help increase your business' exposure.

If you would like more information about facebook marketing, or if you require a facebook welcome page design for your new page, speak to one of the Marketing Consultants at TA Fastrack today on 07 3040 3590.

Business Tips: Prepare Thoroughly Before You Begin

2011-03-30T09:46:00.000+10:00

Have Everything At Hand
One of the best ways for you to overcome procrastination and get more things done faster is for you to have everything you need at hand before you begin. When you are fully prepared, you are like a cocked gun or an archer with an arrow pulled back taut in the bow. You just need one small mental push to get started on your highest value tasks.

Clear Your Workspace
Begin by clearing off your desk or workspace so that you only have one task in front of you. If necessary, put everything on the floor or on the table behind you. Gather all the information, reports, details, papers, and work materials that you will require to complete the job. Have them at hand so you can reach them without getting up or moving. Be sure that you have all writing materials, computer disks, access codes, email addresses and everything else you need to start and continue working until the job is done.

Make It Comfortable
Set up your work area so that it is comfortable, attractive and conducive to working for long periods. Especially, make sure that you have a comfortable chair that supports your back and allows your feet to sit flat on the floor.

The most productive people take the time to create a work area where they enjoy spending time. The cleaner and neater your work area before you begin, the easier it is for you to get started and keep going.

Assume The Position
When you sit down, with everything in front of you, ready to go, assume the body language of high performance. Sit up straight, sit forward and away from the back of the chair. Carry yourself as though you were an efficient, effective high performing personality. Then, pick up the first item and say to yourself, "Let's get to work!" and plunge in. And once you've started, keep going until the job is finished.

Action Exercises

Here are two things you can do immediately to put these ideas into action.

First, take a good look at your desk or office, both at home and at the office. Ask yourself, "What kind of a person works in an environment like that?"

Second, resolve today to clean up your desk and office completely so that you feel effective, efficient and ready to get going each time you sit down.

How to Romance Customers by Making the Easy Sale

2011-03-28T13:59:00.002+10:00

"Romance should begin with science and end with a settlement." - Oscar Wilde

How good are you at romancing your customers?

If you suspect you might not be good enough, you're in luck. Because this week we have a snappy little piece from writer Michael Hepworth that shows us how to do that. No need for a big warmup. I'll let Michael take over from here.

Michael... she's all yours:

When I was a teenager, I had a friend Gavin, who had a very direct approach with the young ladies in the town where we lived. We used to laugh because he got a lot of slaps, and we were also envious because he was sometimes successful.

At the time, I didn't appreciate the marketing lesson in this. Thinking back, I realize that one of the reasons Gavin got slapped so often, is that he was trying to make a very difficult sale. He tended to fail more often than he succeeded. He just didn't know how to romance his prospects.

When dealing with your customers, are you rushing the sale or trying to close a sale that is hard to make?

If you are advertising or selling to people who have never heard of you and you start off asking for a relatively big commitment to quickly, the answer is almost certainly yes. It is also true when trying to sell big ticket items or complex solutions to new prospects. Are you making the same mistake as Gavin, and turning off many prospects, simply because you are too aggressive and they are not ready to take such big a step?

In many cases to move forward in small increments, each building a greater level of trust, will yield better results than asking for a big commitment right away.

You can't afford to undermine your efforts with this kind of mistake. To reach a qualified prospect and get turned down is simply too expensive, and the opportunity cost is too high. Like most marketing mistakes the issues are subtle and are not always obvious to the casual observer.

Savvy marketers understand that no matter how much success they have with a program, they owe it to themselves to continually find ways to improve their results. They know it costs exactly the same to run a direct mail piece, a sales campaign or an advertisement that yields 1%, 2%, 3% or 4%.

They also know that you can often get dramatic increases with only very minor changes, that cost nothing.

The easiest way to increase your success rate with customers is to get a little romance going. The key is to make the easy sale first. My young friend might have been more successful if he had built trust by inviting his prospects for coffee, getting to know them a little better and understanding what they were wanting out of a relationship. So it is with your customers. You have to be prepared to invest time and energy in building trust by selflessly providing value before asking for any commitment.

Making the easy sale first, usually involves offering something free. Let the customer try out your services at no risk.

What can you offer free, without breaking the bank? The most simple gift is information. Do you have information that is useful and valuable to your prospective customers? It must not be self-serving, otherwise it defeats the purpose. The best kind of information is the kind that helps them avoid making bad buying decisions, or protects them from dangers they might not be aware of.

You can also offer a free, no obligation, consultation or service to new prospects. If your services are good and your prospects are properly qualified, the downside risk is minimal for you. You should get a lot more people trying your service and becoming customers.

Remember, I did say, make the easy sale first. You still have to sell, but it will be easier. Be clear about the benefits your prospects will get, if they take this first step. Don't make the mistake of thinking that because you are offering something free, people will automatically take you up on your offer.

However, once they do take you up on your offer, you are well on your way to developing a profitable long-term relationship.

If you would like any marketing advice on your current marketing activities please contact TA Fastrack on 07 3040 3588

Facebook hotel booking conversions growing, for some higher than TripAdvisor

2011-03-25T09:07:00.001+10:00

Facebook is fast becoming more than just a customer relationship tool for many hotels, motels and resorts. Many accommodation properties are now offering fans the ability to book a room directly from the hotel's Facebook page, which is leading to incremental sales.

“Over the course of 2009, we saw the volume of direct referrals from Facebook to hotel websites grow. The conversion rate was higher for Facebook than it was for TripAdvisor and other travel review sites,” said Douglas Quinby, senior director of research for PhoCusWright, a travel research firm in Sherman, Connecticut.

"The conversion rate on direct referrals from traveler review sites to hotel supplier websites ranged from 4% to 6% in 2009, while conversion from Facebook to hotel websites was 8%," said Mr Quinby.

Starwood Hotels and Resorts Worldwide has provided a booking function within a tab on Facebook for all of its brands and properties since it has been on Facebook.

“Conversion on Facebook is smaller but close to conversion on our brand websites. (Starwood’s Facebook fans) start to see other people’s experiences at the properties,” said David Godsman, VP of global Web for Starwood.

While Starwood primarily uses Facebook to “engage” with its guests, the company’s executives realize the valuable e-commerce potential on the global social-networking site. To that end, Westin Hotels & Resorts in January introduced a “Shop” tab on its properties’ Facebook pages. The shopping widget serves as a fully-contained shopping transaction, instead of working as a link from Westin’s website.

“What we are seeing now is an emergence of technology that that we didn’t see six months ago. There is an opportunity for ourselves and other hotel brands to enable these type of transactions within Facebook,” Godsman said.

If you would like to find out more about using social media, or to get a professionally designed Facebook welcome page for your hotel, which includes an overview of your products and integrates your booking button on the page, speak to one of the marketing consultants at TA Fastrack today on 07 3040 3590.

Five reasons for embracing an email marketing strategy

2011-03-24T11:31:00.001+10:00

Here are the key points why you should start emailing your customers on a regular basis:

Email can help you achieve your business goals
Keeps customers in the loop, which equals happier customers
It's cost-effective
Lets you gather and use customer intelligence to target specific specials to them
Improved overall online marketing

To get started on email marketing, speak to one of the marketing consultants at TA Fastrack today on 07 3040 3590.

Tips to Help Empower Yourself

2011-03-21T08:47:00.000+10:00

“It’s not enough to stare up the steps – we must step up the stairs.” - Vance Havner

How hard do you really push yourself and is what you expect in return realistic? Most of the time results achieved fall in line with the exact amount of effort we are prepared to commit. We often sit and wonder why we did not achieve what we set out to do, we look for external reasons (and conveniently find them!) which give us suitable excuses for our half hearted effort. The fact is ordinary results come from ordinary effort, do you want to be ordinary or would you really like to be superb?

To achieve more you need to expect more. You need to be more demanding of yourself first, you can then follow this with higher expectations of others. We often expect more of our team members than we get, after all we pay their wages don’t we?

This rational will never work when it comes to improving results. It has to start with YOU FIRST. Your team are listening to you even though you don’t think they are, they are watching you even though you don’t think they are, and when you slip up… they will remember.

The expectation you have of you team and the results they will produce will only ever be effective in relation to the expectation you have of yourself and how you demonstrate this within your business.

