Digital Marketing
Are Your Competitors Telling You These Key Things?
Competitor research is one of the most important aspects of any hotel marketing process, but it is also one of the most commonly misunderstood. If you approach your research correctly, keeping a keen eye on what your rivals are doing can actually make a substantial contribution to your own digital marketing strategy and understanding of the market. Done properly, it could lead to more reservations and better performing digital channels.
Read on to discover what you can learn from your competitors to improve your own hotel performance online…
Why Research Your Competitors?
In order to build great marketing campaigns and target your hotel marketing in a way which produces revenue-boosting results and generates more bookings, you should have a clear understanding of what tactics your competitors are using.
Performing competitor research is the best way to keep tabs on their promotions and strategies. This knowledge gives you an instant understanding of what is working and what isn’t, as well as what you’re up against when it comes to content, social media, link building and guest offers. With this information, you can up your own efforts without having to invest hours in research and testing.
Identifying Strengths and Weaknesses
Identifying Strengths and Weaknesses
Competitor analysis of the hotel industry and close examination of your nearest competitors is not merely a means of identifying strengths and assessing how best you can rise to the challenge of meeting them. It is also about recognising weaknesses in other hotel’s offerings and seeking to ensure your hotel is unaffected by the same problems. Performing a SWOT analysis which outlines the foremost competitive issues is a simple and straightforward way to get started. This quick competitor analysis takes into account the business strategy, target market, content and functionality of your competitor alongside an array of other key branding elements and behaviours. When the data is accumulated, you’ll have lots of useful information and insider knowledge to hand to inform your own actions.
Key areas your rival’s online presence can teach you more about include:
- • Discovering whether rival hoteliers are running successful marketing and promotions strategies – and what you can learn from the success or failure of their existing activities.
• Which channels work best – do they get more action from social media or are there more comments on their own blog posts for example? Is their Instagram following bigger than their Facebook fan base?
• The unique value proposition your hotel provides, relative to the current hospitality industry and where you stand within it.
• Whether or not there are any existing gaps in the market which you can address with meaningful and targeted activity to make the most of these new opportunities.
Areas to Examine in a Competitor Analysis
The key areas to example when performing a competitor analysis of a rival hotel encompass all of their existing digital activities, including checking the design, SEO-capability and booking functionality of the website and booking engine, and the engagement activities and reputation management potential of the brand’s social media channels and online review sites. If unsure how to perform a competitor analysis, don’t be afraid to contact the experts in advertising for hotels to gain access to their comprehensive hotel marketing solutions.