Here are some tips to help you empower yourself to ‘step up the stairs’ today.

Set your goals and then re-set them just a little higher.
Be committed to constant improvement, believe that you are going to be better today than you were yesterday.
Practice, practice, practice, one day you WILL get it right.
Have a high level of expectation for yourself, this will enable you to raise the standards for everyone in your team.
Lead by example in every possible way.
Look for ways of improving your own skill set, knowledge base etc
Don’t just talk about it, DO IT!

10 Tips For Marketing Your Hotel on Google Places

2011-03-15T17:44:00.002+10:00

Is your hotel making the most of Google Places? If so, how does your page rank among local competitors?

Place pages are more important than ever. A recent Google study found that 20% of all searches on Google are used to find location specific answers.

Place pages - individual Web pages for businesses and points of interest - often dominate search results for location specific queries (e.g. “Sunshine Coast Hotels”), along with a Google Map feature with red markers identifying locations. Google often blends Websites with their accompanying Place pages, as one search result, and even includes links to hotels’ reviews. As you can tell, Google Places is a vital channel for your property.

Below are 10 tips to optimize your page…

Add as much detailed information as possible. Google Places listings are ranked by relevance to search terms entered, as well as location, among other factors. Make sure you completely fill out all of the fields in the 'edit page' area. These includes latitude and longitude, your property’s hours of operation, amenities and payment types accepted.
Fill out the additional, yet optional, information fields. These are broken up into two categories: “Label” and “Value.” Do not put full sentences into your label. Use specific words. For example, add “Services: concierge, tour booking service, free wireless Internet” not “The services we offer are concierge and free wireless Internet.”
Take advantage of Google Tags. These tags allow your hotel to have a direct link to different locations such as your booking page, apartments page or photo gallery. The links are displayed as yellow highlighted icons. Google tags should not be mistaken for a sponsored listing. They will not affect the ranking of Google Places listings.
Optimize your description. Write a description that will be helpful to your guests first, then Google - not the other way around. When describing your hotel, using relevant search terms are important, as these are the keywords that people will also to search. For example, “Our Gold Coast holiday accommodation features spacious, self-contained 2 bedroom apartments, a great range of facilities, including a swimming pool, tennis courts and sauna and an unbeatable location - right next to the beaches and close to entertainment and popular Gold Coast attractions.”
Select category listings carefully. Google allows you to select up to five categories. These offer your potential guests, and Google, a more detailed description of your accommodation. You should only select categories that directly apply to your property. Creating a lot of “custom categories” doesn’t necessarily help; in some cases doing this can hurt your ranking.
Keep your title simple. The title must be your property’s name. Don’t attempt to embed keywords into your title, as that is almost a certain way to ensure your property listing is never seen.
Use the “share an update” feature. These updates will be listed on your Google Places page for 30 days, unless you remove the event prior. This is another feature to reach out to potential guests, and add more information about your property, eg special events, conferences etc.
Include pictures and videos. Take full advantage of this! Google allows you to upload up to 10 pictures and five videos. When you upload pictures and videos, it provides Google and your potential guests more information about your property. It also displays the photos next to your Google Places listing, which will naturally draw a potential guests’ attention to your listing first.
Take advantage of the coupon feature. This is a good way to help drive traffic to your site. However, there are many guidelines for using coupons; the main rule is that the promotion should not be available without the coupon. Therefore, you would need to use a promo code or have them print the page to bring to the property when checking in.
Encourage online interaction with your guests. Ask that satisfied guests leave positive reviews on your Google Places page. If you do get a poor review, respond quickly and calmly. Positive reviews that are left on other reputable travel sites (such as TripAdvisor) may also increase your Google ranking.

With four million businesses and growing currently listed on Google Places, the competition for page ranking, especially for hotel related searches, is constantly growing. If you do not currently have a Place page or your page is not appearing near the top of Google results, your property is missing a huge opportunity to reach travel shoppers and direct bookings.

For more information about marketing, website design or if you need help setting up a Google Places page, speak to one of the marketing consultants at TA Fastrack today on 07 3040 3590 or email@tafastrack.com.au.

Turn Front Desk Clerks Into Front Desk Salespersons

2011-03-14T09:53:00.000+10:00

Despite the continuous increased focus on improving revenue management processes at most hotels these days, more often than not the job of working the front desk is still viewed as primarily being an operational position.

While many hotels and hotel companies have focused training efforts on hospitality and guest-service efficiency, few have provided the more comprehensive sales training that the position calls for. Whatever sales training that has been presented has typically focused on reservations sales techniques for converting inquiry calls, which is certainly a step in the right direction. However, at most properties the front desk team faces myriad sales opportunities each day. Depending on your property's location, brand, and market segment, here are some opportunities your front desk salespeople might encounter daily, along with corresponding training techniques for your next departmental meeting.

Capturing more walk-in business

Create a positive first impression by initiating contact and welcoming the guest when they enter the lobby. Rather than quoting only the lowest rate and sending them back out to the car to make an "either-or" decision, instead create a "which should I chose?" decision-making scenario by offering two or three room types and/or rate options. Reiterate benefits. Embellish descriptions of features that are relevant.

Securing "move-overs" from disgruntled guests currently staying at other hotels in the area

Hotels located in dense markets such as Interstate exit ramps or near metropolitan convention centres might often encounter "move-over" opportunities when guests of nearby properties stop by to check rates and availability. Train your team to present your hotel's unique advantages and to avoid negative remarks about the competition. Rather than saying what the other hotel doesn't have or doesn't do, focus on the advantages your property has to offer with statements such as:

"What's unique about us is..."

Up-selling effectively during registration

With so many guests booking either online or via third parties, the registration process might represent the best time of all to up-sell to higher-rated accommodations. After reassuring the guest that the option they booked is still a good choice, gauge the guest's interest with questions such as:

"Did your travel agent have a chance to mention our concierge floor?" or "Are you familiar with our suites?"

Present the upgraded options as being a unique opportunity: "We've had some of our executive king rooms open up this evening..." Personalize the benefits: "As a guest on level you would receive full access to..."

How Would Your Customers Rate Your Service?

2011-03-11T10:21:00.000+10:00

Rendering exceptional customer service is both a responsibility and a smart business decision; unfortunately, far too many salespeople view customer service as an administrative burden that takes them away from making a sale.

The truth is, providing quality customer service presents tremendous opportunities for cross-selling, up selling and generating additional referrals. Dick Cavett once said, "It's a rare person who wants to hear what he doesn't want to hear." If your clients were given a customer satisfaction survey, how would they rate the level of service they are receiving from you?

Customer feedback consistently points to the fact that the little things make a big difference. Quality customer service is typically defined in terms of attention to detail and responsiveness. Not surprisingly, the top two customer complaints with regards to customer expectations are unreturned phone calls and a failure to keep promises and commitments.

Successful salespeople place great value on developing lifetime relationships with their customers and always "go the extra mile" when providing service. In today's competitive marketplace, they are aware that their customers are aggressively prospected and their loyalty cannot be taken for granted.

Could you use a few more referrals? "Go the extra mile" when providing service and turn the customers you serve into advocates to help you promote your business. Your referrals and follow on business are in direct proportion to the quality and quantity of service you render on a daily basis.

When a customer begins a relationship with you, he or she brings to the table specific expectations. These expectations are primarily based on their past experiences as well as their perceptions of you, your product, and your company. It's critically important to take the time to ask open-ended questions and clarify what your customer expects. If they have false or unrealistic expectations, be clear with them upfront on the process and work with them to manage outcomes and set reasonable timelines.

How can you be sure that you customers are satisfied with your service? Just ask them. When it comes to customer service, perception is reality. Service is not defined by what you think it is, but rather how your customers perceive its value. Knowing more about your customer's needs and expectations will allow you to customize the service you provide. If you don't already have a customer service feedback system in place, establish one to monitor how your customers perceive the service you provide.

When it comes to impressing your customers, it's the personal touch that really makes the difference. Stay in contact and keep good records. Take the time to jot down notes from meetings and phone calls making certain to record all relevant information. Maintain a written record of service.

This is especially helpful when clients are reassigned. It's a good idea to setup a suspense system to track important contact dates such as client review calls and birthdays. Consider sending a personal note or an article of interest every six months.

Relationship building and follow on service are critical components for promoting both customer retention and revenue growth. Salespeople that fail to implement an effective customer service program actually do a disservice to their customers and unknowingly, leave the back door open to their competitors.

If you do it right, sales and service blend seamlessly and you will exceed your customers' expectations!

How to implement hotel fees without sacrificing customer satisfaction

2011-03-08T16:52:00.000+10:00

Taking a page from the airline’s book, hotels have begun implementing separate fees for services previously included in the room rate. In the airline business, this process has been called the unbundling of the airfare. While there isn’t yet a clever descriptor for the similar process in hotels, it is certainly becoming more prevalent. Vague “resort” and “service” fees have been appearing on check-out bills, and hotels have employed new motion-sensing technology to enforce minibar consumption. Some of these fees are imposed to make up for systemic revenue shortfalls; whereas once phone service was a significant revenue generator for hotels, the proliferation of mobile phones strangled this stream, so some hotels have taken to imposing a telephone fee, unlinked to use.

Whatever the impetus for the imposition of new fees, they are on the rise, and don’t show any sign of abating anytime soon. For hotel owners and operators, these are important revenue lifelines in a market that still aspires only to 2008 conditions. But what is fiscally beneficial for ownership has the potential to alienate consumers, and this is a distinction operators need to keep a good eye on.

Where, in terms of fees, is the line between prudent business practice and chiseling the customer? Where is the balance between needed revenue and nickel and diming?

The truth is, hotels do need the new fees, just as the airlines needed to expose their core product to free up additional ancillary revenue streams. The key for hotels is to avoid some of the mistakes the airlines made, and make those fees straightforward and included upfront in the booking path, clearly linked to tangible services, and not too egregious. Springing an unexpected fee on a guest only at the end of their stay - as is the practice at some properties - is not conducive to repeat bookings and customer satisfaction, the two major drivers of hotel profitability. But there are ways to implement fees without sacrificing these.

First, let’s look at some of the kinds of fees that are being implemented or considered. The most straightforward sort of fee accompanies a clearly delineated auxiliary service. What makes this kind of fee a fee and not an additional product or service for sale is its compulsory nature; a guest will not have a choice to decline this product or service. Housekeeper gratuities are a good example of this sort of fee.

The second kind of fee is derived from something that used to be included in the room rate as a matter of course. Energy surcharges fall into this category, as do in-room safe fees. This sort of fee is also largely unavoidable, and allows hotels to defray the indirect cost of lodging a given guest.

A third kind of fee spreads the cost of property upkeep to the individual guest; examples of these fees include groundskeeping fees, facilities or maintenance fees, resort fees and pool fees. Whether or not a guest actually uses an amenity, they are assessed a blanket charge for them.

The final sort of fee isn’t really a fee at all, but a charge for various services that a guest may or may not engage in. Local phone fees, minibar charges, airport transfer fees and internet connectivity are all examples of fees that were (or are, at a different property) offered complimentarily to guests, with their cost covered by the room rate. But since guests are not compelled to partake in these services, they are not automatically on the hook for their associated fees.

Clearly, the first and last kinds of fees are the most palatable for guests. Vague-sounding, badly-defined charges like resort fees upset consumers, and rightly so; it is a transparent attempt to artificially lower the base room rate by separating a portion of it out. Fees that are closely associated with a given guest’s impact on the property, like energy surcharges, are a bit more palatable, though these fees are often instituted in response to changes in supply cost (does anyone remember an energy fee before crude oil prices went through the roof?), which is also transparent to consumers.

If a hotel sticks with those fees that fall into the first and fourth categories, they can effectively keep the fee revenue stream open without running the risk of alienating their customers. These fees are both reasonable, as they are tied specifically to auxiliary services or products. In the case of the fourth category of fees, there is an opportunity for guests to avoid them if they care to. These are the sorts of fees that hotels can reasonably impose, and continue to reap the benefits of repeat business and high guest satisfaction levels.

Whatever kinds of fees a hotel decides to implement, it is absolutely imperative that the hotel be up front about them. Guests should be alerted well in advance that there is a fee associated with a particular service or product, or if a fee will be imposed regardless - as soon as the booking path. This has a dual effect: first, if a fee is avoidable, this notification gives guests the opportunity to opt out. Second, if a fee is compulsory, it prevents a guest from feeling bilked in the end. Of the two evils - being nickel and dimed and being outright snookered - the former is always preferable.

Hotel fees don’t have to be a Faustian bargain. By imposing reasonable, incremental fees, and by disclosing their existence clearly and early on in the booking process, consumers can be made to accept what is becoming an ever-more common practice. By following these simple principles, hotels can have their fees, ad their repeat customers and high satisfaction rates, too.

After all, isn’t your customer satisfaction just as important as additional revenue streams?

7 Top Reasons to Use Email Marketing Campaigns

2011-03-02T15:40:00.000+10:00

Email marketing is a great way to promote your business easily and quickly. It can help you reach an unprecedented number of potential customers, while staying in touch with current and past clients.

Below are some reasons why you should start using email marketing for your business today:

It’s really easy!
Setting up an email marketing campaign doesn’t take very long and you don't need to be very computer literate to get it set up. You can send out a monthly newsletter with just a few articles informing your customers about what's happening with your business and the area.

It draws more web traffic
Unlike a regular mail marketing campaign, which might only draw a little bit of traffic to your website, an email marketing strategy will draw tons of traffic on a regular basis. This is mainly because you can embed links to your site in emails; if people just have to easily click on a link to get to your site instead of booting up the computer and typing in a link, they’re more likely to visit your website.

It keeps customers in the loop
Putting out monthly or weekly emails about specials, business updates and what's happening in the area is one of the best ways to keep customers coming back time after time. Instead of sending out expensive mail that will never get opened, you can send emails that customers can scan easily for current specials and discounts they’ll be more likely to use.

It’s cheap
With email marketing, you don’t have to pay for printing and postage, which means that it’s one of the cheapest ways to stay in contact with your customers.

It can be voluntary
It can be annoying when you send people unsolicited mail, but if you have a great website, you can allow people to sign up for your email newsletters and special offers. This is a great way to get advertising copy to the people who want it the most: customers who are already interested in what you have to offer or who have already used your products and services.

It’s fast
Sending an email takes almost no time at all. Of course, writing and proofing a professional-looking email will take some time, but it won’t take you any time at all to send out that email once it's finished. This means that your email can be in their inboxes almost immediately.

It builds relationships
Keeping in touch with your current and potential customers on a regular basis is the best way to build your relationship with them. People love to feel connected to other people, and by sending out regular emails, your customers will feel connected to your business, which will draw them back time and again.

We've listed some great reasons why you should get started on an email marketing campaign straight away. Just make sure that you hire a professional email marketing company who will be able to help you design a professional looking email design and provide you with tips on how to make your campaign more successful.

If you are looking for a company that can provide you with a great email marketing solution, manage and design your campaigns or somewhere in-between, check out TA Fastrack's email marketing service. For more information, visit www.tafastrack.com.au for a free email trial, or call 07 3040 3590.

Relationships Are Everything

2011-02-28T11:33:00.000+10:00

Your Foundation for Success

Relationship Selling is the core of all modern selling strategies. Your ability to develop and maintain long-term customer relationships is the foundation for your success as a salesperson and your success in business. Relationship selling requires a clear understanding of the dynamics of the selling process as they are experienced by your customer.

Propose a Business Marriage

For your customer, a buying decision usually means a decision to enter into a long-term relationship with you and your company. It is very much like a "business marriage." Before the customer decides to buy, he can take you or leave you. He doesn't need you or your company. He has a variety of options and choices open to him, including not buying anything at all. But when your customer makes a decision to buy from you and gives you money for the product or service you are selling, he becomes dependent on you. And since he has probably had bad buying experiences in the past, he is very uneasy and uncertain about getting into this kind of dependency relationship.

Fulfill Your Promises

What if you let the customer down? What if your product does not work as you promised? What if you don't service it and support it as you promised? What if it breaks down and he can't get it replaced? What if the product or service is completely inappropriate for his needs? These are real dilemmas that go through the mind of every customer when it comes time to make the critical buying decision.

Focus on the Relationship

Because of the complexity of most products and services today, especially high-tech products, the relationship is actually more important than the product. The customer doesn't know the ingredients or components of your product, or how your company functions, or how he will be treated after he has given you his money, but he can make an assessment about you and about the relationship that has developed between the two of you over the course of the selling process. So in reality, the customer's decision is based on the fact that he has come to trust you and believe in what you say.

Build a Solid Trust Bond

In many cases, the quality of your relationship with the customer is the competitive advantage that enables you to edge out others who may have similar products and services. The quality of the trust bond that exists between you and your customers can be so strong that no other competitor can get between you.

Keep Your Customers for Life

The single biggest mistake that causes salespeople to lose customers is taking those customers for granted. This is a form of "customer entropy." It is when the salesperson relaxes his efforts and begins to ignore the customer. Almost 70 percent of customers who walked away from their existing suppliers later replied that they made the change primarily because of a lack of attention from the company.

Once you have invested the time and made the efforts necessary to build a high-quality, trust-based relationship with your customer, you must maintain that relationship for the life of your business. You must never take it for granted. Action Exercises

First, focus on building a high quality relationship with each customer by treating your customer so well that he comes back, buys again and refers you to his friends.

Second, pay attention to your existing customers. Tell them you appreciate them. Look for ways to thank them and encourage them to come back and do business with you again.

If you would like any further advice check out my Facebook Page
Alternativly if you would like any information about Business Coaching click here.

Until next time

Adrian

Spend Less Time on E-Mail -- and Accomplish More

2011-02-25T16:14:00.000+10:00

Chances are you are struggling with too much email everyday either from internal sources or from other people. However much you may want to be informed about everything that's going on, you can't possibly keep up on it all without increasing unnecessary stress and damaging your productivity.

My largest client issues a flood of e-mails every day. Some come from the Head of the company. Some come from its divisional leaders. Some come from its operational heads. And some -- not too many, but some -- come from me. If I thought it were important to read and respond to every one of those e-mails that come to me, I'd be spending at least eight hours a day doing that. By the time I would get done, I'd have zero energy left to make useful improvements or suggest productive new directions for my client.

One recommendation for handling a deluge of e-mails comes from Bill Jensen, author of "The Simplicity Survival Handbook". Don't read every word, he says. Instead, scan them with the purpose of discovering what action is being called for. "If the communication does not contain an action and a short-term date [to complete that action], ignore it."

This applies to all communications -- even from top brass. If hitting "delete" makes you worry that you're missing something, do it anyway, he says. There is a 69% chance you'll get this exact communication again, a 48% chance you'll get it a third time, and a 36% chance you'll have to show up at a meeting or event to review it.

I have no idea where Jensen got these numbers. Their exactness makes them suspect. But I do think he's right about freeing yourself from the feeling that you need to read and possibly respond to every message that's sent to you.

I am in favor of scanning incoming messages. And I like the idea of paying attention to need-by dates. But it makes no sense to let a memo's urgency determine whether you are going to respond to it. That will turn you into a slave to the latest crisis. You'll spend all your hours fighting fires that aren't dangerous or can be fought by others.

Here's the three-step method I recommend:

Step 1. Scan the message to find out who's in charge of the issue/problem that it's about. If it's not you, make sure that person has been copied on it. If he has, either delete the message or send a short reply saying you trust that person to handle it. If he needs anything from you, he should let you know.

Step 2. Ask yourself: "If I ignore this message, will the issue/problem resolve itself?" If the answer is "yes," either delete the message or send a short reply suggesting that you are going to give the issue/problem some time to work itself out.

Step 3. If the memo is about something for which you are responsible -- and it's not likely to be fixed without some adjudication (see "Word to the Wise," below) -- ask yourself: "How important is this in terms of the business's most important goals?" If it's not important or if you are otherwise preoccupied, delegate it to someone else.

IMPORTANT - Try this......TURN IT OFF !!!!

Check your emails first thing in the morning....and then close down or turn your email system off ! Then turn it on again once every hour ....and then turn it off again. You very well know what happens when you receive an email............. you just have to read it........ Well....don't ! It will take your focus off the important tasks you are currently doing.

If you currently have your email system configured to flag you with a 'pop-up' or 'little enevelope' every time you receive a new email....turn this function off. Focus on completing what you are doing!

I started checking my emails once an hour many months ago and I have literally doubled my daily productivity.

Your Action Plan

My rule, as you know, is to limit all correspondence to a single page. It is very rare when any written discussion I'm involved in can't be dealt with (advanced to the next level, not necessarily resolved) in 200 words or less.

Take a look at the memos and e-mails you've been issuing. If they run more than one page, you're wasting your time -- and the time of the people you're sending them to. Make a conscious effort, starting today, to express yourself in fewer words. When you do, I think you'll find that your written communications will not only be more direct . . . but also easier to understand.

If you would like any further advice check out my Facebook Page

Alternativly if you would like any information about Business Coaching click here.

Until next time

Adrian

Why the Design of Your Hotel Web Site Matters

2011-02-24T09:19:00.000+10:00

It’s more than just Personal Taste - with so many hotels relying on the Internet to help fill their rooms- it amazes me that there are still so many hotel web sites that are not designed to produce room reservations. After-all isn’t that the primary reason why hotel sites are published to the Internet to begin with? It’s also shocking that so many web site designers don’t have a clue about search engines, how they work, nor how and why people select a hotel in which to stay.

So much of the planning and designing of a productive hotel web site starts with the intent of the designer, when the site is being designed. Does the designer understand the purpose of a hotel site? Stephen Covey, in his best seller “Seven Habits of Highly Effective People”, teaches us to “Begin with the end in mind”.

With hotel web sites, the “end” to keep in mind is that a hotel web site must be designed to “sell” reservations; not simply to be an online brochure. Many people have asked me why I feel so strongly that it takes knowledge of hotel marketing to design a productive hotel web site. It’s because an effective hotel web site must incorporate the basic hotel marketing principles of location, facilities, and attractions (both business and leisure); and, most importantly, the site must include dominant well-written sales text.

While a hotel brochure is designed to describe facilities and services, it is not relied upon to “close” sales. The purpose of a web site is far more complex. It must be designed to create search engine popularity, so the site can be found using many different search terms; it must create interest in the hotel’s location, facilities, and services; and, most importantly, its text must be written to convert “lookers into bookers”.

It’s Location, Location, and Location…

With few exceptions, people visit an area but stay at a hotel because of its location, nearby attractions and facilities. Knowing this, it makes pure common-sense to highlight your hotel’s location. It is always amazing to me to see so many hotel web sites which give no clue where the hotel is located; some even without a posted address.

Your location is a very special place. Your location has its own special attributes which attract visitors from all over the World. Your web site should prominently highlight your location’s special attributes and provide a reason to visit that location. Simply listing your hotel’s address is not enough; generating new visitors to your hotel’s location is most important; sell destination first, your hotel second.

Having a Web Presence

In the beginning of the Internet’s popularity, only ten or so years ago, many hotels had the foresight to take advantage of the opportunity to have a presence on this radically new marketing medium. But the Internet has changed a lot since then; we learned that merely having a presence on the Internet does not necessarily generate reservations.

Many of these early sites were designed by pure technicians, or in some cases the owner’s nephew, with a flair for design and some techno-knowledge of how to publish a web site on the Internet. Some sites were good; many were terrible, but in those days, few hoteliers knew how much the Internet would impact our industry and they knew even less about how to design a hotel web site to sell reservations.

During its maturation process, the number of web sites on the Internet has grown exponentially and search engines (the heart of the Internet) have been refined and improved; and are constantly being improved today. If a site cannot be found easily, it’s useless.

The Internet’s explosive growth has been unprecedented in our lifetime. Google, one of the Internet’s most popular search engines indexes more than 6.8 billion web sites. World population is 6.6 billion people; that’s more than one site for each and every one of us! Without search engines, navigating the net would be nearly impossible.

At this point you may be wondering what web site design has to do with search engines; the answer is everything. Search engine requirements must be built into the site’s design. Keep in mind that search engines, at the present time, read text; images and graphics are, for the most part, invisible to them. Search engines seek-out sites which contain the words contained in the search term.

Many web site designers do an excellent job of making web sites look attractive, but fail miserably to comply with search engine and hotel sales and marketing needs. It’s what your site “says” and “how it says it” that creates popularity with search engines and converts visitors into reservations.

Some Web Site Common-Sense

Hotel site designers, even those with hotel marketing experience, tend to be very right-brained creative types. Don’t assume that they always know all those key factors which make your hotel’s location unique and popular. When you select a designer for your site, either new or replacement site, make a list of sales features and keep them in priority order.

A good designer knows the prime web site real estate to occupy those most important details of your location and hotel. Remember, it’s not just what you say; it’s how you say it. Begin with the end in mind; the “end” is to generate reservations not just increase the number of visitors to your site.

I know it’s tempting to let your designer create a work of art; after-all you have all those beautiful images of your hotel, but it’s often their lack of hotel sales knowledge which will doom your site to obscurity and mediocre performance.

Good simple navigation of your site is also essential. Basic rule; don’t make users learn how to navigate your web site. Understanding how and why people choose a hotel is the first ingredient in designing a hotel web site. It is not a matter of simply describing all your hotel’s attributes; it is how they are presented that really counts.

Take an Objective Look at Your Site

If your site is not producing a good volume of reservations, it’s probably time to have a marketing analysis done of your site. A site analysis can reveal why your site is performing poorly; often some minor adjustments can make a substantial difference in your sales results. It can also reveal a need to scrap your current site in favor of a new, properly designed, one.

Are you measuring your site’s conversion rate? If not, why not? Don’t be fooled by simply measuring the number of visitors to your site. Most hotel web sites only convert less than four percent of visitors into reservations; increasing that ratio is the ultimate goal. Properly written and placed sales text can make a huge difference.

A web site is a living breathing sales tool which needs to be adjusted constantly to keep up with changes in your market, your hotel, and the ever-changing search engine parameters. Your web site is generating data and statistics, which you can use to improve your web site and its performance. Ask your web master to produce and evaluate this data. Sometimes there may be a small additional fee, but it is very worthwhile.

Your web site is capable of producing 30% to 70% of your total reservations; get it to work for you.

If you would like any further information on our budget and premium hotel website design click here to contact us or call us on 07 3040 3588.

Aussies spending more time on social networks

2011-02-22T17:35:00.000+10:00

According to a new report from comScore, social networking now accounts for 21.9% of the total time that Australians spend on the internet - up 5.3% in 2010.

‘The State of the Internet in Australia’ report reveals that social media is playing an increasing role in consumers' daily routine online.

Visits to portals accounted for 19.7%, down nearly 10% from the previous year, while Instant Messengers accounted for 11.6% of time, down 7.7%, as both categories lost share to social networks. However, entertainment, which accounted for 9.1% of total time spent in 2009, increased 2% to 11.1%. Group-buying sites also continued to gain traction over the past year with Cudo garnering 418,000 unique visitors in
December 2010.

Will Hodgman, executive vice president at comScore, said: “2010 was dynamic year for the digital media industry in Australia. Consumers are turning to the internet with increasing frequency for a vast array of activities including entertainment, commerce, news and information and communication, as digital media
becomes embedded in the daily lives of Australians.”

The the large growth in time spent on social networking platforms also shows a huge shift in how consumers are communicating within their own networks.

This has huge implications for how businesses are trying to reach people. If they're not on sociel networks, like Facebook or Twitter, they will most likely fall behind and further out of contact with their customers.

This year, comScore expects to see continued innovation and more competition as an increasing number of brands turn to social networks in order to capture consumers’ attention.

Other results from the report showed that Microsoft Sites - such as ninemsn - led as the most-visited internet property in Australia, followed by Google Sites and Facebook.com.

In terms of top sites by total minutes spent, Facebook took the number one spot, followed by Microsoft Sites and Google Sites. The report also found that more Australians visited retail sites online compared to last year. Amazon and Apple were the the most-visited retail sites online.

To avoid getting left behind, make sure you have a facebook page set up. Email to speak to TA Fastrack on 07 3040 3590 about setting up a professionally designed and customised facebook welcome page for your business. We can assist with designing a facebook welcome page or managing social media for your business.

Upselling: There’s Money to be Made at the Front Desk

2011-02-22T08:49:00.000+10:00

The importance of upselling at the front desk has increased over recent years due in large part to the changing methods of booking rooms.

The popularity of reserving rooms online from a third-party travel site, the property’s website or packaged with a flight and/or rental car means that the front desk agent’s reception is often the first person-to-person interaction that guests experience. This trend gives the front desk agent the opportunity to become a member of the sales department by selling upgrades (upselling) to guests upon arrival.

Upselling allows a property to maximise revenue from its occupancy and increase the average daily rate.
The act of selling upgrades can benefit the property, the front desk agent and the guest if there is a quality system in place. The benefits for the property include higher guest satisfaction and higher revenue/ADR.

Proactively upselling can make a big impression on the bottom line, no matter the size of the property. For example, not too long ago, a smaller, high-end, boutique property with less than 150 rooms implemented a new upselling program in 2007 and its upsell revenue jumped from $20,000 in 2006 to $120,000 in 2007. The following years’ upselling revenue increased significantly as well: to $145,000 in 2008, $190,000 in 2009, and more than $200,000 in 2010.

The hotel paid for training and provided agents with upselling incentives; and even with such expenditures accounted for, the property increased profits by $168,000 over the previous year.

The front desk agent has the opportunity to profit from an upselling program through a commission-based incentive program. For example, an effective incentive program that has been implemented at a number of properties (ranging from full-service luxury resorts to boutique and urban corporate properties) offers 5% of the upgrade amount; and thus the difference between the rate booked and the new (upsold) amount is added as a bonus to the agent’s paycheck after the guest has checked out. For example, if a guest makes a three-night reservation at $115/night and the front desk agent sells an upgrade to the guest increasing the rate to $145/night, the front desk agent’s commission would be $4.50 (5% of $90) and the hotel would gain $85.50 from the increase in rate.

Team and individual selling goals are also opportunities for a property to motivate front desk agents to upsell proactively. If the team, for example, achieves its monthly goal for upsells, the incentive percentage can be increased to 10% and paid retroactively. In 2010, at the small hotel referenced above, an agent had an annual upsell total just short of $45,000 because her team made the monthly goals each quarter and so achieved the 10% bonus bracket, the agent earned an additional $4500 for the year. This kind of financial reward can be extremely motivating for staff. In this instance, the hotel realised an additional $40,000. It should also be noted that guest satisfaction surveys were higher that year than in previous years – an all-around win!

Recognition-based rewards are also great tools to incorporate into an upselling program.
Honouring staff for the most upsells, highest dollar average of upsells and highest monetary amount of upsells can be recognised with cash bonuses, plaques, prime parking spaces, gift cards or even lunch with the general manager.

An incentive for converting a “walk-in” reservation is also an opportunity to consider. This type of selling may warrant a slightly larger commission percentage because there is a different level of skill and effort needed from the front desk agent. In these situations, an 8% to 10% “commission” may very well be appropriate.

As you can see, upselling is a win/win/win scenario for the property, front desk agent, and guest - if done correctly.
How can your hotel upsell properly?

One of the most common mistakes the front office staff can make when implementing an upsell program is to establish “higher revenues” as the ultimate goal. That’s when a guest’s experience is almost always diminished. Instead, the focus must be placed on the guest and his/her comfort. When the agent is trained and incentivised to enhance the guest’s experience, the upsell progresses naturally.

Again, as the front desk staff is quite often the guest’s first contact with the hotel, it’s critical that the front desk agent “consult” the guest about the hotel – topics such as comfortable accommodations, appropriate packages, or guest room types, etc. Most frequent travelers report that front desk agents rarely make an effort to recommend any accommodation other than the one booked. On the rare occasion that an agent does make a recommendation, quite often the effort is a transparent attempt to “get more money” from the guest.

There is no connection to the recommendation and the guest’s needs. This approach can be very off-putting. The first step to successful upselling is a shift in focus and presentation; a keen awareness of the guest and sincerity regarding what that guest may require for comfort and satisfaction need to be the primary concern.

Agents must learn to recognise and anticipate the needs of the guests as well as have the proper product knowledge to make an educated suggestion of a more comfortable room option. For example, if someone is travelling with children and has booked a standard room, the agent could point out that the guest may be more comfortable being in a room type with a separate area, so that the parents aren’t required to have an 8:30 bed time. Or perhaps someone staying for an extended amount of time would find value in a room that has more space. Oftentimes, guests don’t fully understand the full range of room-type options that are available, and the situation should be approached in an informative and helpful manner, and never with a disparaging tone or remark about the currently reserved room. Again, the goal is to maximize the guest’s experience.

Once an upselling program is implemented, it is critical to also commit to a tracking system that measures the results and impact and provides an accurate incentive payout. The tracking systems will vary among properties due to the different PMS in place but there are aspects that should be universal. The system should be smooth and easy to process by the front desk agent. Incentives should be paid out after the guest has checked out and his/her payment has been received. The number of upsells, the average amount of upsells and the total amount of upsells should be tracked on an individual and team basis.

A full-service resort on the west coast of Florida tracks its upsells in this manner:
A well-managed upselling program can benefit all parties involved if done correctly. To stay competitive, it is necessary that a property be able to adapt to the changes in the hospitality industry. There is a delicate balance between good customer service and quality sales that, if done properly, could amount to great success for an upselling program.
Proper training and an energised front desk team will create the right atmosphere for a productive upselling program with a great return on investment.

3 ways to tap into the power of social media

2011-02-17T17:30:00.000+10:00

Over 75% of Internet consumers use social media in some form or other, so if you're not using it you may be missing out on a big opportunity. Getting involved doesn't have to be complicated.

Here are three things you can do to get in the game.

Start a blog
Blogs are easy to create and maintain. You can use blogspot or wordpress to set up a blog and you won't even need to consult a web developer for help!

The key is to create high quality content that is relevant to your target audience. Keep it consistent and keep it real. Other than that, just have fun with it! Some suggestions for blog posts include:

Industry-specific tips and insights
Special offers or give-aways
Analysis of recent news items
Product tutorials
Humorous anecdotes
Interviews with employees, customers or partners

Start a Facebook page
Facebook is one of the most popular sites in the world (along with Google). To get started, simply create a Facebook page where you can post updates, link to your blog articles, and receive feedback from your customers. As you post relevant content and interact with customers on your Facebook page, your fan base and your revenue will grow.

Post videos on YouTube
If a picture is worth a 1,000 words, a video must be worth 1,000 pictures (and 1,000,000 words)! Plus videos get priority in search engine results and allow you to show a little personality. Start with a video on your company, resort, staff members and build your video library from there.

If you implement these social media elements in your marketing, you'll be pleasantly surprised by the raving fans waiting for you.

For help on marketing or social media, speak to a marketing consultant from TA Fastrack today on email@tafastrack.com.au or call 07 3040 3588.

10 Ways to Improve your Hotel's Social Media Visibility

2011-02-16T15:15:00.001+10:00

By Adrian Caruso - TA Fastrack's CEO
Many hotels and destinations have recently approached TA Fastrack and asked about improving their social media visibility. While there is no firm method of optimizing your Web 2.0 content, there are best practices that can improve your performance. Below, you’ll find ten of our favorite best practices that can easily be implemented to increase your followers as well as your web traffic.

1. Keep the CONVERSATION going

Like its name suggests, social media is, by nature, well – social. Think of websites like Facebook and Twitter as extensions of your network of friends. Unlike, say, strangers at the grocery store, it’s perfectly okay to reach out to someone you’re connected with on a social networking and say “hey, how are you doing?” – so long as you do it effectively. Instead of just talking, try to ask questions of your fans and followers. Encourage them to post content on your Facebook page. Check your @ replies on Twitter and your Direct Messages (DMs) often – if someone has a question, be proactive in your response. Even if the comments and feedback on these sites are negative, you can turn the experience into a positive one with a fast and timely response.

2. Create engaging CONTENT

Unlike your Brand.com website or standalone page, your social media presence is a great way to push the content envelope. Use a conversational copy tone – you may even want to solicit a younger member of your staff to manage your Facebook or Twitter accounts full time. Find someone to manage your pages who is passionate about the brand – their enthusiasm will reflect that in the copy. Use images, video and links wherever possible. A huge part of SEO is the power of the inbound link – and social media is a great way to generate that buzz!

3. Drive your readers to ACTION

Don’t be content to just tell your readers about a renovation – encourage them to talk about it, send in a photo, book a reservation, or secure a special promotion. Offer a special coupon to your 1,000th fan or follower. Give away a free drink in your hotel lounge or at a local restaurant to someone who mentions Twitter when they order a cocktail. Ask for opinions about a new renovation or local attraction. Online readers aren’t passive – they’re constantly scanning – so make sure your content is encouraging them to stop and participate!

4. Images are your FRIEND

Is your hotel beautiful? Did you have a great recent event, wedding, or photo shoot of your new menu? Did your destination just host a major event? Upload those gems to Facebook, twitpic or Flickr! Send a snapshot of the beautiful sunrise over your hotel, or of visitors enjoying the local culture, to your Twitter followers, and encourage them to snap photos of their own time at your hotel, resort or destination. Create a Facebook album of a recent event within the hotel or destination and tag people who attended – chances are a little vanity will go a long way, compelling them to return to your page again and again to see their photo, while encouraging their friends to do the same.

5. Create BUZZ – Aim to get your material to “GO VIRAL”

Have you ever seen the trending topics on Twitter? Utilize these hashtags or aim to create your own! Some of our favorites for the travel industry are #TravelTuesday (relevant travel related industry info) and #FollowFriday –which enables you to thank your new followers each week. Don’t forget the power of the retweet or RT, either. Retweet (or re-publish) people who are talking about your hotel or great things people are saying about your market. This can also apply to YouTube. Have you created a great or funny video? Upload it and share it across social media platforms. Create a great contest on Facebook and post it all over! The options are only as limited as your imagination.

6. Practice effective LINKING and NAMING

While you can’t directly optimize your content, you can practice effective linking strategies. Instead of saying “click here,” choose appropriate anchor text. If you’re really talking about your new menu, say “Enjoy the Trellis Restaurant Dinner Menu” – search engines recognize these types of links as more valid. This also applies to page naming – be sure to name your Facebook Fan page (use your full property name, unless it’s very long) and your Twitter page to make them as easily searchable as possible. Avoid funny characters like underscores when you can help it. People often forget to type these in!

7. Stay on top of the latest TRENDS

Social Media is a continually evolving industry – new applications are launched every day! Some of our new favorites include Foursquare and Gowalla – applications that let users on other social networking sites know where you are located by “checking in” to certain businesses and locations. You can even offer special promotions to people who participate in these programs by checking in at your hotel or visiting local businesses a given number of times.

8. Know your NEIGHBOURS

Encourage cross promotion with local businesses, important bloggers and local media outlets. They can be your biggest fans! Host an in-person networking event, and issue your invitations via Facebook or Twitter. Encourage local social networking groups to host “Tweetups,” or in-person meetings of Twitter friends, at your hotel or local hotspots within your destination. Offer a special discount as an incentive!

9. Keep sites SEPERATE

People who follow you on Twitter are often your fans on Facebook and vice versa, so don’t update the exact same thing in both places! It’s fine to cross promote, sparingly – a post on Twitter saying you created a great new Facebook album with a link, or a note on Facebook talking about an exclusive Twitter promo (great ways to get followers on both sites!). But if you continually update both pages with the same information, they begin to lose relevance. So despite seeing the option to stream your Twitter updates to Facebook and vice versa – it’s generally a ‘no-no.’

10. Don’t get DISCOURAGED

Your growth won’t be overnight, and follow/fan/friend rates will vary from day to day. You may see explosive growth or bookings as a result of a particular contest that won’t work again the next week. Don’t get discouraged – your continued efforts will pay off over time. Social media is a continually evolving discussion and new techniques are emerging daily!

If you need help improving your hotel's social media visibility, please call TA Fastrack on +61 7 3040 3588. TA Fastrack's social media's team has the tracking tools to monitor your brand across the digital landscape. We can tell you what people are saying. We can then manage your brand online and influence the influencers to spread the word and ultimately book with you. We understand the travel, tourism and hospitality industry so we know how to create a presence for your brand in niche markets.

Stop Selling, and Start Adding Value

2011-02-04T10:25:00.002+10:00

Do you consistently look for creative ways to stay in touch with your prospective clients, or do you only contact them when you are trying to close business?

Great sales people form relationships, and establish themselves as:

1) someone who cares

2) someone who helps their prospects and clients stay abreast of important information, strategies, and solutions that will improve their situation

3) someone who's different than the other "sales guys and gals"

So ask yourself this question, "Do I add value and make my prospective clients' lives better when they're in my sales process? How do they view me? As a salesperson, or as a consultant who's bringing them solutions, right now, even if they're not a client."

For example, someone in the business services industry might consider clipping an article from Inc. Magazine or Forbes Small Business, predigesting the content for their prospects, and then sending it with a handwritten note that spells out why it's important to read. Just sending someone an article with an FYI takes no effort, and most business owners are too busy to read stuff. Nine times out of ten, it'll get skimmed or put in a stack. But a simple touch can make all the difference. If you predigest the article and tell your prospect something like, "Bob, I saw this article and thought about our conversation the other day about salesperson compensation, grumblings from your salespeople, and not knowing how to deal with it...Well, Bob, this article explains how a similar company used a blend of individual and team compensation strategies to improve morale and sales results! Take a look and let's talk about it next week."

This of course, is a simple example. But, do you realize how adding the messaging that draws on a prior conversation, and predigesting the article for the person, is the one step that most people in a sales role DO NOT take. Just leaving that one step out reduces the effectiveness by tenfold.

Why does it work? It's simple, effective, and it lets your prospects know you are really listening to them, that you care, and that you are looking for ways for them solve their problems, right now. Of course you may need to change the article or source for your industry, and change it for your prospects and their unique needs, but the point is, you want to always be positioning yourself in your prospective customers' minds, and with your existing customers, as someone who is always looking out for their interests and concerns!

What does this have to do with sales? Well, it's a truism that people buy solutions, not services. They want the hole, not the drill bit. And people will buy from you more often, the more solutions you provide them while they're in your sales cycle. If you think of your sales process as a Value-Add endeavor, you will undoubtedly increase your sales results.

So where are you adding value? Or, are you just pitching the sale?

The Law of Positioning

2011-02-03T15:00:00.000+10:00

What Entrepreneurs Need to Know to Be Successful

2011-01-31T11:34:00.001+10:00

When it comes to entrepreneurship, there is no clear path to success. The challenge entrepreneurs' face is to find their own means to success given their business, situation, timing, and style. A wise entrepreneur spends a good deal of time learning from the mistakes of his fellow professionals who ended up on the well-trodden path to failure. No matter what your industry, business plan, or idea, the following ten tips are basics for building a successful business.

Stay focused on the most important tasks that need to get done. Entrepreneurs multi-task daily. It is easy to get off track and spend time on tasks that won't get the business going. Decide each morning what the most important tasks are for that day. Start with these tasks and don't switch tasks until they get done.

Delegate. Entrepreneurs who succeed know what they do well, and what others do better than them. Decide what tasks should be outsourced and delegate these tasks to others. Trying to do everything or do things that aren't your specialty ruins your efficiency and the quality of your end product or service.

Keep a business journal. Write down your business thoughts and ideas. In planning stages, these ideas can be both powerful and fleeting. Make a point at the end of every week or month to review your notes for ideas and potentials that you forgot to capitalize on.

Find a support group. Part of being an entrepreneur is being bold, risky, and independent. But you are far from being alone in your endeavor. Join up with a group of entrepreneurs online or in your community for support. Many starting entrepreneurs need the same type of services (web designers, printers, etc.), so you can exchange resources and same time and energy in doing solo research.

Address your fears and doubts. People often view entrepreneurs as the bold explorers of the business world. Don't let your expectations of what it means to be an entrepreneur override your feelings. Fears and doubts are normal. Expressing this anxiety can be cathartic and help prevent it from becoming a roadblock to success.

Follow the golden rule of the business plan. Yes, create a business plan, and develop it thoroughly. Stick to it, but don't treat it like the end-all be-all plan. Often once you get your business going, you'll find that unexpected opportunities arise. Doors open once you get on your feet. Don't pass by them because your business plan dictates that you continue on a certain path. Instead, carve out some time to explore and evaluate these opportunities to determine if they should become part of (or the new focus of) your business model.

Decide what your business hours are going to be and stick to them. It is easy to overwork, especially as an entrepreneur who's business is in the house. As an entrepreneur, there is always work to be done. Remember that there is life after work and if you don't have a life, get one. On days and weeks where you have to put in extra work, plan an award for yourself (a massage, a day-off, a night out, etc.)

Exercise regularly. Make exercise part of your business routine. It is easy to get overwhelmed by all the decisions you have to make. Exercise clears your brain to make decisions and keeps you healthy so you'll have less sick days.

Keep abreast of the industry you are in. Read trade publications, talk to people in the industry, and learn as much as you can. The most informed entrepreneurs are the most successful ones. If you are still talking about the power of CDs in the age of MP3s and DVDs, you're idea is already dead, and your business will be too if you don't stay up-to-date.

Keep a sense of humour. You have made a choice not to punch a timecard or work for someone else. Times are tough and humour is the best recipe for getting through the day. Find the humor in situations and find sources of humour in your life (comics, sitcoms, and funny friends). Stay away from people who complain, whine, or give out negative vibes.

The Visual Experience

2011-01-27T15:40:00.003+10:00

When was the last time you really looked at your business?

I mean, really looked at it? What’s the first thing you see when you drive up to the building every morning? What’s the condition of the parking area? How clean is the building exterior? Are there fingerprints and dust on the door handle? What color are the walls? What is the condition of the carpet or floor tiles?

You’ve probably walked through your business so many times that you don’t even notice what it looks like any more. It all starts to look like background. And the only things you do notice are the times when something is not where it was before. It’s the sudden changes that stand out – not the gradual, day to day fading of paint and scuffing of floors.

Marketing is all about collecting information about the people most likely to use your products and services, and then developing strategies to effectively satisfy the emotional needs of these customers and potential customers. These strategies are then used as your guiding force in designing systems for every part of your business that interfaces with your customer. From the first phone call, to taking the initial order, to the design of your products and services, to the way your employees dress and speak, to the appearance of printed material, and yes, even your company name - all of these impact your customer’s emotional experience. Your task is to make all parts of your company’s “touch points” with your customers intentional. All of them must convey a consistent message and a desirable emotional experience for your customers.

Simple things like the shapes and colors you use in your logo, business cards, marketing materials, vehicles, uniforms, packaging, building and grounds, employee dress and personal grooming, and anything else the customer sees can have a profound impact on the decision to buy or not buy. It’s all part of creating an entire buying experience for your customers that meets their needs and expectations.

Something as significant as the colors and shapes you select for your business is not a decision you can make lightly. The most important thing to remember about your colors and shapes is to make sure it evokes a favorable emotional response in the minds of your customers. How do you find that out? As you do your market research, you will learn about the unique characteristics and emotional preferences of your customers. Once you have a good feel for those preferences, you’ll know what kinds of emotions you want to stimulate in their minds. That knowledge will lead you to an effective strategy to position your business in the minds of your customers. And that includes your choice of colors and shapes. A good graphic designer with a background in marketing will know what kinds of colors and shapes appeal to different demographics. When you are selecting colors and shapes for your logo and other materials, be sure to choose something your customers will like, and not what you like or what the designer thinks is “cool.”

Take some time this week to walk through your business as if you’re seeing it for the first time. Notice every color, shape, texture, odor, and sound that exists. Think about how your customers would react if they noticed the same things. What is important to them? You’ll likely see some things that are pleasing to your customers, and some others that are not pleasing. Take lots of notes, and use those notes to plan the changes you want to make. How could you find out about the needs and preferences of your target market? Are there any business organizations specific to your customers? What other sources of information are available to you?

Designing your colors and shapes to appeal to your customers requires time and effort, but it’s worth it. The wrong colors and shapes can drive customers away, and neither you nor they will consciously know why. The right kind of visual experience for your customers will draw them in and make them feel more at ease once they arrive. It’s too important to leave it to chance

Guide to making MEETINGS work

2011-01-21T14:05:00.001+10:00

You and your team are busy so REALISE, VISUALISE and CAPITALISE by holding regular meetings.

Meetings are a fundamental tool for travel businesses to help assess what has been happening, what is in progress and what has to be done in the future. Travel businesses need to look at meetings as a necessity to be held week to week....YES EVERY WEEK. No matter how busy you and your team think you are.

The fact is that no matter what your time constraints are you will be even busier without having regular meetings with your team. Without meetings, it can lead to problems with communications, human resources, finance, operations and business growth.

Meetings work best when they are planned and structured to bring out the best results possible.

Here is a list of 12 tips for making your meetings work:

Establish a purpose for the meetings
Define what is going to be covered in the meetings
Ensure there is a clear agenda of topics to be covered
Communicate to your team what they need to contribute to the meeting beforehand.
Make sure you allocate a time and place so that the meeting can happen week to week.
Give every participant an open voice at the meeting; ensure that you promote quality discussion from participants.
Make sure everyone takes notes.
Gather ideas, concerns and brainstorm plans for action to come out of every meeting.
Topics and ideas that have been discussed in previous meetings need to be highlighted to check progress and ensure they are followed through.
Ensure you include time for awards, humorous topics and non business relating issues to keep your team motivated.
Make sure you and your team are on time every time to the meeting.
Get feedback on how the meetings can be improved week to week.

Take these tips on board to help your travel business run a little smoother and grow a little faster. Meetings will ensure pressing issues get voiced as long as there is the right environment to do so.

So in closing 'don't you have a meeting to get to'

The Golden Hour

2011-01-20T18:08:00.001+10:00

You become what you think about most of the time. And the most important part of each day is what you think about at the beginning of that day.

Start Your Day Right

Take 30 minutes each morning to sit quietly and to reflect on your goals. You'll find when you read the biographies and autobiographies of successful men and women that almost everyone of them began their upward trajectory to success when they begin getting up early in the morning and spending time with themselves.

Feed Your Mind With Positive Ideas

This is called the Golden Hour. The first hour sets the tone for the day. The things that you do in the first hour prepare your mind and set you up for the entire day. During the first thirty to sixty minutes, take time to think and review your plans for the future.

Use Your Quiet Time Effectively

Here are four things that you can do during that quiet time in the morning. Number one is to review your plans for accomplishing your goals and change your plans if necessary.

Number two is think of better ways to accomplish your goals. As an exercise, assume that the way you're going about it is totally wrong and imagine going about it totally differently. What would you do different from what you're doing right now?

Number three, reflect on the valuable lessons that you have learned and are learning as you move toward your goals.

Practice Daily Visualization

Number four, calmly visualize your goal as a reality. Close your eyes, relax, smile, and see your goal as though it were already a reality. Rewrite your major goals everyday in the present tense. Rewrite them as though they already existed. Write "I earn X dollars." "I have a net worth of X." "I weigh a certain number of pounds." This exercise of writing and rewriting your goals everyday is one of the most powerful you will ever learn.

Fasten Your Seatbelt

Your life will start to take off at such a speed that you'll have to put on your seatbelt. Remember, the starting point for achieving financial success is the development of an attitude of unshakable confidence in yourself and in your ability to reach your goals. Everything we've talked about is a way of building up and developing your belief system until you finally reach the point where you are absolutely convinced that nothing can stop you from achieving what you set out to achieve.

Everything Counts

No one starts out with this kind of an attitude, but you can develop it using the law of accumulation. Everything counts. No efforts are ever lost. Every extraordinary accomplishment in the result of thousands of ordinary accomplishments that no one recognizes or appreciates. The greatest challenge of all is for you to concentrate your thinking single-mindedly on your goal and by the law of attraction, you will, you must inevitably draw into your life the people, circumstances and opportunities you need to achieve your goals.

Become A Living Magnet

Once you've mastered yourself and your thinking, you will become a living magnet for ideas and opportunities to become wealthy. It's worked for me and for every successful person I know. It will work for you if you'll begin today, now, this very minute, to think and talk about your dreams and goals as though they were already a reality. When you change your thinking, you will change your life. You will put yourself firmly on the road to financial independence.

Action Exercises

Now, here are two things you can do every single day to keep your mind focused on your financial goals:

First, get up every morning a little bit earlier and plan your day in advance. Take some time to think about your goals and how you can best achieve them. This sets the tone for the whole day.

Second, reflect on the valuable lessons you are learning each day as you work toward your goals. Be prepared to correct your course and adjust your actions. Be absolutely convinced that you are moving rapidly toward your goals, no matter what happens temporarily on the outside. Just hang in there!

9 Keys to Developing Strategic Alliances

2011-01-18T16:27:00.002+10:00

Forming key relationships or partnering with other businesses could be the most important thing you do to ensure your success, however, the wrong decision could be a recipe for disaster. To successfully develop worthwhile strategic alliances, consider the following nine keys points:

Select partners carefully

Make sure you attract like minded people with similar values and ethics. Today there are still many 'cowboys' in the marketplace. People who ride into town, with lots of fanfare, making lots of noise and hollow promises. However, if you are looking for a long term relationship with your clients, don't network with the cowboys or you are sure to have a stormy ride. Look at your peers and competitors and identifying those who think like you, run their businesses along the same ethical lines and basically have a good business name.

Be clear on outcomes

• Be as specific as possible. Identify exactly
• how big you want your connection to grow
• The turnover you anticipate
• the number of hours you can commit to the project
• any other commitments that may affect your financial situation
• any fears you may have about the business relationship
• identify exactly how many widgets you want to produce, when and by whom
• how much you can afford to invest and lose, should your partnership fail.

Never assume anything

Many business partnerships fail because of poor communication. Some partners think everything that needs to be discussed is covered once the dollars are finalised but this is far from reality. Clarify everything. Put everything in writing as soon as possible after your meetings. Take notes during the meeting or have the meeting and minutes recorded for you.

Set specific time lines

Many people agree in principal to something and then find that due to prior commitments or unexpected events, they cannot honour their agreement. By setting trial time frames, you can get an idea of your partner's management style, their attention to detail and their investment in the project.

Allow for exit clauses

Better to lose a partner in the early stages, than lose your good name in the marketplace. Sometimes the different styles of management and leadership create disharmony. Something that seemed like a small annoyance may become a huge irritation down the track. For example, you may form a partnership with someone who always runs at least forty minutes late for every meeting. You on the other hand are always ten minutes early,

You may initially laugh this habit away, however, after a few months of being kept waiting, you may not see the humour anymore. You may like to put in place a 'trial time frame' e.g. 'lets review this in 30 days and see how we are travelling. If things are not working out by then, we can dissolve the partnership without any hard feelings'.

This one point will ensure a clean break if one becomes required in the future.

Aim for the WIN-WIN

Brainstorm possible, best and worst case scenarios regarding this strategic alliance. What is the worst thing that can happen and can you cope with that outcome? If you can, then you have absolutely nothing to lose. If you can't cope with that outcome, you may like to review the situation or review the guidelines.

Celebrate your successes

In life, some people are so busy doing, doing, doing, that they forgot to stop and smell the roses. To maintain your and your partners motivation, it's important to record the milestones in your alliance: ie Your first order or contract, your first payment in excess of $X, etc. Acknowledge these wins regularly. If you don't give yourself recognition, why would you expect others to give it to you?

Do your homework

Prepare your business plan, do a SWOT analysis highlighting the positives and the negatives of a joint alliance. Prepare all the information that you consider your potential partner would need to know before they could comfortably make a decision about forming an alliance with you.

Don't be afraid to go for it

And finally, when you have selected your partner to be, make the phone call, send the fax, email, whatever the approach - make contact. Remember, if you never ask the question, the answer is always, no! Ask for six minutes of their time. Talk fast - let your passion and enthusiasm sell your idea. After all, what's the worst thing that can happen - rejection? You can live with that. Remember, they are not rejecting you, they are rejecting your product, service or a specific opportunity. Tomorrow, they may change their mind or better still, they may introduce you to a person they consider to be your ideal strategic alliance partner. If we have courage to face the challenge and make our dreams, goals and targets greater than our fears - we can have whatever we want in life.

Dream big dreams…